Financial Contrast: Maiden (MHLD) and Mercury General (MCY)

Maiden (NASDAQ: MHLD) and Mercury General (NYSE:MCY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.

Profitability

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This table compares Maiden and Mercury General’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Maiden	-6.01%	-19.36%	-2.47%
Mercury General	2.25%	4.77%	1.65%

Risk & Volatility

Maiden has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mercury General has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Maiden and Mercury General, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Maiden	0	4	0	0	2.00
Mercury General	0	0	0	0	N/A

Maiden currently has a consensus target price of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.09%. Given Maiden’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Maiden is more favorable than Mercury General.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

61.9% of Maiden shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.4% of Mercury General shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.5% of Maiden shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 34.2% of Mercury General shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Maiden and Mercury General’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Maiden	$2.92 billion	0.23	-$169.89 million	($2.16)	-3.82
Mercury General	$3.42 billion	0.73	$144.87 million	$1.64	27.55

Mercury General has higher revenue and earnings than Maiden. Maiden is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mercury General, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Maiden pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.3%. Mercury General pays an annual dividend of $2.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Maiden pays out -27.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mercury General pays out 152.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Maiden has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Mercury General has raised its dividend for 32 consecutive years. Maiden is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Mercury General beats Maiden on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

Maiden Company Profile

Maiden Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance solutions to regional and specialty insurers in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diversified Reinsurance and AmTrust Reinsurance. The Diversified Reinsurance segment offers property and casualty reinsurance, including the writing of treaties on a quota share or excess of loss basis; and facultative risks, which are marketed through third-party intermediaries and on a direct basis. The AmTrust Reinsurance segment provides small commercial business insurance, including workers' compensation, commercial package, and other property and casualty insurance products; and specialty risk and extended warranty coverage for consumer and commercial goods, as well as custom designed coverages, such as accidental damage plans and payment protection plans related to the sale of consumer and commercial goods. This segment also offers specialty program comprising package products, general liability, commercial auto liability, excess and surplus lines programs, and other specialty commercial property and casualty insurance to small and middle market companies. In addition, the company offers auto and credit life insurance products through its insurer partners to retail clients. Maiden Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.

Mercury General Company Profile

Mercury General Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in writing personal automobile insurance in the United States. The company also writes homeowners, commercial automobile, commercial property, mechanical protection, fire, and umbrella insurance. Its automobile insurance products cover collision, property damage, bodily injury, comprehensive, personal injury protection, underinsured and uninsured motorist, and other hazards; and homeowners insurance products cover dwelling, liability, personal property, fire, and other hazards. The company sells its policies through a network of independent agents, 100% owned insurance agents, and direct channels in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia. Mercury General Corporation was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Buy DCB Bank; target of Rs 223: Cholamandalam Securities

Cholamandalam Securities' research report on DCB Bank

DCB��s advances continued to grow at a healthy pace (30.6% YoY, 4.5% QoQ) to INR 212bn in 1QFY19. Commercial Vehicles & Corporate segments witnessed higher growth (56.7% and 48% YoY respectively), although their relative share in overall portfolio continued to remain unchanged at 6% and 17% respectively.SME and Agricultural credit grew at 42.5% and 38.3% YoY respectively. The bank targets to double its overall asset portfolio in the next 3 years.

Outlook

DCB trades at 1.5X FY20E P/ABV and 11.7X FY20E P/E.� Healthy loan book growth, branch expansion and well-maintained asset quality paints a positive picture for the bank. This apart, considering its efforts to contain the cost to income ratios, to maintain healthy return ratios despite expected pressure on NIMs, we give the stock a BUY rating with a target price of INR 223, assigning a FY20E P/ABV of 2X.

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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 Jul 20, 2018 05:12 pm

Top 10 Medical Stocks For 2019

tags:NBTB,EQIX,CDK,EW,EMR,OMF,MPC,REN ,BBDO,HST, &l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image bloomberg size-large wp-image-41899183&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/41899183/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Marijuana plants grow at a facility in Canada. Photographer: Trevor Hagan/Bloomberg

Cronos Group, a medical marijuana company based in Toronto, just became the first Canadian cannabis stock to trade on&a;nbsp;a U.S. exchange. The stock is trading under ticker symbol CRON on the NASDAQ, and started trading&a;nbsp;yesterday at $8.24 before closing the day at $7.62. The stock closed up 20% today at $9.17.

Cronos was previously trading as an American Depository Receipt (ADR) on the OTC markets with the ticker symbol PRMCF. It is&a;nbsp;part of &l;a href=&q;https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/17/12/10955919/the-first-us-listed-marijuana-etf-ignites-today&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;the first marijuana ETF to trade on a U.S. exchange&l;/a&g;, the&a;nbsp;ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (ticker: MJX), &l;a href=&q;http://www.etfmj.com&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;where it is&a;nbsp;the top holding&l;/a&g;, comprising 9.18% of the fund.

Top 10 Medical Stocks For 2019: NBT Bancorp Inc.(NBTB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on NBT Bancorp (NBTB)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on NBT Bancorp (NBTB)

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) was downgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Top 10 Medical Stocks For 2019: Equinix Inc.(EQIX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matthew Frankel]

  Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) is the largest operator of data centers in the world, with more than 9,800 companies utilizing its properties. The company provides the facility, power, security, and cooling equipment for its customers, and they supply their own servers and networking equipment.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Traders sold shares of Equinix Inc (NASDAQ:EQIX) on strength during trading on Tuesday. $159.72 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $194.68 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $34.96 million out of the stock. Of all stocks tracked, Equinix had the 23rd highest net out-flow for the day. Equinix traded up $10.43 for the day and closed at $429.00

• [By Beth McKenna]

  Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) reported robust first-quarter 2018 financial results after the market close on Wednesday.�

  Shares closed down 6.1% on Thursday, which we can probably attribute to the company revising slightly downward its full-year 2018 adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) outlook, as we'll get to in a moment. (AFFO is a�closely watched metric for companies organized as real estate investment trusts, or REITs. It's akin to "earnings" for REITs.)�

• [By Lee Jackson]

  This is one of the larger capitalization companies in the data center industry. Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX)�provides data center services to protect and connect the information assets for the enterprises, financial services companies, and content and network providers primarily in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific.

• [By Craig Jones]

  Kevin Kelly spoke on Bloomberg Markets about a bullish options trade in Equinix Inc (NASDAQ: EQIX).

  He wants to buy the September 400/450 call spread in the name for $15.50. The trade breaks even at $415.50 or 5.41 percent above the current market price. It can maximally make a profit of $34.50. The payoff ratio is roughly 2.5 to 1, explained Kelly. He sees this as a derivative play on Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) cloud computing.

• [By Shane Hupp]

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

  Get Equinix alerts: Equinix Inc (EQIX) Insider Charles J. Meyers Sells 400 Shares (americanbankingnews.com) Equinix Selects AT&T as 2018 Americas Partner of the Year (finance.yahoo.com) Equinix Inc (EQIX) Expected to Post Quarterly Sales of $1.26 Billion (americanbankingnews.com) Zacks: Analysts Anticipate Equinix Inc (EQIX) Will Announce Earnings of $5.10 Per Share (americanbankingnews.com) NetActuate Deployment to Equinix SP3 IBX庐 Data Center in Brazil Brings Faster Connections and New Services in … (benzinga.com)

  Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Equinix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 8th. Credit Suisse Group set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Equinix and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 31st. Deutsche Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Equinix from $550.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 31st. ValuEngine downgraded shares of Equinix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 3rd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Equinix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $504.29.

Top 10 Medical Stocks For 2019: CDK Global, Inc.(CDK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

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

  Get CDK Global alerts: CDK announces Connected Workshop concept (am-online.com) CDK Global announces new Connected Workshop concept (cardealermagazine.co.uk) Judge: Car dealer software companies can’t delete antitrust claims over monopolization of car dealer data (cookcountyrecord.com) CDK Global (CDK) vs. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (RBA) Head-To-Head Survey (americanbankingnews.com) $578.44 Million in Sales Expected for CDK Global (CDK) This Quarter (americanbankingnews.com)

  CDK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barrington Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of CDK Global in a research note on Monday, March 26th. BidaskClub lowered shares of CDK Global from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of CDK Global from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CDK Global from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously from $75.00) on shares of CDK Global in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Rikoon Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of CDK Global Inc (NASDAQ:CDK) by 23.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,873 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the quarter. Rikoon Group LLC’s holdings in CDK Global were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in CDK Global (NASDAQ:CDK) by 31.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,273 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 87,562 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in CDK Global were worth $11,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  CDK Global Inc (NASDAQ:CDK) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 7th, NASDAQ reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 19th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the software maker on Friday, June 29th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 18th.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of CDK Global Inc (NASDAQ:CDK) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 244,208 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 1,175 shares during the quarter. CDK Global makes up 1.3% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.19% of CDK Global worth $15,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Top 10 Medical Stocks For 2019: Edwards Lifesciences Corporation(EW)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Edwards Lifesciences (EW) : "They have the best devices. That stock is a buy."

  Align Technology (ALGN) : "The stock is breaking down. Let's wait a few days then pull the trigger."

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Here are some of the media headlines that may have effected Accern Sentiment’s rankings:

  Get Edwards Lifesciences alerts: Edwards Lifesciences (EW) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Raymond James (americanbankingnews.com) [$$] ValueAct/Olympus: zoom out (finance.yahoo.com) Analysts Expect Edwards Lifesciences (EW) to Post $1.12 EPS (americanbankingnews.com) Global Central Venous Catheters Market Emerging Technology by 2023: Edwards Lifesciences, Teleflex, Lepu Medical … (thebiotechnologynews.com) Global Pulmonary Artery Catheter Market Size 2018 �� Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, Argon Medical, BD and … (thecleantechnology.com)

  A number of research firms have weighed in on EW. JMP Securities upped their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. SunTrust Banks restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $162.00 price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a report on Friday, February 2nd. ValuEngine upgraded Edwards Lifesciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Edwards Lifesciences from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Edwards Lifesciences currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $149.06.

• [By Todd Campbell]

  It had also led to Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW), a medical device company, signing on to develop ZFP-based therapeutics for cardiovascular disease.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW) by 36.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 31,580 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 17,905 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $4,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Top 10 Medical Stocks For 2019: Emerson Electric Company(EMR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Benzinga News Desk]

  Former President George H.W. Bush has been hospitalized in Houston with an infection, just after attending the funeral of his wife, Barbara, a spokesman said Monday: Link

  ECONOMIC DATA Redbook Reports US Retail Sales During First 2 Weeks Of Apr. Up 0.3% MoM, Up 2.8% YoY USA S&P/CaseShiller House Price Index (MoM) for Feb Up 0.7% MoM New home sales report for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Conference Board’s consumer sentiment index for April is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Richmond Fed manufacturing index for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Treasury is set to auction 4-and 52-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET. The Treasury will auction 2-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET. ANALYST RATINGS Leerink upgraded Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) from Market Perform to Outperform Berenberg upgraded Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR) from Sell to Hold Mizuho downgraded Skyworks (NASDAQ: SWKS) from Buy to Neutral BMO downgraded Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ: TXRH) from Outperform to Market Perform

  This is a tool used by the Benzinga News Desk each trading day — it's a look at everything happening in the market, in five minutes. To get the full version of this note every morning, click here.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 202,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,864,000.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Flippin Bruce & Porter Inc. decreased its holdings in Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) by 33.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 33,574 shares during the quarter. Flippin Bruce & Porter Inc.’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $4,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

• [By Lee Samaha]

  In common with many other industrial companies, like Danaher, Pentair has been taking action to become a more focused investment proposition for investors. The sale of its valves and controls business to Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) in the spring of 2017 turned out to be well-timed for Emerson, as it occurred precisely at the time when oil and gas capital spending started picking up.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,534 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $5,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Hartford Investment Management Co. lessened its stake in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) by 36.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 47,372 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $5,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Top 10 Medical Stocks For 2019: OneMain Holdings, Inc.(OMF)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of OneMain Holdings Inc (NYSE:OMF) by 18.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,479 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in OneMain were worth $1,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on OneMain (OMF)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  OneMain (NYSE: OMF) and Provident Financial (OTCMKTS:FPLPY) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Top 10 Medical Stocks For 2019: Marathon Petroleum Corporation(MPC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Strategic Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) by 38.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,480 shares during the quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Not only is Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) the newest member of the Franchise List, but it is a returning member. Also, the company has begun�of the long process of completing a massive purchase of another refining giant. Marathon agreed to buy rival Andeavor (NYSE: ANDV) for $23.3 billion in the biggest-ever deal for an oil refiner. That would create the largest independent fuel maker in the United States.

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  The combination of pipeline bottlenecks is now dragging down the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil to levels well below that of Brent crude. The difference between the two is called the Brent-WTI spread -- and it's now at levels last witnessed in 2015, and never before 2011. This single metric also explains why oil refinery stocks such as Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC), Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX), and Delek US Holdings (NYSE:DK) are up by as much as 51% this year.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLA) rose 34.7 percent to $45.50 in pre-market trading following news that the FDA has approved Andexxa for the reversal of factor Xa inhibitors. Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ: CLWT) rose 15.7 percent to $6.65 in pre-market trading after climbing 155.56 percent on Thursday. China Recycling Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: CREG) rose 14.7 percent to $2.75 in pre-market trading after climbing 57.89 percent on Thursday. Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) rose 11 percent to $6.40 in pre-market trading after reporting strong quarterly results. Fred's, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED) rose 9.2 percent to $1.90 in pre-market trading following Q4 results. Shake Shack Inc (NYSE: SHAK) rose 9.1 percent to $51.70 in pre-market trading after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY18 guidance. Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) rose 9 percent to $12.55 in pre-market trading after the company posted Q1 results and agreed to acquire HealthGrid. Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) rose 7.6 percent to $75 in pre-market trading after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter. The company also raised its FY18 earnings outlook from $2.40-$2.70 to $3-$3.20. Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAV) rose 7.5 percent to $10.15 in pre-market trading following Q3 results. Pearson plc (NYSE: PSO) rose 4.5 percent to $11.83 in pre-market trading after reporting strong quarterly earnings. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) shares rose 4.4 percent to $190.50 in the pre-market trading session as the company posted upbeat Q4 results. Aqua Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQMS) shares rose 3.9 percent to $4.30 in pre-market trading after gaining 6.98 percent on Thursday. Newell Brands Inc (NYSE: NWL) shares rose 3.6 percent to $27.65 in pre-market trading after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings. HMS Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: H
• [By Tyler Crowe]

  There has been a slew of merger & acquisition activity in the refining industry as of late as companies look to add economy of scale. The rate of consolidation went into warp speed last week when Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) and Andeavor (NYSE:ANDV) announced their $23 billion merger deal. HollyFrontier isn't a big fish in this industry, but it does have a reputation for making value-adding acquisitions. So of course, an analyst asked CEO George Damiris on the company's conference call for his view of the M&A market and what we might expect from HollyFrontier. Here's his response:�

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  MPLX (NYSE:MPLX) has undergone a significant transformation over the past year and a half. The master limited partnership (MLP) completed several transactions with its oil refining parent Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC), which diversified its midstream portfolio and eliminated costly management fees. Those moves position MPLX to continue growing its rock-solid 6.8%-yielding payout at a healthy clip for the next several years, making it an excellent option for income-seeking investors to consider buying.

Top 10 Medical Stocks For 2019: Resolute Energy Corporation(REN )

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Republic Protocol (CURRENCY:REN) traded 15% lower against the U.S. dollar during the one day period ending at 16:00 PM E.T. on June 23rd. Over the last week, Republic Protocol has traded down 25.4% against the U.S. dollar. One Republic Protocol token can now be purchased for approximately $0.0590 or 0.00000961 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges including OKEx, IDEX, DDEX and Cobinhood. Republic Protocol has a market capitalization of $32.57 million and $2.71 million worth of Republic Protocol was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Republic Protocol (CURRENCY:REN) traded 8.6% lower against the dollar during the 1-day period ending at 12:00 PM E.T. on June 13th. Republic Protocol has a total market capitalization of $39.37 million and $1.56 million worth of Republic Protocol was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. Over the last week, Republic Protocol has traded 22.7% lower against the dollar. One Republic Protocol token can now be purchased for $0.0757 or 0.00001210 BTC on popular exchanges including Cobinhood, IDEX, DDEX and Liqui.

Top 10 Medical Stocks For 2019: Banco Bradesco Sa(BBDO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  News articles about Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBDO) have trended somewhat positive this week, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. Accern identifies positive and negative press coverage by reviewing more than 20 million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Banco Bradesco earned a news impact score of 0.19 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news stories about the bank an impact score of 46.8086143489448 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the next several days.

Top 10 Medical Stocks For 2019: Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.(HST)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Host Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:HST) had its price objective boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $20.50 to $21.00 in a research note published on Thursday. They currently have a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

• [By Max Byerly]

  ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:HST) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,007 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 4,642 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $1,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Avalon Advisors LLC cut its stake in Host Hotels and Resorts Inc (NYSE:HST) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 793,510 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,414 shares during the period. Avalon Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of Host Hotels and Resorts worth $14,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Here's Why AC Immune SA Rose as Much as 21.6% Today

What happened

Shares of AC Immune (NASDAQ:ACIU) rose nearly 22% today after the clinical-stage biopharma announced the pricing of three separate offerings of common stock. In all, up to 10 million shares will be sold at a price of $11.75 apiece, which will raise up to $117.5 million in gross proceeds if all shares are purchased. There were only 57 million shares outstanding prior to the offering, so the dilution will work out to nearly 17%.

The Swiss-based company ended March with $110 million in cash and cash equivalents, so the offerings will nearly double the cash available to plow into research and development activities. That's an important consideration, especially after recent events lifted the fortunes of AC Immune's lead drug candidate.

As of 1:43 p.m. EDT, the stock had settled to a 13.8% gain.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

So, um, why would a company's stock pop after it announces massive dilution? Well, earlier this month AC Immune shares jumped nearly 70% in a span of a few days, following impressive results from a phase 2 trial for Biogen and Eisai in Alzheimer's disease. The pair are investigating a humanized monoclonal antibody that takes aim at beta amyloid plaques that accumulate in the brain and are thought to play a role in the neurodegenerative disease.

Investors were quick to draw comparisons to AC Immune's lead drug candidate, crenezumab, which is a humanized monoclonal antibody in phase 3 trials (licensed by Genentech) as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease. It's thought to have a similar mechanism to the Biogen-Eisai drug candidate.

The share offering priced today is simply management wisely taking advantage of an elevated stock price to raise capital for its robust development activities.�

Now what

While Biogen and Eisai reported positive phase 2 results from their humanized monoclonal antibody, the data were also a little surprising. That's because the drug had failed to deliver results as recently as December 2017.

Although this could be the real deal this time around, AC Immune investors shouldn't expect crenezumab to be a slam dunk for achieving positive results in the ongoing late-stage trial. However, the extra cash from the recent offering will help to fund development activities, and it's not every day a company gets to double its cash position with little immediate downside.

Top 5 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019

tags:PEBO,FBNC,NRIM,ACFC,PRA,

Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

According to Zacks, “FBL FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. is a holding company and hrough its subsidiaries underwrites, markets and distributes life insurance, annuities, property-casualty insurance and mutual funds to individuals and small businesses in 15 midwestern and western states. The Company has exclusive marketing arrangements with the state Farm Bureau Federations in its territory and targets sales to approximately 700,000 Farm Bureau member families and other rural, small town andsuburban residents through an exclusive agency force. The Company offers a full range of life insurance products. “

Top 5 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: Peoples Bancorp Inc.(PEBO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  BidaskClub downgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday.

  Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on PEBO. Boenning Scattergood reissued a hold rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 25th. Hovde Group set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 24th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Peoples Bancorp from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $37.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. ValuEngine raised shares of Peoples Bancorp from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 24th. Finally, Sandler O’Neill reissued a hold rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Peoples Bancorp has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $38.00.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Peoples Bancorp (PEBO)

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

Top 5 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: First Bancorp(FBNC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.50.

• [By Max Byerly]

  First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was downgraded by stock analysts at ValuEngine from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Top 5 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: Northrim BanCorp Inc(NRIM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Northrim BanCorp Inc (NASDAQ:NRIM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high and low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $40.05 and last traded at $39.85, with a volume of 561 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.00.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Northrim BanCorp (NASDAQ: NRIM) and Hometrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Kearny Financial (NASDAQ: KRNY) and Northrim BanCorp (NASDAQ:NRIM) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Capitol Federal Financial (NASDAQ: CFFN) and Northrim BanCorp (NASDAQ:NRIM) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Top 5 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: Atlantic Coast Federal Corporation(ACFC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Atlantic Coast Financial (NASDAQ: ACFC) and People’s United Financial (NASDAQ:PBCT) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and dividends.

Top 5 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: ProAssurance Corporation(PRA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on ProAssurance (PRA)

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

PACIFIC �� HBO and Chill

What's Next: Richard Plepler's Last Dance: AT&T wants HBO to transform itself from a boutique for smart, high-minded shows into a 24/7 operation like Netflix that produces more content and drives more user engagement, sources at HBO and AT&T's WarnerMedia confirm. It is a sea-change moment for Plepler, the affable HBO chief and Manhattan-Hollywood socialite who has long enjoyed the luxury of prioritizing a few quality shows on Sunday nights.

Sign up for PACIFIC: The new CNNMoney newsletter about the center of change and innovation

HBO's future now depends on two things:

1. Whether AT&T will give it enough money to compete with Netflix, Amazon and Apple for the best shows, showrunners and talent.

2. Whether Plepler can bring premium content to scale -- which is going to be really hard for a guy who has spent years stressing that the strength of HBO's brand depends on not throwing a hundred things against the wall to see what sticks, a la Netflix.

More on all that, including the the awkward town hall conversation between Plepler and his new AT&T boss John Stankey, below ... Plus: LeBron in Hollywood, Netflix in India, and Les Moonves vs. Shari Redstone in Idaho ...

---

Welcome back to PACIFIC

It's Allen & Co. Week. We're in Sun Valley starting Tuesday, along with Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Bob Iger, Brian Roberts, Rupert Murdoch & Sons, Randall Stephenson, Reed Hastings, Moonves and Redstone, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Barry Diller, Jimmy Pitaro and Adam Silver, all of whom are among the invited guests at the annual summit of media moguls. This highly private event can only be covered from the sidelines, but we'll do our best.

The Latest in M&A: Comcast is expected to make a $31 billion bid for Sky, just as the UK is giving 21st Century Fox the green light to acquire the company itself. How to read it: Comcast's Brian Roberts is forcing the Murdochs (and thus, Disney) to pay more for Sky, just as he forced Disney to pay more for Fox.

There is no thicker thorn in Bob Iger's side than Brian Roberts.

---

Talk of Tinseltown: Can HBO scale?

For years, Richard Plepler has said that HBO's edge on Netflix is the power of its brand, which is synonymous with quality, and its ability to care for and cultivate every project it invests in. Netflix, by contrast, seems to release dozens of projects at once and pay special attention to only a few guaranteed successes.

Tough luck ... Plepler's new boss John Stankey, the head of AT&T's WarnerMedia, now says HBO must become more like Netflix.

The two men appeared together at a recent town hall meeting at HBO's New York offices. Stankey's remarks, obtained by NYT's Ed Lee and John Koblin, tell you everything you need to know:

�� "I want more hours of engagement. Why are more hours of engagement important? Because you get more data and information about a customer that then allows you to do things like monetize through alternate models of advertising as well as subscriptions, which I think is very important to play in tomorrow's world."

�� "'We need hours a day. It's not hours a week, and it's not hours a month. We need hours a day. You are competing with devices that sit in people's hands that capture their attention every 15 minutes.'"

�� "We've got to make money at the end of the day, right?" [Plepler: "We do that"]. "Yes, you do. Just not enough."

What Plepler says now:

�� "I've said, 'More is not better, only better is better,' because that was the hand we had ... I've switched that now ... to: 'More isn't better, only better is better �� but we need a lot more to be even better.'"

Do not underestimate how hard this will be. One Hollywood executive emails: "Quality does not necessarily increase with quantity." If there are 7 great shows out of 10 on HBO today, he said, it doesn't mean there will be 14 great shows if you make 20.

Moreover ... the more shows you have to produce and market, the less time you have to dedicate to each one ... to wit ...

Sign up for PACIFIC: The new CNNMoney newsletter about the center of change and innovation

---

Cautionary Tales: What's eating Netflix creators

Netflix spends billions on content and marketing, but only the most high-profile shows get big ad budgets, while others seem to disappear into a void.

The Information's Beejoli Shah goes inside Netflix's marketing machine:

�� "When Netflix debuted 'Stranger Things' in 2016, it was so optimistic ... that it poured $50 million into promoting the show, much of it on Facebook. Yet when it came to the reboot last year of classic sitcom 'One Day at a Time,' the marketing team didn't even create a Facebook page until the show's second season."

�� "Netflix plans to boost its marketing spending more than 50% to $2 billion this year. But most of the money is going to promote shows seen as most likely to become hits ... And that is frustrating many television producers who complain their shows are getting ignored amid a glut of shows on the service."

�� "'The most common complaint I hear from fellow Netflix showrunners is that they would make a great show, and no one would know that it was on,' said a creator whose show is currently being produced by Netflix."

---

Netflix in Bollywood

"Netflix Wants The Whole World To Binge Its First Indian TV Series" by BuzzFeed's Pranav Dixit: "'Sacred Games,' Netflix's newest original show and the company's first original series produced in India, debuted in 190 countries [and] has been dubbed into four international languages, including English ... 'We want to make Sacred Games a great, global success like Narcos,' Netflix CEO Reed Hastings told reporters during his first visit to India."

Bonus: If Disney lands Fox, and Fox lands Sky, it will give Disney access to 700 million new viewers in India.

---

Rules of the Game: What Amazon is watching

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is eyeing a rule change that would make companies treat production costs for television the same way they do for movies, potentially opening up a new avenue for profits.

The Details, via WSJ's Michael Rapoport:

�� "If the change is ultimately enacted by the full FASB, TV producers could record profits more quickly than they do now."

�� "In a market where TV producers are in an arms race, spending billions of dollars on original content, any additional lift to their profits could be important."

Sign up for PACIFIC: The new CNNMoney newsletter about the center of change and innovation

---

Sun Valley: Moonves-Redstone on tour

The Les Moonves vs. Shari Redstone saga will be on tour in Sun Valley this week, which could make for an awkward encounter given that Moonves' CBS and Redstone's National Amusements are suing one another:

�� Redstone has been pushing for a CBS-Viacom merger, which Moonves opposes. His lawsuit aims to dilute Redstone's voting shares so she can't force the merger.

�� Redstone's lawsuit accused Moonves and the CBS board of "extraordinary, unjustified and unlawful actions."

�� Resisting Redstone would make CBS available for other potential suitors, including tech giants like Amazon.

Other potentially awkward encounters:

�� Bob Iger and Brian Roberts, obviously. As we've noted before, the two execs have a deep animus toward one another that goes far beyond business rivalries.

---

Off The Dribble: LeBron goes Hollywood

While we were on vacation, LeBron James signed a $154 million four-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, hastening his off-court transition to Hollywood star/producer:

�� SpringHill Entertainment, run by James and Maverick Carter and housed on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, already has "House Party" and "Space Jam" reboots in the works, as well as a slate of TV projects and documentaries.

�� Adam Mendelsohn, James' media advisor, tells me the two men started SpringHill "to create great television and films and tell the stories they believed in," noting that the company was running strong even before James made the move to L.A.

�� Uninterrupted, LeBron's digital media venture based in Hollywood at Sunset & Gower, is ramping up production of its web series and podcasts with athletes.

Sound Smart: LeBron James is to Hollywood what Kevin Durant is to Silicon Valley: An NBA star capitalizing on the hometown industry.

What Bill Plaschke and the rest of the Southland cares about: "If LeBron James is indeed going to be The King of L.A., sometime in his potentially four seasons here, he must lead the Lakers to at least one championship."

Bonus: Scoop: LeBron is slated to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair's 2018 New Establishment issue coming out this fall, per a source familiar.

---

What Next: Something else that happened while we were on vacation ... Facebook is in talks with Ronaldo to acquire a 13-episode reality series about the Real Madrid star that would air on Facebook Watch. What's in it for Ronaldo: $10 million.

Get this in your inbox every morning: Sign up for PACIFIC: The new CNNMoney newsletter about the center of change and innovation

Paramount Group (PGRE) Upgraded at ValuEngine

Paramount Group (NYSE:PGRE) was upgraded by research analysts at ValuEngine from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Paramount Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Paramount Group from $15.00 to $14.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 14th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Paramount Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Paramount Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.38.

Get Paramount Group alerts:

PGRE traded up $0.14 on Thursday, hitting $15.61. 983,700 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,274,093. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.68. Paramount Group has a twelve month low of $13.70 and a twelve month high of $16.79.

Paramount Group (NYSE:PGRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. The firm had revenue of $184.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.88 million. Paramount Group had a net margin of 12.07% and a return on equity of 1.74%. Paramount Group’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. equities analysts anticipate that Paramount Group will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paramount Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $190,000. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB acquired a new position in shares of Paramount Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. IBM Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Paramount Group by 40.1% during the first quarter. IBM Retirement Fund now owns 15,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 4,572 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Paramount Group by 24.2% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 20,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 4,037 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Paramount Group by 16.8% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 23,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 3,381 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.16% of the company’s stock.

Paramount Group Company Profile

Headquartered in New York City, Paramount Group, Inc is a fully-integrated real estate investment trust that owns, operates, manages, acquires and redevelops high-quality, Class A office properties located in select central business district submarkets of New York City, Washington, DC and San Francisco.

To view ValuEngine’s full report, visit ValuEngine’s official website.

FundYourselfNow (FYN) Achieves Market Capitalization of $550,138.00

FundYourselfNow (CURRENCY:FYN) traded 0.5% lower against the US dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 13:00 PM Eastern on July 6th. FundYourselfNow has a market cap of $550,138.00 and approximately $0.00 worth of FundYourselfNow was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. During the last week, FundYourselfNow has traded up 38.7% against the US dollar. One FundYourselfNow token can now be purchased for approximately $0.59 or 0.00009089 BTC on exchanges including COSS, HitBTC and IDEX.

Here’s how similar cryptocurrencies have performed during the last 24 hours:

Get FundYourselfNow alerts: XRP (XRP) traded 2.6% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.47 or 0.00007176 BTC. Stellar (XLM) traded up 0.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.21 or 0.00003159 BTC. IOTA (MIOTA) traded down 9.6% against the dollar and now trades at $1.05 or 0.00016020 BTC. Tether (USDT) traded 0.1% lower against the dollar and now trades at $1.01 or 0.00015324 BTC. NEO (NEO) traded 10.1% lower against the dollar and now trades at $37.48 or 0.00571400 BTC. TRON (TRX) traded down 4.7% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0366 or 0.00000558 BTC. Binance Coin (BNB) traded down 3.4% against the dollar and now trades at $13.38 or 0.00203990 BTC. VeChain (VET) traded down 6.4% against the dollar and now trades at $2.45 or 0.00037420 BTC. Ontology (ONT) traded 7.8% lower against the dollar and now trades at $4.63 or 0.00070548 BTC. Zilliqa (ZIL) traded 2.3% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0840 or 0.00001281 BTC.

FundYourselfNow Token Profile

FundYourselfNow was first traded on July 31st, 2017. FundYourselfNow’s total supply is 12,500,000 tokens and its circulating supply is 927,377 tokens. The Reddit community for FundYourselfNow is /r/fundyourselfnow and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here. The official website for FundYourselfNow is www.fundyourselfnow.com. FundYourselfNow’s official Twitter account is @fundyourselfnow and its Facebook page is accessible here.

FundYourselfNow Token Trading

FundYourselfNow can be traded on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: HitBTC, IDEX and COSS. It is usually not presently possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as FundYourselfNow directly using US dollars. Investors seeking to acquire FundYourselfNow should first purchase Bitcoin or Ethereum using an exchange that deals in US dollars such as Gemini, Changelly or Coinbase. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Bitcoin or Ethereum to purchase FundYourselfNow using one of the exchanges listed above.

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Don't Panic, Gas Prices Aren't Really Spiking

&l;p&g;This holiday week gasoline prices in the US are averaging $2.86 per gallon. According to AAA these will be the highest &l;a href=&q;https://gasprices.aaa.com/news/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;gasoline&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;prices over the July 4&l;sup&g;th&l;/sup&g;holiday that Americans have seen in four years. However, prices are, on average, 11 cents lower than they were over the Memorial Day holiday this year. Many are blaming the overall higher prices this spring and summer on President Trump&a;rsquo;s decision to reinstate sanctions on Iran&a;rsquo;s oil industry . Calls are &l;a href=&q;https://www.nasdaq.com/article/trump-should-release-spr-oil-reserves-on-monday-cm985911&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;mounting&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;for the President to &l;a href=&q;https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/energy/2018/06/29/can-president-trump-counter-soaring-gas-prices-tapping-reserves/744528002/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;release&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;crude oil from the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in order to tamp down on oil prices. Some even fear political ramifications for the Republican Party in the November midterm elections if prices rise further.

&l;img class=&q;dam-image ap size-large wp-image-c4271019a3a944d1b380bcac73322e34&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/c4271019a3a944d1b380bcac73322e34/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;441&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; In this Feb. 25, 2014 file photo, the lights of Williston, N.D. shine in the background of oil pumps. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine, File)

Most of the gasoline price increase can be traced to rising crude oil prices, caused by a combination of factors. These include production outages in Canada, Libya and Venezuela. The new Iran policy is also a factor. Oil traders took the State Department seriously when it recently announced that, unlike during the Obama administration, it would not grant any waivers to countries importing Iranian oil.&a;nbsp;Iran currently exports a little under 2.5 million barrels per day. Removing that much oil from the market over the next several months would certainly push oil prices higher. The Trump administration has been trying to encourage other oil producers &a;ndash; specifically Saudi Arabia &a;ndash; to increase production in order to prevent a price spike.

At last month&a;rsquo;s OPEC and non-OPEC producers meeting, Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed that producing countries with spare capacity would increase production, but remained non-committal on the exact amounts. Prices did fall after this announcement but rose when the State Department announced that it expects all customers of Iranian oil to cut their imports to zero by November.

This past Saturday, the President tweeted that he had spoken with King Salman of Saudi Arabia and that Saudi Arabia had agreed to increase oil production by 2 million barrels to help alleviate high oil prices.

&l;/p&g;&l;blockquote class=&q;twitter-tweet&q;&g;

&l;p dir=&q;ltr&q; lang=&q;en&q;&g;Just spoke to King Salman of Saudi Arabia and explained to him that, because of the turmoil &a;amp; disfunction in Iran and Venezuela, I am asking that Saudi Arabia increase oil production, maybe up to 2,000,000 barrels, to make up the difference...Prices to high! He has agreed!&l;/p&g;

&a;mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) &l;a href=&q;https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1013023608040513537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;June 30, 2018&l;/a&g;&l;/blockquote&g;

This tweet caused quite a stir because an increase of this scale would bring Saudi oil production up to an astounding 12 million barrels per day. The CEO of the Saudi national oil company, Aramco, says that Aramco is capable of producing 12 million barrels per day, but the company has never produced at that rate and many question its ability to produce that much oil or to sustain that level of production for any meaningful amount of time.

As it turned out, the President&a;rsquo;s tweet was not entirely accurate. Both the Saudi &l;a href=&q;https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&a;amp;newsid=1780387#1780387&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;government&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;and the White House &l;a href=&q;https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-presidents-conversation-king-saudi-arabia/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;clarified&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;the content of the phone call. Apparently, King Salman reaffirmed that Saudi Arabia does have spare capacity of 2 million barrels per day but plans to increase oil production in coordination with its producing nation partners and as necessary to maintain market stability.

&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-949027864&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/949027864/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;637&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Saudi Energy Minister Khaled al-Faleh (L) and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak (C) attend a meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC members to assess compliance with production cuts and to discuss potential long-term cooperation, in Jeddah on April 20, 2018. (AMER HILABI/AFP/Getty Images)

The international crude oil benchmark (Brent) fell about 2% after hearing this news, but the U.S. crude oil benchmark (WTI) remained steady at around $75 per barrel. In fact, oil markets barely seemed to react when a State Department official &l;a href=&q;https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/1709186-us-eases-off-of-iran-oil-ultimatum#.WzpfKa43Vqc.twitter&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;announced&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;that in fact the U.S. would consider leniency towards countries that were reducing imports of Iranian oil on a case-by-case basis.

&l;p class=&q;tweet_line&q;&g;Even with oil prices in the mid-$70 per barrel range, there is no indication that drastic measures like a major SPR release are warranted at this point. Gasoline prices are still within reasonable levels and, according to &l;a href=&q;https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-02/oil-refiners-in-u-s-at-full-throttle-with-margins-under-threat&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Bloomberg&l;/a&g;, gasoline stockpiles in the United States increased by 2.9% in June. Refineries are running at record rates and there is enough gasoline in storage to cover 25.4 days of demand. Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, echoed this sentiment in a recent &l;a href=&q;https://www.spreaker.com/user/ryanraysr/energy-week-episode-31-mixdown?utm_medium=widget&a;amp;utm_source=user%3A9550540&a;amp;utm_term=episode_title&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;interview&l;/a&g;.

Many of the outages that are keeping prices high right now are temporary and will be resolved. Summer demand for crude oil is always higher than the rest of the year, and as the autumn and winter months approach oil prices are likely to fall. Maybe just in time for the election.

Traders Buy QUALCOMM (QCOM) on Weakness

Investors purchased shares of QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) on weakness during trading hours on Tuesday. $54.55 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $25.62 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $28.93 million into the stock. Of all equities tracked, QUALCOMM had the 11th highest net in-flow for the day. QUALCOMM traded down ($0.85) for the day and closed at $55.33

Several research firms have recently weighed in on QCOM. Wells Fargo & Co began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Friday, March 16th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, March 19th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday, March 15th. They set a “hold” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. BidaskClub upgraded shares of QUALCOMM from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 26th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday, May 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.91.

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The company has a market cap of $83.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 3.60.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 25th. The wireless technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.10. QUALCOMM had a negative net margin of 20.16% and a positive return on equity of 16.48%. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. equities analysts predict that QUALCOMM, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 30th were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.48%. This is a positive change from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 29th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.61%.

QUALCOMM declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 9th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the wireless technology company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

In other QUALCOMM news, President Cristiano R. Amon sold 16,082 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $852,989.28. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 37,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,974,838.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Donald J. Rosenberg sold 11,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $618,626.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,255 shares of company stock worth $1,612,477 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA lifted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 13,353 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $855,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 47,706 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $3,055,000 after buying an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust Co increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 8.3% during the first quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 12,083 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 24.1% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 5,868 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. 76.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About QUALCOMM

QUALCOMM Incorporated designs, develops, manufactures, and markets digital communication products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT); Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL); and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The QCT segment develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on code division multiple access (CDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access, and other technologies for use in wireless voice and data communications, networking, application processing, multimedia, and global positioning system products.