Gujarat State Petronet Q1 PAT seen up 9.4% YoY to Rs. 166.9 cr: KR Choksey

KR Choksey has come out with its first quarter (April-June�� 18) earnings estimates for the Oil & Gas sector. The brokerage house expects Gujarat State Petronet to report net profit at Rs. 166.9 crore up 9.4% year-on-year (up 6% quarter-on-quarter).

Net Sales are expected to increase by 24.1 percent Y-o-Y (up 4.9 percent Q-o-Q) to Rs. 367.7 crore, according to KR Choksey.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are likely to rise by 10 percent Y-o-Y (up 4.9 percent Q-o-Q) to Rs. 303.5 crore.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts 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 22, 2018 07:24 pm

Blue Apron (APRN) vs. Netshoes (CAYMAN) (NETS) Financial Analysis

Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN) and Netshoes (CAYMAN) (NYSE:NETS) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and risk.

Profitability

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This table compares Blue Apron and Netshoes (CAYMAN)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blue Apron	-22.76%	-155.60%	-39.31%
Netshoes (CAYMAN)	-10.20%	-36.94%	-13.62%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Blue Apron and Netshoes (CAYMAN), as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blue Apron	0	14	4	0	2.22
Netshoes (CAYMAN)	1	2	0	0	1.67

Blue Apron presently has a consensus target price of $5.92, indicating a potential upside of 65.42%. Given Blue Apron’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Blue Apron is more favorable than Netshoes (CAYMAN).

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Blue Apron and Netshoes (CAYMAN)’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blue Apron	$881.19 million	0.78	-$210.14 million	($1.64)	-2.18
Netshoes (CAYMAN)	$180.65 million	0.33	-$51.31 million	($1.80)	-1.06

Netshoes (CAYMAN) has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Blue Apron. Blue Apron is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Netshoes (CAYMAN), indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

11.7% of Blue Apron shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.1% of Netshoes (CAYMAN) shares are owned by institutional investors. 56.2% of Blue Apron shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Blue Apron beats Netshoes (CAYMAN) on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Blue Apron

Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. operates an e-commerce marketplace that delivers original recipes and fresh ingredients for making home cooking accessible. It provides original recipes with the pre-portioned ingredients to complement tastes and lifestyles of college graduates, young couples, families, singles, and empty nesters. The company also offers Blue Apron Wine, a direct-to-consumer wine delivery service that sells wines, which can be paired with its meals; and sells beef, poultry, and lamb products under the BN Ranch brand name. Its meal products are accompanied by printed and digital content, including how-to instructions, and the stories of its suppliers and specialty ingredients. The company offers its services through order selections on Website or mobile application in the United States. Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Netshoes (CAYMAN)

Netshoes (Cayman) Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a sports and lifestyle online retailer in Brazil and internationally. It offers various products, including athletic shoes, jerseys, apparels, accessories, and sporting equipment of international, local, and private brands, as well as fashion primarily under the Netshoes and Zattini brands. The company operates through its e-commerce Websites, such as netshoes.com, shoestock.com, and zattini.com. Netshoes (Cayman) Limited was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in S茫o Paulo, Brazil.

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now

tags:CVT,RLGY,UL,KYO,TRU,PLG,

Although the stock market has been hitting record highs this year, not all companies have been enjoying the ride.

Five companies in particular have been slammed and are the worst-performing S&P 500 stocks in 2016.

We've put together a list of those companies as a warning for investors. But just because a stock is tanking, doesn't mean investors can't still profit…

In fact, Money Morning Global Credit Strategist Michael Lewitt, a former hedge fund and wealth manager, has turned targeting bad-performing stocks into a winning investment strategy. He has already banked triple-digit profits from some of the most embattled companies on the market.

And for the first time ever, we're sharing Lewitt's investment strategy with readers. But first, let's look at our list of the five worst-performing S&P 500 stocks in 2016…

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now: CVENT, INC.(CVT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  CyberVein (CURRENCY:CVT) traded 7.6% lower against the US dollar during the one day period ending at 21:00 PM E.T. on June 9th. One CyberVein token can now be purchased for about $0.0625 or 0.00000853 BTC on major exchanges including Bit-Z, HitBTC and IDEX. CyberVein has a total market cap of $56.75 million and $10.82 million worth of CyberVein was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. During the last seven days, CyberVein has traded up 5.3% against the US dollar.

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now: Realogy Holdings Corp.(RLGY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Realogy (NYSE:RLGY) had its target price trimmed by Citigroup from $37.00 to $35.00 in a report released on Friday morning. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Old Mutual Global Investors UK Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Realogy Holdings Corp (NYSE:RLGY) by 11.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,142,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 269,939 shares during the period. Old Mutual Global Investors UK Ltd.’s holdings in Realogy were worth $58,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now: Unilever PLC(UL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Aceto Corporation (NASDAQ: ACET) fell 41.9 percent to $4.30 in pre-market trading. ACETO board disclosed that it is taking proactive steps to address business and financial challenges. Canaccord Genuity downgraded Aceto from Buy to Sell. Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: HMNY) fell 25.3 percent to $2.86 in pre-market trading after reporting an ATM offering of $150 million. Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR) fell 17.4 percent to $2.86 in pre-market trading after reporting a fourth quarter sales miss. Comps were down 7.5 percent in the quarter. Sleep Number Corporation (NASDAQ: SNBR) fell 12.4 percent to $32.00 in pre-market trading following a first quarter earnings miss. Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTK) fell 10.2 percent to $11.90 in pre-market trading on news of $125 million convertible debt offering. Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MACK) shares fell 8 percent to $8.02 in pre-market trading after dropping 2.02 percent on Wednesday. Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPO) shares fell 5.6 percent to $80 in pre-market trading. Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LITE) shares fell 4.8 percent to $60.00 in pre-market trading after rising 1.78 percent on Wednesday. vTv Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VTVT) fell 4.6 percent to $2.10 in pre-market trading after surging 84.87 percent on Wednesday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE: TSM) shares fell 4.5 percent to $40.07 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q1 results. Align Technology, Inc.. (NASDAQ: ALGN) fell 3.5 percent to $267.40 in pre-market trading after rising 1.61 percent on Wednesday. Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) shares fell 3.5 percent to $12 in pre-market trading after the company issued quarterly fleet status report. GoPro, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO) fell 3.2 percent to $4.90 in pre-market trading. Unilever PLC (NYSE: UL) fell 2.6 percent to $54.73 in pre-market
• [By Asit Sharma]

  How this lid materializes is rarely explained or dwelt upon. At any rate, I do like the cliche for its flexibility as a metaphor for other disciplines -- the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, for example. Several CPG companies, including Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL), have recently found a lid on their pricing baskets: a constraint on their ability to push through price increases on goods sold through retail channels.

• [By Max Byerly]

  News coverage about Unilever (NYSE:UL) has been trending somewhat positive on Tuesday, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. The research firm scores the sentiment of press coverage by monitoring more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Unilever earned a news impact score of 0.12 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news coverage about the company an impact score of 47.0118624662366 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near future.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  LPL Financial LLC reduced its holdings in shares of UNILEVER N.V. Common Stock (NYSE:UL) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,190 shares of the company’s stock after selling 906 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in UNILEVER N.V. Common Stock were worth $5,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Isaac Pino, CPA]

  Dollar Shave Club, bought by Unilever (NYSE:UL) in 2016, offers membership as low as $5. Again, the margins may be thin on the products -- just like at Costco -- but that's made up by what hopefully becomes a longer, deeper relationship with the customer.

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now: Kyocera Corporation(KYO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Shares of Japanese materials giant Kyocera�(NYSE:KYO) gained 12.1% in April 2018, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock rode a strong fourth-quarter report to these gains despite zero coverage in the financial press.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Media coverage about Kyocera (NYSE:KYO) has trended somewhat positive on Monday, Accern Sentiment reports. Accern scores the sentiment of media coverage by monitoring more than twenty 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 nearest to one being the most favorable. Kyocera earned a coverage optimism score of 0.14 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news articles about the electronics maker an impact score of 44.4825472854626 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the near term.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Media stories about Kyocera (NYSE:KYO) have trended somewhat positive this week, according to Accern. The research firm ranks the sentiment of press coverage by analyzing more than 20 million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Kyocera earned a news sentiment score of 0.11 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave press coverage about the electronics maker an impact score of 44.7168933477613 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the next few days.

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now: TransUnion(TRU)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on TransUnion (TRU)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

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

  Get TransUnion alerts: MIB and TransUnion Work Together to Minimize Identity Fraud in Life Insurance and Annuities (finance.yahoo.com) C2 Systems Launches Cloud-based Data Aggregation and Decision Engine (prweb.com) Insider Selling: TransUnion (TRU) EVP Sells 30,000 Shares of Stock (americanbankingnews.com) TransUnion (TRU) Expected to Post Quarterly Sales of $538.48 Million (americanbankingnews.com) TransUnion to Present at William Blair Growth Stock Conference (finance.yahoo.com)

  A number of research firms have commented on TRU. Zacks Investment Research upgraded TransUnion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on TransUnion from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 23rd. SunTrust Banks upped their price target on TransUnion from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on TransUnion from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co set a $65.00 price objective on TransUnion and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.64.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) shares reached a new 52-week high and low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $69.74 and last traded at $68.94, with a volume of 28118 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.47.

• [By Max Byerly]

  TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) EVP David M. Neenan sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.42, for a total value of $2,112,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 123,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,663,702.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,432,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 144,711 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.78% of TransUnion worth $81,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers AGM Group Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: AGMH) shares climbed 30.3 percent to $11.05 after climbing 34.60 percent on Thursday. Limelight Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) jumped 21.2 percent to $4.9699 following a first-quarter earnings beat. The company also raised its fiscal 2018 estimates. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) shares climbed 18.8 percent to $7.89 after reporting strong Q1 earnings. Farmers Capital Bank Corp (NASDAQ: FFKT) gained 15.4 percent to $48.75. WesBanco Inc (NASDAQ: WSBC) announced an agreement and plan of merger with Farmers Capital Bank Corporation. TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) climbed 10.2 percent to $66.76 after the company posted upbeat Q1 results and issued a strong forecast for the second quarter. TransUnion announced plans to acquire Callcredit. Myomo, Inc. (NYSE: MYO) shares gained 9.2 percent to $3.9299 after rising 8.11 percent on Thursday. Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE: PF) gained 8.8 percent to $60.04 after a 13-D filing from Jana Partners showed an increased stake in the comapny, from 1.42 million shares at the end of last quarter to 10.83 million shares, or a 9.3-percent stake. Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE: ASB) shares climbed 8.8 percent to $26.70 following upbeat Q1 earnings. OFG Bancorp (NYSE: OFG) gained 8.5 percent to $12.80 after reporting Q1 results. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) climbed 7.5 percent to $7.73 following Q1 results. Seaspan Corporation (NYSE: SSW) shares climbed 6.7 percent to $7.50. Deutsche Bank upgraded Seaspan from Hold to Buy. General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) shares rose 4.6 percent to $14.63 after the company reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IONS) rose 4.3 percent to $47.80. Biogen and Ionis have expanded their strategic collaboration to develop drug candidates for a broad range of neurological diseases.

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now: Platinum Group Metals Ltd.(PLG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Shares of Platinum Group Metals (TSE:PTM) (NYSE:PLG) traded down 18.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as C$0.18 and last traded at C$0.18. 643,238 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 400% from the average session volume of 128,626 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.22.

Bankrate Study: 10 Best States to Retire List for 2018

Bankrate releases a list of the best states to retire every year based on a number of factors that the company considers to be essential for a happy retirement.

Source: Shutterstock

One of the most essential elements of the list is the cost of living, which means that expensive states such as New York and California are near or at the bottom of the list despite the fact that they have a lot to offer from a cultural standpoint.

Factors considered by Bankrate when determining its rankings include cost of living, crime rate, culture, health care quality, taxes, weather and well-being. Here are the 10 best states to retire for 2018:

South Dakota: The Midwestern state ranks 19 for cost of living, 21 for crime, 10 for culture, 12 for health care quality, two on taxes, 38 for weather and number one for well-being. Utah: The Western state is near the top of the list as it is number eight for taxes and number nine for well-being. Idaho: This state has a lot going for it as its number four in crime, eight in health care quality and eight in well-being. New Hampshire: The Northeastern state is number one in lowest crime, five in health care quality and seven in taxes and well-being. Florida: The sunny state is near the top of the list as it has the second best weather in the country. Montana: Here’s another underrated selection which ranks seven in culture and six in taxes. North Carolina: The Eastern state is 12 in both cost of living and weather. Wyoming: This state has the lowest taxes in the country and its nine in crime, making it one of the best states to retire. Nebraska: The health care quality in this state ranks at number 12. Mississippi: The Southern state rounds out the top 10 as it has the lowest cost of living in the U.S.

Where would you like to retire.

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Funko Inc (FNKO) Expected to Announce Quarterly Sales of $122.76 Million

Equities research analysts expect Funko Inc (NASDAQ:FNKO) to post sales of $122.76 million for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Five analysts have provided estimates for Funko’s earnings, with the lowest sales estimate coming in at $117.10 million and the highest estimate coming in at $126.89 million. The business is scheduled to issue its next earnings report on Thursday, August 9th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Funko will report full-year sales of $614.80 million for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $610.30 million to $626.61 million. For the next fiscal year, analysts forecast that the business will post sales of $694.25 million per share, with estimates ranging from $680.20 million to $712.36 million. Zacks Investment Research’s sales averages are an average based on a survey of research analysts that that provide coverage for Funko.

Get Funko alerts:

Funko (NASDAQ:FNKO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 10th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $137.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.64 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Separately, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Funko from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Funko presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $12.67.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FNKO. California Public Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Funko in the fourth quarter worth about $2,496,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Funko in the fourth quarter worth about $3,542,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Funko in the fourth quarter worth about $831,000. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Funko in the fourth quarter worth about $137,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Funko in the fourth quarter worth about $157,000. 9.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Funko opened at $13.82 on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The stock has a market capitalization of $718.40 million and a P/E ratio of 46.07. Funko has a one year low of $5.81 and a one year high of $15.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Funko Company Profile

Funko, Inc, a pop culture consumer products company, designs, sources, and distributes licensed pop culture products in the United States, China, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom. The company offers vinyl, bobble head, blind-packed miniature, and action figures; and plush products, accessories, apparels, and homewares, as well as bags, purses, and wallets.

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Funko (FNKO)

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

Top 5 Growth Stocks For 2019

tags:ISRG,MED,BWLD,JWN,TBI, President Donald Trump's tax law was sold as a transformative overhaul that would unlock an ocean of money Corporate America could spend on job-creating investments.

The Republican tax cuts enacted last December immediately sparked millions of one-time bonuses for employees as well as some wage hikes. And the windfall led to a record-shattering stock buyback bonanza that enriched shareholders.

However, the promised investment boom has not materialized -- not yet anyway. Business spending is humming along at healthy levels, but economists see little evidence that the tax cuts sparked an acceleration of investments in new equipment, factories or other projects.

"There is nothing to suggest the tax law is lifting investment in any substantive way, at least so far," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

One broad measure of business spending, real nonresidential fixed investment, rose by 6.1% during the first quarter. That's solid growth signaling a strong economy. However, it was roughly in-line with the past several quarters. It even marked a slight deceleration from the final three months of 2017.

Top 5 Growth Stocks For 2019: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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 Sean Williams]

  The VISE acronym stands for:

  Visa (NYSE:V) Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI) Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA)

  Each of these four companies brings clear-cut competitive advantages to the table that should allow it to handily outperform the broader market (and the FANG stocks).

• [By Chris Lange]

  The stock posting the largest daily percentage gain in the S&P 500 ahead of the close Wednesday was Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) which rose about 8% to $469.73. The stock��s 52-week range is $263.66 to $473.79. Volume was 3.2 million compared to the daily average volume of less than 1 million.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Right now, it's time for that yearly review of the ones he picked to honor the month, and also the briefly famous pregnant giraffe: five companies, and the first letters of their tickers spelled out A-P-R-I-L. They were Axon Enterprise�(NASDAQ:AAXN), Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacific�(NYSE:PAC), ResMed�(NYSE:RMD), Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG), and Live Nation�(NYSE:LYV).

Top 5 Growth Stocks For 2019: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares were also up, gaining 22 percent to $121.06 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance.

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

  MediBloc (CURRENCY:MED) traded 0.2% lower against the U.S. dollar during the twenty-four hour period ending at 16:00 PM Eastern on June 7th. MediBloc has a total market cap of $37.92 million and $586,074.00 worth of MediBloc was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. Over the last week, MediBloc has traded down 36% against the U.S. dollar. One MediBloc token can now be purchased for $0.0128 or 0.00000166 BTC on major exchanges including Coinrail, Bibox and Gate.io.

• [By Max Byerly]

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

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

Top 5 Growth Stocks For 2019: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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:

• [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.

Top 5 Growth Stocks For 2019: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN)Q1 2018 Earnings Conference CallMay 17, 2017, 4:45 p.m. ET

  Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

  Operator

• [By ]

  Cramer and the AAP team say today's weakness is the opportunity they have been patiently waiting for. Their target? Nordstrom (JWN) . Find out what they're telling their investment club members and get in on the conversation with a free trial subscription to Action Alerts PLUS.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  One bit of good news for Walmart is that its Sam’s Club warehouse stores scored an 80 to tie for third behind Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) at 83 and Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) at 81.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Look for Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) to reveal its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Thursday as well. The consensus analyst estimates are $1.25 in EPS and revenue of $4.62 billion. Shares of Nordstrom closed at $53.56 on Friday, above the consensus price target of $49.94. The 52-week range is $37.79 to $54.00.

• [By JJ Kinahan]

  This week brings a string of retail results with reports from Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) on Wednesday morning and Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) after market close on Thursday. Next week, big-box retailer Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) and home improvement retailer Lowe’s Inc. (NYSE: LOW) both report before market open on Wednesday, May 23. For a look at what else is going on across markets, check out today’s market update if you have time.

• [By ]

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

Top 5 Growth Stocks For 2019: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

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

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

• [By 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 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 Stephan Byrd]

  Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) by 21.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 137,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,951 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Trueblue were worth $3,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [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.

The 5 Best Restaurant Stocks of 2018 (So Far)

This year hasn't been great for the broader restaurant industry. Leading companies, including Starbucks�and McDonald's, have been struggling with negative customer traffic trends as more diners opt to stay closer to home, or to have their food delivered.

A few restaurant chains have managed to buck that downtrend, though, and their business success has contributed to market-beating stock-price gains for shareholders.

Below, we'll take a closer look at a few of these outperforming chains.

Image source: Getty Images.

Domino's Pizza: Up 48%

Investors had been worried that Domino's�(NYSE:DPZ) impressive growth streak was coming to an end, but the pizza chain put those fears to rest in its fiscal first-quarter earnings report. That announcement revealed that sales gains sped up to an 8% pace from 4% in the prior quarter thanks to market share gains in both the U.S. and international segments. Domino's franchised business model, meanwhile, continued to show off its strength as operating margin jumped to 38% of sales from 31%. The company is hoping to continue expanding sales at existing locations at a healthy clip, but its long-term growth plans�center on building out its store base to an even deeper penetration in the U.S. and in other countries around the world. ��

Fiesta Restaurant Group: Up 53%

Fiesta Restaurant Group�(NASDAQ:FRGI), home of the Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana fast-casual chains, is back in Wall Street's good graces after a tough 2017 that was marked by falling sales at existing locations and an overall net loss. Its rebound plan, which includes cost cuts, menu improvements, and increased marketing investments, appears to be working. Sales returned to modest growth in the Pollo Tropical segment and are looking better at Taco Cabana. Those gains represent just the first small step in bringing the business back toward the nearly 10% operating margin shareholders saw in 2015, up from roughly 3% today.�

Chipotle Mexican Grill: Up 55%

Former highflier Chipotle�(NYSE:CMG) has had an impressive rally this year. Investors are happy to see both sales and profits headed in the right direction after a brutal multiyear stretch of declines that was brought on by food safety issues in 2015. In the fiscal first quarter, revenue rose 2.2% as higher menu prices offset slight traffic declines. Profit margin jumped to 20% of sales from 18% a year ago. Investors betting on the stock today have to hope that new CEO Brian Niccol can extend those modestly positive results through a risky turnaround plan that includes new menu items and a revamped loyalty program.

BJ's Restaurants: Up 69%

California-based brewhouse chain BJ's Restaurants�(NASDAQ:BJRI) has had a good year so far. Comparable-store sales rose 4.2% in the first quarter, and while most of those gains came from higher menu prices, the restaurant was also aided by modestly higher customer traffic. BJ's has seen many of its newest menu initiatives, including slow-roast prime rib, hit a chord with in-store diners even as its delivery sales spike. CEO Greg Trojan and his team are hoping to press both of those advantages over the coming quarters, but investors are even more optimistic about the company's balanced approach to store launches. It plans to open six restaurants this fiscal year, down from 10 in 2017, and surpass 200 locations across just over 26 U.S. states.

Noodles & Co.: Up 131%

It might seem odd that the industry's biggest winner so far this year isn't growing. In fact, Noodles & Co. (NASDAQ:NDLS) recently posted a quarterly net loss while revenue decreased 5%. But that result still shot past investors' expectations by showing surprising progress in the casual-dining chain's recovery efforts. Noodles & Co. has lots of work ahead of it before it can snap out of its four-year stretch of annual net losses. Yet, with shares having fallen by over 80% since 2013, even modestly good news proved to be enough to spark at least a short-term rally in the stock.

Picking favorites

The above list offers investment opportunities that include powerful, established franchises in addition to struggling rebound candidates. If you prefer the first category, you might want to take a closer look at industry leader Domino's. As for those riskier turnaround options, Chipotle offers an attractive mix of brand power and modest growth expectations that could lay the foundation for solid long-term returns from here.

Zacks Investment Research Lowers Mplx (MPLX) to Hold

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

According to Zacks, “MPLX LP is a fee-based limited partnership formed to own, operate, develop and acquire crude oil, refined product and other hydrocarbon-based product pipelines and other midstream assets. The Company’s assets consist of a network of common carrier crude oil and product pipeline systems and associated storage assets in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions of the United States. MPLX LP is based in Findlay, Ohio. “

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Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Mplx from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 16th. Mizuho set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Mplx and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Mplx and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday, April 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.08.

Mplx opened at $33.98 on Thursday, according to Marketbeat.com. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $26.98 billion, a PE ratio of 32.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.28. Mplx has a 52-week low of $31.60 and a 52-week high of $39.38.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 30th. The pipeline company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.19. Mplx had a net margin of 21.88% and a return on equity of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. Mplx’s quarterly revenue was up 60.3% compared to the same quarter last year. equities research analysts expect that Mplx will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SWS Partners acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $179,000. Pitcairn Co. bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 7,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koch Industries Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Institutional investors own 31.19% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

MPLX LP owns, operates, develops, and acquires midstream energy infrastructure assets. It operates in two segments, Logistics and Storage, and Gathering and Processing segments. The company is involved in the gathering, processing, and transportation of natural gas; gathering, transportation, fractionation, storage, and marketing of natural gas liquids (NGLs); and gathering, transportation, and storage of crude oil and refined petroleum products.

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