Realty Income Earnings Show Why It��s the Right Kind of Retail Stock

Leading net-lease retail REIT Realty Income (NYSE:O) recently reported its second-quarter earnings, and as usual, there weren't any major surprises. Earnings growth, occupancy, and most other key metrics were predictably strong -- a breath of fresh air, given the turbulence in some parts of the retail industry.

With that in mind, here are some of the important takeaways from Realty Income's second quarter that show why it's one of the best retail stocks for an uncertain retail environment.

Non-discretionary tenants like drug stores have helped Realty Income grow despite e-commerce headwinds in the sector. Image source: Getty Images.

Solid growth in a challenging retail environment

It's no secret that the brick-and-mortar retail environment, as a whole, is rather challenging right now. There have been dozens of retail bankruptcies in recent years, and many once-great retail brands like Sears and JCPenney are struggling to survive.

However, not all retailers are in the same boat. The businesses that occupy the properties in Realty Income's portfolio aren't too vulnerable to e-commerce headwinds, nor are they particularly prone to recessions. Think of non-discretionary businesses such as drug stores, discount-oriented retail like dollar stores, and experiential retail like movie theaters.

As a result, by looking at Realty Income's numbers, you'd never know brick-and-mortar retail is struggling. Adjusted FFO�-- the REIT version of earnings -- increased by more than 5% per share over the past year, and revenue is up by nearly 10%.

Occupancy has gotten better, not worse

In addition to the solid growth, Realty Income's occupancy rate shows that it isn't losing tenants to the "retail apocalypse" that many investors are panicked about. Occupancy has actually increased slightly. In fact, 98.7% of Realty Income's properties are now occupied, up from 98.6% at the end of the first quarter and 98.5% a year ago.

Turnover has been minimal, as well. Fifty-seven leases expired during the second quarter, and Realty Income released more than 80% of them. Of the 47 properties Realty Income released during the second quarter, 46 of them were to the same tenants who had been occupying them.

Realty Income is buying more properties than expected

Another encouraging sign is that Realty Income seems to be finding plenty of attractive growth opportunities. The company spent $347 million on acquisitions during the quarter and is dramatically increasing its full-year acquisition guidance to $1.75 billion from a range of $1.0 billion-$1.5 billion previously. Many other REITs are taking a breather on expansion, so this is certainly a positive indicator for the net-lease retail real estate industry.

As a result of the stronger-than-anticipated performance during the second quarter, as well as the attractive acquisition environment, Realty Income has increased its full-year AFFO guidance by $0.015 at the midpoint.

As usual, Realty Income does predictably well

I follow Realty Income's stock, and coming from my perspective, the company's earnings reports are generally quite boring and predictable -- and in the best possible way. No matter what is going on in the economy, retail industry, or the rest of the stock market, Realty Income typically delivers solid and steady growth quarter after quarter and has a knack for doing just a little bit better than the market is expecting every time.

Because of its predictably growing income, Realty Income has been able to increase its monthly dividend 97 times since its 1994 NYSE listing. And because of its highly effective growth strategy, the company has delivered 15.8% annualized returns throughout its listed history. This means that a $10,000 investment made at the time of the NYSE listing would have ballooned to more than $338,000 today. While Realty Income's results may be boring and uneventful over short time periods, over the long term, steady growth can be quite exciting.

Buy ICICI Bank; target of Rs 360: Centrum Research

Centrum Research's research report on ICICI Bank

We retain BUY on ICICI Bank with SOTP based TP unchanged at Rs360. Q1��19 results were broadly in-line with our estimates on operational / asset quality front. Core operating profit remains healthy (+13% YoY); new NPA addition moderates (slippages at 3.1% of loans) and loan growth (+11% YoY) gathers pace. Drill-down list (<1% of loans) coupled with BB and below-rated portfolio (5% of loans) remain the new watch-list. We see provisions remain elevated in the near term (FY19E); however draw comfort in pace of resolution and ~69% coverage ratio (combined) against list-1 and list-2 IBC accounts. Capital position remains healthy; subsidiaries remain profitable. Valuations continue to remain undemanding.

Outlook

We have tweaked our FY19E/FY20E estimates on other income / credit cost front. Our SOTP-based TP, however remains unchanged at Rs360 (valued core business at 2x FY20E ABV and other business accordingly).

For all recommendations report,�click here

Disclaimer:�The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Read More First Published on Aug 3, 2018 03:45 pm

Teladoc's Second Quarter Shows Signs of Scalability

Our U.S. healthcare system costs $3 trillion per year, and we're getting eager to save costs in any way we can.�

One increasingly popular way to do that is through telemedicine. Hospital emergency rooms are becoming unnecessarily overcrowded, and routine checkups for many common conditions can often now be diagnosed remotely.

Teladoc�(NYSE:TDOC) is rising as a leader in this field. Now facilitating more than 530,000 appointments each quarter, Teladoc has become America's largest provider of virtual medical consultations. The company makes money�by charging insurers and employers recurring subscription access fees but also by charging patients per-visit fees (which typically run from $40 to $80).

Teladoc's recent acquisition of Best Doctors is helping it get a jump on competitors in this fast-moving space.�Let's take a closer look at its second-quarter results.

Image source: Getty Images

Teladoc results: The raw numbers

Metric

Q2 2018

Q2 2017

Change (YOY)

Revenue	$94.6 million	$44.6 million	112%
Operating income	($18.1 million)	($14.5 million)	N/A
Earnings per share	($0.40)	($0.28)	N/A

Data source: Teladoc. Earnings per share is on a fully diluted basis.

What happened this quarter?

Teladoc demonstrated strong top-line growth as more members joined the platform and others came aboard from their Best Doctors acquisition.

The 112% revenue growth largely came from the acquisition of Best Doctors. Organically, Teladoc grew 39% in the second quarter. Driving the top-line growth was revenue from Subscription Access Fees (subscriptions paid by insurers), which increased 113% to $79.8 million. This comprised 84% of total revenue. Teladoc also expanded overseas. Revenue from International Subscription Access Fees was $14.7 million, compared to zero last year.�� Revenue from Visits (per-visit fees, paid either by insurers or directly by patients) was $14.8 million, an increase of 107%. The total number of visits was 533,000. This was up 72% over the second quarter of 2017. Total U.S. paid membership�was 22.5 million, up 48% over last year. After taking out the membership gained through the Best Doctors acquisition, membership grew 23% organically. Utilization, which is defined as quarterly visits divided by total paid U.S. membership, was 8% (533,000 visits/22.5 million members, then multiplied by 4 to annualize). This is significantly higher than the 6.1% utilization rate last year. Adjusted�EBITDA�(which removes stock-based compensation and acquisition-related costs) was $2.7 million, compared to ($5.1) million in the second quarter of last year.� What management had to say

Teladoc CEO Jason Gorevic took a chance to describe Teladoc's bigger-picture opportunity:

Teladoc saw another strong quarter financially and operationally as we met or exceeded our expectations across the board. I'm particularly pleased that we made significant�early�progress on the integration of Advance Medical, which empowers consumers to access high-quality healthcare seamlessly around the world.

As we enter the second half of the year, I am excited by the breadth of our pipeline, our prospects' level of enthusiasm around our full clinical suite, and the changes coming�out of Washington, DC, which all serve as further evidence that virtual care is an invaluable component of the healthcare delivery system of the future.� � � ��

Looking forward

It's great to see Teladoc bringing in new members via the Best Doctors acquisition, which contributes more top-line subscription revenue. But it's also important to see its utilization rate improve, which is a sign that members actually understand and are using the platform.�

One other thing worth noting is that this was Teladoc's first quarter of reporting positive adjusted EBITDA. This validates that its business model can be profitable and is capable of scaling further as subscription and fee revenues outpace costs.

Teladoc is in hypergrowth mode, and management's acquisitions are positioning it to capitalize on what could be a very large market opportunity. Investors should continue to watch for growth in membership, utilization, and profitability.

United Continental Beats on Profits -- Where's It Headed From Here?

In this segment from�MarketFoolery, host Mac Greer and Motley Fool senior analyst Matt Argersinger check in with the world's biggest airline operator, United Continental�(NYSE:UAL), which reported on a surprisingly good second quarter this week.

All the metrics under its control were going in the right direction, and the one key number it can't steer -- fuel costs -- didn't drag on the bottom line to the degree many watchers had feared. The duo consider what this quarter's results say about the industry, and Matt picks his favorite airline stock to buy now.

A full transcript follows the video.

This video was recorded on July 18, 2018.

Mac Greer: United Airlines reporting better than expected second quarter profits. Matt, you look at the numbers here, pretty impressive. Average fares, rising. Traffic, rising. Fuel cost, rising also, we'll talk about that. United went on to increase its profit forecast for 2018. Shares up around 6% at the time of our taping.

Matt Argersinger: Nice day for United Continental. If you look at the key unit metric, which is revenue per available seat mile, up 3%. Following the industry, that's a really strong number for this particular quarter. They also guided for 4-6% growth in that number for the next quarter. I've seen similar announcements from Delta saying the second half of the year is going to be stronger and stronger. It seems like this higher capacity is actually meeting higher demand, which is great for the airlines.

You mentioned fuel prices. Fuel prices are up 40% roughly year over year. Delta came out last week and slashed their earnings estimate for the year because of the higher fuel prices. I think a lot of investors thought United would be saying the same thing today, but they're not. Fuel prices are a factor, but they've been able to surpass a lot of that by controlling costs in other parts of business. And, as we were talking about before the show, all the other ways that airlines can pull revenue these days. Some of it feels like nickel-and-diming to us travelers, but I'll tell you what, they've become ingrained. We're so used to paying for luggage, paying more for slight upgrades in seats. We're talking two inches of additional legroom, and we're going to shell out $90 or something like that.

All these things that the airlines didn't have before have increased their pricing power. It's an industry that I think has certainly changed for the better.

Greer: Let's talk about the stocks. When we look at the five-year chart, first of all, we have the S&P, over the last five years, up around 84%. Looking at some of the big airlines, Southwest up a little more than 300%. That's the leader in the pack. This is over the last five years. JetBlue up 190%. Delta 175%. United 115%. American 110%. So, a double over the last five years. When you look at those stocks, do you have one going forward that you think is best in breed?

Argersinger: I've been talking about it a little bit on our radio show, Delta to me is the one. If you're an investor, I think you can buy a basket and do well. Even though the results over the last five years have been great, I think the next five years could be just as great, if not better.

But, Delta is my pick. Having studied it, I see what I think is the strongest hub and route network. They have the lowest unionized workforce. Only roughly 17% of their labor force is unionized because they only allow their pilots to union, which is unique in the industry. They have the only investment-grade balance sheet, and that's a product of generating lots of cash, paying down debt, paying down their pension liability. They bought back 15% of their shares over the last five years. They have a new $5 billion buyback plan in place, they pay a 2.5% dividend yield.

All of that is good for about 10X earnings. So, I'm not saying you could buy Delta or airlines today and expect it to double or triple in the next five years. But another double in a reasonable amount of time that beats the market? I think you have it.

Top China Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:SOL,TISA,NTES,BIDU,FMCN,

Asian stock futures indicate a mixed start to the week after U.S. shares fell on Friday with China and the U.S. exchanging trade threats. Oil fell, while Asian currencies were slightly weaker against the dollar as Treasury yields retreated toward 2.90 percent.

Futures were modestly lower in Japan and South Korea and flat in Australia. Holidays in Hong Kong and China may keep trading relatively muted in Asia on Monday. Oil will be in focus after falling for a fourth consecutive week as Saudi Arabia and Russia prepared for a clash with other OPEC members and allies over whether to raise production. The pound may come under pressure as the Brexit withdrawal bill is debated in parliament.

#lazy-img-328628076:before{padding-top:56.25%;}

Trade has been thrust back into the limelight, with investors likely to fret about the intensifying confrontation between the U.S. and China. China swiftly responded to President Donald Trump slapping tariffs on $50 billion on imports, putting an additional 25 percent levy on $34 billion of U.S. agricultural and auto exports starting July 6.

Top China Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Renesola Ltd.(SOL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

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

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

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

Top China Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Top Image Systems Ltd.(TISA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Top Image Systems (TISA)

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

Top China Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Netease.com Inc.(NTES)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Many Chinese growth stocks have started bouncing back, but the same can't be said about�NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES). The Chinese online gaming pioneer hit another 52-week low earlier this month, and it's trading nearly 30% below the all-time highs it hit late last year.�

• [By Leo Sun]

  Shares of NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) recently tumbled after the Chinese tech company posted mixed first-quarter numbers. Its revenue rose 4% annually to 14.2 billion yuan ($2.3 billion), which beat estimates by $120 million. Unfortunately, its non-GAAP net income plunged 69% to 1.34 billion yuan ($213 million), or $1.61 per diluted ADS (American depositary share) -- which missed estimates by 36 cents.

• [By Max Byerly]

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

• [By Harsh Chauhan]

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

Top China Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Baidu Inc.(BIDU)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Danny Vena: Absolutely. iQiyi, which was a spin-off from the Chinese Google, Baidu�(NASDAQ:BIDU), they started off strictly following the Hulu model. They began as a company that used strictly advertising to generate their revenue, get as many subscribers in the door as they could, but these people were not paying anything. And it was fairly successful. But about 2015 or so, Baidu recognized just how successful Netflix was becoming, and as it has been the case with so many Chinese companies, they saw a model that they liked, and they copied it. So, they generated some new exclusive content, they stuck it behind a paywall, they encouraged users to sign up and pay, in their case, about $3 a month, and they've gone from there.

• [By Billy Duberstein]

  There are three clear leaders riding this wave, all of which have ties to the "big three" of China, or the "BAT":�Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), and Tencent (NASDAQOTH:TCEHY). For investors interested in riding the Chinese streaming video trend, the following are definitely the stocks to own.

• [By Leo Sun]

  Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), and Tencent (NASDAQOTH:TCEHY) are considered fierce rivals in China's tech market. Baidu owns the country's top search engine, Alibaba's owns its biggest e-commerce marketplace, while Tencent dominates the social media and video gaming markets.

• [By Steve Symington]

  Shares of Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) fell 9.5% on Friday after the Chinese internet search leader announced that its chief operating officer, Qi Lu, is stepping down from his post.

Top China Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Focus Media Holding Limited(FMCN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

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

• [By Stephan Byrd]

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

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:CNR,XIN,BDL,RDC,SORL,

The extreme volatility and whispered promises of huge returns on penny stocks can be tempting, but very few of them actually deserve a serious investor's attention. Building your investment portfolio around proven winners with solid business models is a much better idea.

So we asked a few of your fellow investors here at The Motley Fool what they might recommend buying instead of falling for the hottest penny stocks today.�Read on to see the specifics of why our panelists would prefer�Visa�(NYSE:V),�Cirrus Logic�(NASDAQ:CRUS), and�Skechers�(NYSE:SKX) over pretty much every penny stock on the market today.

Image source: Getty Images.

Growth and value

Tim Green (Skechers): When shares of footwear company Skechers plunged in April after its guidance for the second quarter came in below expectations, I added to my stake. Not only is Skechers a growth stock with ample opportunities in international markets, but it's also a value stock, trading at a pessimistic valuation.

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: China Metro-Rural Holdings Limited(CNR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Shares of Canadian National Railway (TSE:CNR) (NYSE:CNI) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$109.36.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  State of Tennessee Treasury Department lessened its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 842,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 13,507 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department owned about 0.11% of Canadian National Railway worth $61,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta as represented by Alberta Investment Management Corp cut its position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 21.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,956,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 522,300 shares during the period. Canadian National Railway accounts for about 1.7% of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta as represented by Alberta Investment Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta as represented by Alberta Investment Management Corp owned 0.27% of Canadian National Railway worth $184,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Xinyuan Real Estate Co Ltd(XIN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. (NYSE:XIN) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 30th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 11th will be given a dividend of 0.05 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Mixin (XIN) is a proof-of-stake (PoS) token that uses the SHA256 hashing algorithm. It launched on October 2nd, 2017. Mixin’s total supply is 1,000,000 tokens and its circulating supply is 438,115 tokens. Mixin’s official message board is mixin.one/logs. Mixin’s official Twitter account is @XIN_Foundation and its Facebook page is accessible here. The official website for Mixin is mixin.one.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Mixin (CURRENCY:XIN) traded up 6.2% against the U.S. dollar during the 1-day period ending at 20:00 PM E.T. on July 17th. One Mixin token can currently be purchased for approximately $550.98 or 0.07481400 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges. Mixin has a total market cap of $241.93 million and approximately $90,201.00 worth of Mixin was traded on exchanges in the last day. Over the last week, Mixin has traded up 19.1% against the U.S. dollar.

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Flanigan's Enterprises Inc.(BDL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Blink Charging Co. (NASDAQ: BLNK) shares jumped 26.5 percent to $6.9042. Blink Charging reported Q1 net income of $2.2 million, versus a year-ago net loss of $3.1 million. Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIO) shares climbed 17.4 percent to $3.11. Eleven Biotherapeutics posted a Q1 loss of $0.11 per share. Flanigan's Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: BDL) shares jumped 17 percent to $27.97 following Q2 results. Flanigan's Enterprises posted Q2 earnings of $0.75 per share on sales of $29.456 million. Borqs Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRQS) rose 15.8 percent to $8.05 after reporting Q1 results. Abaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABAX) jumped 15.3 percent to $82.75. Zoetis Inc. (NYSE: ZTS) announced plans to acquire Abaxis for $83 per share in cash. 21Vianet Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: VNET) gained 15.1 percent to $6.33. Gemphire Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: GEMP) rose 13.8 percent to $6.27. Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) gained 12.8 percent to $5.98. H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage on Enphase Energy with a Buy rating. PetIQ Inc (NASDAQ: PETQ) shares surged 12.1 percent to $21.68 after reporting a first-quarter sales beat. NF Energy Saving Corporation (NASDAQ: NFEC) climbed 11.6 percent to $2.399. Allied Healthcare Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: AHPI) surged 11.4 percent to $3.0643. Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BOOT) gained 11.1 percent to $24.40 after the company reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter and issued strong first-quarter earnings guidance. Ascena Retail Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASNA) rose 10.9 percent to $3.16. Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) gained 10.1 percent to $11.71 after reporting Q1 results. GEE Group, Inc. (NYSE: JOB) climbed 7.9 percent to $2.61 following Q2 results. The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. (NASDAQ: STKS) gained 7.6 percent to $2.41 after reporting Q1 results. Biolinerx Ltd/S ADR (NASDAQ: BLRX) rose 7.3 percent to $0.8798 after the company was granted a patent approval. The clinical-st
• [By Shane Hupp]

  Bitdeal (CURRENCY:BDL) traded 12.6% lower against the dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 15:00 PM ET on July 10th. Bitdeal has a market cap of $592,736.00 and $1,700.00 worth of Bitdeal was traded on exchanges in the last day. One Bitdeal coin can now be bought for $0.0034 or 0.00000053 BTC on popular exchanges including CoinExchange and Cryptopia. During the last seven days, Bitdeal has traded 11.9% lower against the dollar.

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Rowan Companies Inc.(RDC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers MDC Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: MDCA) fell 23.4 percent to $5.25 in pre-market trading after a first-quarter earnings miss. Hudson Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: HDSN) shares fell 15.1 percent to $3.48 in pre-market trading after the company reported downbeat Q1 earnings. Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) fell 14 percent to $13.15 in pre-market trading after the company posted downbeat Q2 earnings and lowered FY18 organic growth guidance. Myomo, Inc. (NYSE: MYO) fell 13.2 percent to $3.10 in pre-market trading after reporting downbeat quarterly results. Rowan Companies plc (NYSE: RDC) shares fell 10.7 percent to $14.13 in pre-market trading after climbing 8.50 percent on Wednesday. BT Group plc (NYSE: BT) fell 9 percent to $14.80 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q4 results and announced plans to cut 13,000 jobs over the next three years. Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) fell 8.3 percent to $19.90 in pre-market trading after the company disclosed that IMblaze370 Phase 3 pivotal trial of atezolizumab and cobimetinib in patients with heavily pretreated locally advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer did not meet primary endpoint. Infinera Corporation (NASDAQ: INFN) fell 8.2 percent to $10.80 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Synaptics, Incorporated (NASDAQ: SYNA) shares fell 7.4 percent to $43.00 in pre-market trading. Synaptics reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates. Randgold Resources Limited (NASDAQ: GOLD) shares fell 7.4 percent to $76.23 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 earnings. Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: IART) shares fell 7 percent to $59.36 in pre-market trading. Integra LifeSciences priced its 5.25 million share public offering of common stock at $58.50 per share. Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) shares fell 6.9 percent to $12.75 in pre-m
• [By Max Byerly]

  Shares of Rowan Companies PLC (NYSE:RDC) rose 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $16.36 and last traded at $16.09. Approximately 144,835 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 2,492,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.22.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Rowan Companies PLC (NYSE:RDC) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 656,438 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 41,386 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.52% of Rowan Companies worth $7,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: SORL Auto Parts Inc.(SORL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Shares of SORL Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ: SORL) got a boost, shooting up 13 percent to $5.90 after reporting upbeat Q1 results.

  Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: HOLI) shares were also up, gaining 24 percent to $27.3947 following Q3 results.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  SORL Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ: SORL) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.19 per share on revenue of $86.96 million.

  Aldeyra Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALDX) is projected to report quarterly loss at $0.39 per share.

• [By Max Byerly]

  These are some of the news articles that may have impacted Accern Sentiment Analysis’s analysis:

  Get Innovative Industrial Properties alerts: Return on Equity (ROE) under Consideration Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE:IIPR), Neonode Inc … (stocksnewspoint.com) Morning Miraculous Stocks: Taseko Mines Limited (NYSE:TGB), WMIH Corp. (NASDAQ:WMIH), Innovative Industrial … (journalfinance.net) Dazzling Stocks: Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE:IIPR), SORL Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ:SORL), ReWalk … (thestreetpoint.com) Head-To-Head Contrast: Kennedy-Wilson (KW) vs. Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR) (americanbankingnews.com) Innovative Industrial (IIPR) versus Colliers International Group (CIGI) Financial Contrast (americanbankingnews.com)

  A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Investment Research raised Innovative Industrial Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 16th. ValuEngine raised Innovative Industrial Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd.

Alteryx Inc (AYX) Holdings Lifted by Rathbone Brothers plc

Rathbone Brothers plc boosted its holdings in Alteryx Inc (NYSE:AYX) by 61.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,550 shares during the period. Rathbone Brothers plc’s holdings in Alteryx were worth $954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AYX. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Alteryx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,538,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Alteryx by 92.0% in the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,329,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,596,000 after buying an additional 636,948 shares during the period. Tensile Capital Management LLC increased its position in Alteryx by 103.7% in the 1st quarter. Tensile Capital Management LLC now owns 490,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,757,000 after buying an additional 249,892 shares during the period. Spark Investment Management LLC increased its position in Alteryx by 631.6% in the 1st quarter. Spark Investment Management LLC now owns 192,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,568,000 after buying an additional 166,100 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Alteryx by 76.8% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 332,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,412,000 after buying an additional 144,598 shares during the period. 36.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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AYX opened at $42.57 on Wednesday. Alteryx Inc has a 1 year low of $18.64 and a 1 year high of $43.18.

Alteryx (NYSE:AYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $42.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.86 million. Alteryx had a negative return on equity of 8.69% and a negative net margin of 11.67%. Alteryx’s quarterly revenue was up 50.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) earnings per share. analysts predict that Alteryx Inc will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Several research analysts have commented on AYX shares. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Alteryx in a research report on Tuesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. ValuEngine raised Alteryx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. KeyCorp raised Alteryx from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Sunday, May 20th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Alteryx from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Alteryx in a research report on Friday, June 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.11.

In related news, major shareholder Qualified Master Fund L. Abdiel purchased 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $38.60 per share, with a total value of $7,720,000.00. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CRO Robert Scott Jones sold 6,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total value of $205,490.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 620,000 shares of company stock worth $21,349,000 and have sold 252,613 shares worth $9,161,124. Insiders own 39.01% of the company’s stock.

About Alteryx

Alteryx, Inc operates a self-service data analytics software platform that enables organizations to enhance business outcomes and the productivity of their business analysts. Its software platform includes Alteryx Designer for data preparation, blending, and analytics that could be deployable in the cloud and on premise; Alteryx Server, a secure and scalable server-based product for scheduling, sharing, and running analytic processes and applications in a Web-based environment; Alteryx Connect, a collaborative data exploration platform for discovering information assets and sharing recommendations across the enterprise; Alteryx Promote, an analytics model management product for data scientists and analytics teams to build, manage, monitor, and deploy predictive models to production; and Alteryx Analytics Gallery, a cloud-based collaboration offering that allows users to share workflows in a centralized repository.

See Also: Are analyst ratings accurate?

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

Should Harley-Davidson Be Worried About Trump's Threats?

It's bad enough that�Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) is being targeted for retribution by the European Union because of the tariffs imposed on imported steel and aluminum by President Trump, but its decision to move some production overseas to get around the steep duties has angered the president, who has promised to punish the bike maker for its actions.

The question is, should investors worry that Trump will actually turn his rhetoric into policy? Probably not.

Image source: Getty Images.

A bully pulpit

Harley-Davidson made a smart business decision to export production of motorcycles destined for the European market to one or more of its production facilities in Brazil, India, or Australia to evade the tariffs. It also previously announced the opening of a new assembly plant in Thailand to skirt Asian tariffs and reduce transportation costs.

It is facing plummeting sales in the U.S., and increasing foreign motorcycle sales are one of the linchpins of the motorcycle giant's turnaround plan. Preventing its bikes from being slapped with higher ticket prices means that strategy is still viable.

Unfortunately, Trump seemed to take the announcement as a personal affront. White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said Trump "felt betrayed" because the tax reform measure he signed helped companies like Harley-Davidson.

Trump let loose a barrage of tweets that said, "A Harley-Davidson should never be built in another country-never!" and vowed, "they will be taxed like never before!" He also noted his administration was working with foreign motorcycle manufacturers to lure new competitors to the U.S. to take on Harley.

The bike maker hasn't responded to the president chiding it, but it appears Trump is mistaken about what Harley-Davidson is intending, because he continued on Twitter, "Companies are now coming back to America. Harley must know that they won't be able to sell back into U.S. without paying a big tax!"

High cost of protectionism

The production of motorcycles Harley is moving overseas is not intended for the U.S. market. The motorcycles it is selling here will still be built here, but Trump may have agreed with the bike maker's unions, who alleged that the new assembly plant in Thailand was shipping American jobs overseas.

Harley has disputed that as well, and noted that U.S. jobs are actually being preserved because the components that go into building the motorcycle are still being made here; the bikes are just being assembled overseas.

By assembling motorcycles in Thailand, it avoids having to pay the 60% tariff the country imposes on U.S. imports. China imposes a 30% tariff; Malaysia, 23%; and Taiwan, 20%. By assembling the bikes in Asia, the company�avoids those costs�and, equally important, lowers both the cost and time involved in shipping them from the U.S. Harley noted that shipping times to China, for example, will decrease from 45 to 60 days down to just five to seven days.

The motorcycle company says that by assembling its bikes for the European market overseas, it will be able to avoid the $2,200 price increase its motorcycles would face from the new tariffs.

Recently, rival Polaris Industries (NYSE:PII) said it was also considering moving some production of its Indian Motorcycle brand out of the U.S. to avoid the tariffs.

Making a bad situation worse

By escalating the rhetoric against Harley-Davidson, Trump risks actually worsening the bike maker's situation as some bike buyers may forego purchasing a Harley-Davidson in favor of another manufacturer. Harley's U.S. sales in the first quarter plunged 12% from the year-ago period, accelerating a decline that has been going on for four years.

Also, if Trump successfully lures other motorcycle manufacturers to compete against Harley, that could make its competitive position even worse, as it's been losing market share for some time now, but that likely won't come to fruition.

Foreign manufacturers aren't exactly enthusiastic about the escalating trade war. BMW, which makes both cars and motorcycles, is against them, and Hyundai has said tariffs on autos would be devastating. It's easy to imagine other foreign motorcycle makers feeling the same way, and if Trump ended up helping Japanese bike makers like Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki compete against Harley, it wouldn't look good.

Ultimately, it seems the effects of the tirade against Harley-Davidson will be negligible. First, Harleys for the U.S. market are still being made here, so they won't face any higher taxes, as Trump suggested, and competitors aren't exactly enamored with the trade war, either. While a few bike buyers might be persuaded to not buy a Harley because of the mistaken belief that U.S. jobs were being shipped overseas, Harley-Davidson is still the quintessential American bike company, and for those who consider that a key selling point, it hasn't changed.

Larry Page invests in another flying car startup

Google cofounder Larry Page is so serious about flying cars that he just poured a bunch of money into a second startup focused on the technology.

Page invested an undisclosed sum in Opener, which unveiled a single seat, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft called BlackFly this week.

Page also holds a stake in Kitty Hawk, the Silicon Valley company behind the single-seat flying machine Flyer. CNN took it for a spin in an exclusive fight earlier this summer.

Opener claims the BlackFly can fly as far as 25 miles at a speed of 62 mph. Like the Flyer, the pilot uses a joystick to control the vehicle.

BlackFly is a single-seat electical vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

The startup has been operating in stealth mode since its founding in 2009. CEO Marcus Leng flew a proof-of-concept vehicle in his yard in Ontario, Canada, seven years ago. Since then, company pilots have logged more than 1,400 flights covering 12,000 miles. The company relocated to Palo Alto, California, in 2014.

Leng said the startup will introduce BlackFly "in a controlled and responsible manner" but just how remains unclear. It also remains to be seen what the machine will cost.

"We will offer competitive pricing in an endeavor to democratize three-dimensional personal transportation," Leng said in a statement.

To ensure safety, BlackFly will require pilots to take the FAA private pilot written exam, and receive training from the company.

Like their peers at Kitty Hawk, the BlackFly's developers view flying cars as a solution to traffic congestion.

"Our vehicles are intended to liberate the public from the restrictions of two-dimensional road travel by opening up a new world of unfeathered three-dimensional flight," Opener's website states. "Compact and simple, our vehicles are pioneering a new era of stress-free travel."

Best Growth Stocks To Own For 2019

tags:MED,ISRG,JWN,TBI,

Introduction

I have been covering the stocks of B Communications (NASDAQ:BCOM) and Internet Gold (NASDAQ:IGLD) over the past two years. During that time, I published several articles regarding these companies. I am a great fan of the two, and have owned BCOM for years. They are two little companies, that due to their small size and low trading volume stay unnoticed by most investors.

Before you read this article, I highly recommend that you read the previous articles that I wrote about BCOM and IGLD. This article will analyze two major events that I believe will unlock value to investors. At the same time, I won't be able to repeat all the information I provided in the other article.

There are two main reasons for investment in BCOM. The first one is the difference between the NAV and the market cap, which will grow rapidly as BCOM keeps paying its debt. The second one is the growth of Bezeq - BCOM's asset, that will benefit massively from two main catalysts, which will be covered here.

Best Growth Stocks To Own For 2019: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

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

• [By 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.

Best Growth Stocks To Own For 2019: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Sparks]

  As earnings season begins to kick into gear, next week features stocks of all shapes and sizes. But two stocks I'll be watching are growth stocks Netflix�(NASDAQ:NFLX) and Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG). Both companies are benefiting from double-digit growth in revenue and earnings per share. When these companies report their second-quarter results next week, investors will be watching to see if they can keep executing well on the growth opportunities before them.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

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

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Stock No. 3: Let's go back to the well. So, April last year what was the "I?" Quick quiz at home? That's right. It was Intuitive Surgical�(NASDAQ:ISRG). I own the company, and in front of my gathered fellow Heels last week, I put Intuitive Surgical on this list, as well, so I present it for you again today. It reminds us to continue to add to our winners. It was a winner a year ago. It had a three for one stock split, something that I don't personally care about. I don't think we should spend a lot of time talking about stock splits. I realize some people think they're exciting or are confused by them.

• [By Chris Lange]

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

• [By 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?

Best Growth Stocks To Own For 2019: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By JJ Kinahan]

  This week brings a string of retail results with reports from Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) on Thursday morning and Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) after market close the same day. Next week, big-box retailer Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) and home improvement retailer Lowe’s Companie, 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 JJ Kinahan]

  Retail earnings take center stage the remainder of the week, but aside from that it’s a little hard right now to determine what sort of catalyst is out there that could give the market back some of the “giddy-up” it had last week. Unless the retail earnings really surpass expectations in a big way, it might be difficult to figure out what the next instigator to the upside might be. Thursday looks like a big day, with Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and J C Penney Company Inc. (NYSE: JCP) scheduled to report before the open and Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) after the close. One question moving into these reports is whether the recent strong retail sales data might have helped the retail sector beyond M.

• [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 Chris Lange]

  Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) released its fiscal first-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Thursday. The retailer said that it had $0.51 in earnings per share (EPS) on $3.56 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $0.44 in EPS on revenue of $3.46 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.37 and $3.35 billion in revenue.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

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

• [By Benzinga News Desk]

  Dan Loeb is looking to play in the emerging financial technology space. The hedge fund manager behind Third Point is looking to raise $400 million for Far Point Acquisition Corp., a so-called “blank check” acquisition company, he revealed in a regulatory filing: Link

  ECONOMIC DATA The flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for May will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. New home sales report for April is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. The Treasury is set to auction 5-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari is set to speak at 2:15 p.m. ET. ANALYST RATINGS Deutsche Bank upgrades Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) to Buy from Hold; Raises Price Target to $55 from $52 Bernstein upgrades Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) to Outperform Longbow Research downgrades Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK) to Neutral Stifel downgrades Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (NASDAQ: RRGB) to Hold, Lowers Price Target to $55

  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.

Best Growth Stocks To Own 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 Logan Wallace]

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

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  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]

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

• [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.

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.

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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

Founders Capital Management Invests $192,000 in iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasry Bnd Fd (SHY) Stock

Founders Capital Management bought a new position in iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasry Bnd Fd (BMV:SHY) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $192,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Polaris Greystone Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasry Bnd Fd during the 2nd quarter valued at $459,000. UBP Investment Advisors SA lifted its position in shares of iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasry Bnd Fd by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. UBP Investment Advisors SA now owns 18,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684 shares during the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasry Bnd Fd during the 2nd quarter valued at $456,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasry Bnd Fd during the 2nd quarter valued at $160,000. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasry Bnd Fd during the 2nd quarter valued at $209,000.

Get iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasry Bnd Fd alerts:

Shares of BMV:SHY traded down $0.05 on Monday, reaching $83.23. 5 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 96,794. iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasry Bnd Fd has a fifty-two week low of $1,477.38 and a fifty-two week high of $1,667.15.

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.1299 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 2nd. This is an increase from iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasry Bnd Fd’s previous monthly dividend of $0.13.

Best High Tech Stocks To Own For 2019

tags:AXP,PSCT,XLNX,AHL,GAPFF,RTN, What happened�

Shares of auction house Sotheby's (NYSE:BID) jumped 13.6% in February, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after a fourth-quarter earnings report wowed investors. And given the company's momentum, 2017 could be a great year for the company.�

So what�

Revenue fell 8% in the fourth quarter, to $308.7 million, but Sotheby's swung from a loss a year ago to a profit of $65.5 million, or $1.20 per share. Management's focus on lowering costs is helping offset a decline in the art market, and it could give the stock a lot of leverage in the future if the art market picks up.�

Image source: Getty Images.

There are a couple of high-profile auctions coming up in the next few weeks, and we'll see if that will lead to some top-line growth going forward at Sotheby's. If the top line improves, we can expect strong improvement on the bottom line given the lower cost base.�

Best High Tech Stocks To Own For 2019: American Express Company(AXP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matthew Cochrane]

  For years, the major credit card companies -- American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS), Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA), and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) -- have supported their own digital wallets with varying degrees of success. The problem is, none of them meaningfully appealed to the average consumer. After all, in my own physical wallet, I have one American Express card, one Mastercard, and one Visa. I have no desire to opt into three individual digital wallets to conveniently use the three cards when making online purchases, especially when PayPal's platform allows me to enter all of my credit cards, across banks and brands, into its own platform.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  WTI crude oil prices added 1.2% to hit $69.31 per barrel, while Brent crude added 1.4% to hit $74.50. The uptick came after Saudi Arabia hinted that it would like to see oil prices hit the top end of the $80 to $100 range. The key oil supplier has been working with other OPEC producers and Russia to support crude prices to reduce excessive global production. The nations' agreement is expected to extend well into 2019 and potentially beyond that time frame. This morning, as it topped earnings expectations, Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) announced it will purchase the consumer health business of German pharma giant Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS: MKGAF) for nearly $4.2 billion. The deal will expand on P&G's vitamins and health supplement business. This is the first deal made by P&G since activist investor Nelson Peltz won a board seat last year. Four Stocks to Watch Today: PM, AXP, AMZN, COST Shares of Phillip Morris International Inc.�(NYSE: PM) dropped 3.6% in pre-market hours after the company fell short of revenue expectations. Despite reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $1.00, a figure that topped estimates by $0.12, the firm fell short of the $7.02 billion in revenue forecasted by analysts. American Express Co.�(NYSE: AXP) popped nearly 4% after the company easily topped Wall Street earnings after the bell Wednesday. The firm's strategy to spend $2.35 billion on customer rewards promotions wooed a large amount of accounts and upgrades during the first three months of 2018. AXP reported EPS of $1.86 on top of $9.72 billion in revenue. Wall Street forecasted $1.71 per share on $9.20 billion. Amazon.com Inc.�(Nasdaq: AMZN) is in focus after two stunning revelations emerged from the company on Wednesday. CEO Jeff Bezos announced that the company has more subscribers to its Prime service than Costco Corp.�(Nasdaq: COST), while the average Amazon employee earned under $30,000 in 2017. Look for additional earnings reports from Skechers USA In
• [By Jordan Wathen]

  American Express (NYSE:AXP) has always been the card company for spenders, but its first-quarter results suggest it can be a card company for borrowers, too.

• [By JJ Kinahan]

  Although many stocks haven’t rallied in response to positive earnings numbers yet, one exception was American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) last week. Shares had a nice response to earnings, jumping more than 7 percent. One reason could be AXP’s decision to raise guidance. General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) also got a boost Friday when the company left guidance unchanged instead of lowering it, as some analysts had feared. Honeywell international Inc. (NYSE: HON) raised guidance and found some traction in the market Friday, too. As we noted earlier this month, many investors appear more interested in the future than in what companies accomplished last quarter, so positive guidance from any company might receive a hearty reception.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  American Express (NYSE:AXP) Q1 2018 Earnings Conference CallApril 18, 2018 5:00 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

Best High Tech Stocks To Own For 2019: PowerShares S&P SmallCap Information Technology Portfolio(PSCT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Overall, our Game-Changing Stocks portfolio has had a good run this year. Our closed positions for 2017 have, on average, returned 28.5% -- a much stronger result than what we've seen from the Russell 2000 index or from the PowerShares S&P Small Cap Information Technology Portfolio ETF (Nasdaq: PSCT), which returned 13% and 11% year-to-date, respectively. It's not a fair comparison, of course, because our closed positions all have different time frames, but it does stress the strong promise of game-changing stocks.�

Best High Tech Stocks To Own For 2019: Xilinx, Inc.(XLNX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Cramer was bearish on Xilinx (XLNX) , Celgene (CELG) , Exelixis (EXEL) , Moneygram (MGI) , Monster Beverage (MNST) , SunCoke Energy Partners (SXCP) and Mattel (MAT) .

• [By Ezra Schwarzbaum]

  Several other optics stocks stand to gain. In a Monday note, Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Vivek Arya also highlighlited the semiconductor space as one that could benefit from the news. Other stocks to watch include:

  Lumentum Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: LITE) Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) Coherent, Inc. (NASDAQ: COHR) II-VI, Inc. (NASDAQ: IIVI) Inphi Corporation (NYSE: IPHI) Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ: SWKS) Integrated Device Technology Inc (NASDAQ: IDTI) Qorvo Inc (NASDAQ: QRVO) Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ: AVGO)

  Related Links:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI cut its stake in shares of Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX) by 21.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,800 shares of the programmable devices maker’s stock after selling 4,750 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Xilinx were worth $1,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ:XLNX) by 246.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 140,239 shares of the programmable devices maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 99,786 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in Xilinx were worth $10,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Harsh Chauhan]

  Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX) is well aware of this massive opportunity, which is why AI-focused development was a common theme at its recent analyst day. The company has already taken its first steps in the AI space with the help of its field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), but it's now looking to raise its game by going all in on product development.

Best High Tech Stocks To Own For 2019: Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited(AHL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Aspen Insurance (AHL)

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  The Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV) and Aspen Insurance (NYSE:AHL) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.

Best High Tech Stocks To Own For 2019: Aimia Inc. (GAPFF)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By SEEKINGALPHA.COM]

  Aimia (OTCPK:GAPFF) (TSX: AIM, AIM.PR.A, AIM.PR.B, AIM.PR.C)

  As some background, we are intimately familiar with Aeroplan and Air Canada (OTCQX:ACDVF) not just as investors but as extraordinarily heavy consumers. As both an Air Canada top tier elite and Aeroplan top tier member I generate well in excess of 1.5 million Aeroplan miles annually, half from flying Air Canada and its partners and the other half from spending. As consumers we were concerned with Air Canada's decision (though we expect more details to come out that will alleviate these concerns) but as investors we understand that the fundamental business model of mileage programs are incredibly attractive and that Aimia presents an incredibly rare and lucrative investment opportunity for the investor discerning enough to dig into the company.

Best High Tech Stocks To Own For 2019: Raytheon Company(RTN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Raytheon (RTN)

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

• [By Lou Whiteman]

  Two contractors, Raytheon (NYSE:RTN) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), are involved in roughly 97% of the Pentagon's munition and missile procurement funding. The report could present both a risk to those companies should the government seek to diversify or a boon if future appropriations prioritize funding for new-program development.

• [By ]

  In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on AT&T (T) and Raytheon (RTN) .

  Cramer was bearish on New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) and Weatherford International (WFT) .

• [By ]

  The chief beneficiary in the markets appears to be Raytheon (RTN) , which makes the Tomahawk cruise missiles employed in the U.S. response.

  But in spite of the muted reaction to this and other U.S. missile attacks in the Middle East over the years, the markets may be missing, or at least mispricing, the risk of a counter attack using cyber munitions.

• [By ]

  And it’s not like there aren’t plenty of catalysts in the wind that could derail the whole thing. For one, there are plenty of big earnings reports this morning that could mess things up, especially in some currently out-of-favor sectors like staples (MO, HSY) and defense (RTN).

Stocks in Japan, China slip as Asian markets take cautious start to new quarter

Asian stocks were mixed in early trading Monday as traders kicked off a new month and quarter.

The Nikkei NIK, -0.53% � lagged early, dropping 0.3% as automakers such as Honda 7267, -0.43% � and Nissan 7201, -1.02% � dropped some 1% on President Donald Trump��s weekend auto-tariff talk. South Korea��s Hyundai 005380, -1.59% � was down similarly, and the Kospi index SEU, -1.16% � was essentially flat along with Australia��s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, +0.12% �. New Zealand��s NZX 50 NZ50GR, +0.15% �, among the few indexes that didn��t log decent gains Friday, was up 0.3% at midday.

Japanese stocks maintained their early weakness as U.S.-related worries persisted, with a slump in sectors ranging from food to rubber, airlines and retail. But the weakest big-cap was Hitachi Chemical 4217, -3.18% �, down 3.5% to 21-month lows after disclosing inappropriate data entries related to lead-acid batteries. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan��s Tankan business-sentiment report just missed in regards to big manufacturers but was solidly in positive territory. However, it predicted the dollar will weaken to 楼107.26, 3.5 yen below where the greenback currently trades. A stronger yen is a negative for many Japanese firms�� earnings.

In China, both the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, -1.13% � and the Shenzhen Composite 399106, -0.50% �slid, as Chinese tariffs on $34 billion in U.S. goods are scheduled to take effect at the end of the week. Hong Kong��s Hang Seng Index was closed for a holiday.

After logging its biggest gain in nearly 2陆 years on Friday, Malaysia��s stock benchmark FBMKLCI, -0.44% � was slightly lower to start Monday��s trading. Shares in Taiwan Y9999, -0.10% � and Singapore STI, -0.66% � also rose in early trading.

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Comment Related Topics Asia Markets China Japan Australia Singapore Foreign Investment Quote References NIK -119.01 -0.53% 7267 -14.00 -0.43% 7201 -11.00 -1.02% 005380 -2,000.00 -1.59% SEU -26.92 -1.16% XJO +7.60 +0.12% NZ50GR +13.63 +0.15% 4217 -71.00 -3.18% SHCOMP -32.28 -1.13% 399106 -8.06 -0.50% FBMKLCI -7.49 -0.44% Y9999 -11.14 -0.10% STI -21.56 -0.66% Show all references MarketWatch Partner Center Most Popular I earn $13 per hour babysitting two boys, but their mother wants to hire another girl and pay me 50% my hourly rate ��Godfather�� of chart analysis says stock market now dealing with ��uglier action�� My new wife wanted to live with me for free, even though she had $800,000 in the bank��so I asked her to move out Have a Citi credit card? You may be getting some money back Bitcoin��s meteoric fall means calls for rallies to $25,000 by year-end are in dire jeopardy Community Guidelines �� FAQs BACK TO TOP MarketWatch Site Index Topics Help Feedback Newsroom Roster Media Archive Premium Products Mobile Company Company Info Code of Conduct Corrections Advertising Media Kit Advertise Locally Reprints & Licensing Your Ad Choices   Dow Jones Network WSJ.com Barron's Online BigCharts Virtual Stock Exchange Financial News London WSJ.com Small Business realtor.com Mansion Global

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3 Top Healthcare Stocks to Buy Right Now

Investing in the healthcare sector can sometimes feel like riding a roller coaster, but there's little denying that the sector tends to outperform over time. Over the last 11 years, the healthcare sector has outperformed the broad-based S&P 500 in eight of those years. Furthermore, it was among the three top-performing sectors in five out of those 11 years.��

Of course, being a healthcare investor means two things: (1) You'll need to be patient, because drug and device development takes time, and (2) you have to be picky and really do your homework, because there are a lot of companies that won't succeed.�

With this in mind, we asked three of our Motley Fool investors to name one healthcare stock they believe could be worth buying right now. Cancer drug developer Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL), generic-drug manufacturer Lannett (NYSE:LCI), and medical device megacap Medtronic (NYSE:MDT)�all made the cut.�

Image source: Getty Images.

Growth and value wrapped up neatly in one biotech stock�

Sean Williams (Exelixis): I've probably pounded the table so much on cancer-drug developer Exelixis recently that I've put a hole in it. But trust me, it's a well-deserved hole.

Following an incredible two-year stretch that witnessed Exelixis' share price rise roughly tenfold, shares of the specialty drugmaker are off by more than a third since the beginning of the year. While simple profit-taking could be one reason its stock has taken a hit, I suspect two more recent events have taken their toll. Those events are the Food and Drug Administration approval of Bristol-Myers Squibb's (NYSE:BMY) combination therapy of Opdivo and Yervoy for first-line renal cell carcinoma (RCC)� -- Exelixis' lead drug, Cabometyx, is approved in first- and second-line RCC -- and the failure of the combination of Roche's (NASDAQOTH:RHHBY) Tecentriq and Exelixis' Cotellic in the phase 3 IMblaze-370 trial for patients with advanced colorectal cancer.�

While neither of these events is a positive for Exelixis, there are other factors to consider here.

To begin with, Cabometyx has been an absolute star for Exelixis' product portfolio. Cabometyx hit the trifecta in second-line RCC of a statistically significant improvement in overall response rate, progression-free survival and overall survival relative to the placebo. It also beat Bristol-Myers Squibb's combination therapy to approval in first-line RCC following stellar data in the Cabosun study, and looks to be on track for a possible label expansion into hepatocellular carcinoma following a successful phase 3 trial known as Celestial. With strong pricing power, Exelixis has the real chance to see peak sales for Cabometyx top $1 billion a year by perhaps as soon as 2021. Not to mention, combination studies involving Cabometyx and rival therapy Opdivo could lead to a win-win for Bristol-Myers Squibb and Exelixis.

Image source: Getty Images.

As for Cotellic, it was never going to be a major revenue producer. Before its combination study with Roche's Tecentriq missed the mark, the duo managed to gain approval for the combination of Roche's Zelboraf and Exelixis' Cotellic to treat a type of metastatic melanoma. However, this combo therapy entered a very crowded advanced melanoma space. Even with the potential for label expansion still possible, somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 million looks to be Cotellic's peak annual sales potential.�Thus, even a failure in IMblaze-370 isn't the end of the world.

According to Wall Street's consensus for 2021, Exelixis is on pace to nearly triple the sales it generated in 2017, and produce $1.77 in full-year earnings per share. That's good enough for a multiple of around 13, assuming its share price remained static for the next three years. It's rare to find rapid growth with such a low earnings multiple in the biotech industry, but that's exactly what you get with Exelixis.

A bargain price among generic-drug makers

Chuck Saletta (Lannett): The beauty of generic drugs is that as long as people suffer from the conditions they treat, there will be a demand for those products. The downside is that they're generic because the patent protections have run out on them, making them fairly straightforward to produce. Every once in a while -- like we saw last year -- generic pricing power craters�as a result, causing prices to fall.

A decline in pricing power generally leads to a drop in revenue, pulling down the stock prices of generic-drug manufacturers. Lannett is no exception to that rule, and its shares currently trade near their five-year lows.�That dip in price is providing the potential opportunity for patient investors who are considering buying Lannett's stock right now.

Image source: Getty Images.

Thanks to that price decline, the company's shares trade at a shockingly low 5.1 times its expected forward earnings.�Granted, Lannett's earnings are expected to drop somewhat over the next five or so years, but even then, the company is still expected to survive. As long as generic-drug pricing stabilizes somewhere near current levels and the company survives, this could very well be a great entry point for Lannett's shares.

From a corporate survivability perspective, Lannett has a reasonable debt-to-equity ratio of around 1.4 and a better than 2.5 current ratio, giving it a solid-enough balance sheet to handle some turmoil. Lannett isn't a risk-free investment, as a protracted price war could spell trouble. Still, at today's stock price levels, there's good reason to believe that risk is adequately priced into its shares.

A history of success

Brian Feroldi (Medtronic):�There's no such thing as a foolproof investing strategy, but I'm a believer in the theory that putting capital behind�companies that boast a history of winning can�greatly increase the odds of success.

Take Medtronic as an example.�Medtronic is a leading seller of medical devices around the world. The company's products are used to treat a wide variety of disease states�such as�diabetes, pain, cardiovascular problems, and more.�

Image source: Getty Images.

Medtronic has a long history of developing (or acquiring) devices that become the standard-of-care treatment. That's wonderful�news for investors because�it can take a long time for a healthcare provider to become familiar with how to use a particular type of medical device. Once�they become comfortable with using it, they tend to become loyal to a brand since it would take a long time to learn how to use a competitor's device. That fact helps Medtronic charge a premium price for its products and still retain strong market share.

The beautiful thing about investing in healthcare stocks�is that the demand for high-quality products tends to remain robust in good times and in bad. After all, no one gets to choose when they get sick. This fact has helped Medtronic's financial statements to remain strong even in trying economic times and explain how this company has been able to grow its dividend for 40 years in a row.

Looking ahead, market watchers believe that Medtronic's profits will grow in excess of 7% annually over the next five years. While that's not blazing-fast growth, it is a decent number when considering that this company is already huge and is only trading for about 15 times next year's earnings estimates. Adding in a dividend yield of 2% to the mix makes this business all the more attractive.