The 2019 stock market comeback resembles a 'January effect on steroids'

Beware market bulls: The stock market's stellar rebound this year could be driven merely by a short-lived trend.

Investors started this year in a buying mood, pushing up prices of last year's laggards, which is the logic behind Wall Street's "January effect," a theory that there is a seasonal rally in stocks during the first month of the year following a December decline due to tax reasons. This year's effect was particularly overblown given the magnitude of fourth-quarter's sell-off and investors shouldn't buy this comeback, according to Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research.

Since 1950, January has averaged a gain of about 1 percent in January, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.

"Our advice for Q2: forget the last 90 days ever happened. The S&P 500's 11 percent bounce YTD was basically a January Effect on steroids with a Fed policy change adding gasoline to that fire," said Colas in a note to clients on Tuesday.

The laggards from 2018 have come back much stronger than the market. Case in point: The best performer in the S&P 500 is Coty, which has gained more than 71 percent after bleeding 67 percent last year. Same goes to Xerox, the second best performer in the index, which scored a whopping 58 percent return year to date after losing more than 32 percent in 2018.

Sometimes the "January Effect" is used to reference a jump in small cap stocks near the end of a year and into January, a theory popularized by the Stock Trader's Almanac. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF, a benchmark for small stocks, is up 13 percent this year, more than big caps.

Stocks' epic rebound has had many on Wall Street scratching their heads because it was not fundamentally driven and in fact earnings growth expectations has been cut dramatically in the first quarter and the bond market is flashing a big recession signal. Going forward, the market will have a tougher time sustaining the gains without the helping hand of the January effect, Colas and others said.

"The January Effect rally is done. A stand-still Fed is baked into asset prices. Second quarter 2019 dynamics will look nothing like the first quarter," Colas said. "For Q2 we see heightened volatility, the real possibility of lower asset prices, and a Fed that will need to shift policy once again."

First-quarter earnings are slated to come out next month. Wall Street is projecting a 3.4 percent earnings loss for the S&P 500 firms, while 73 percent of the companies have already issued negative EPS guidance, according to FactSet.

D-Street Buzz: Nifty Realty outshines led by DLF; Dish TV rallies, Khadim zooms 17%

Benchmark indices have added half a percent each in this afternoon session with Nifty50 up 62 points, trading at 11,507 and Sensex adding 183 points, trading at 38,316.

Nifty Media along with Nifty Realty are the top performing sectors led by Dish TV that spiked 6 percent followed by Zee Entertainment, INOX Leisure, Sun TV Network, PVR, TV Today and EROS International Media.

From the real estate space, the top gainers are Phoenix Mills, Unitech, Godrej Properties, DLF, Oberoi Realty, Prestige Estates and Indiabulls Real Estate.

PSU banks are also buzzing led by Bank of Baroda, Syndicate Bank, Union Bank of India, Indian Bank, Canara Bank and Bank of India.

related news Bank Nifty jumps 25% in 5 months, propels Nifty higher Suzlon falls 2% after selling two subsidiaries D-Street Buzz: Banks race ahead as ICICI Bank hits record high; Zee Ent spikes 4%

Selective IT stocks are also buzzing led by HCL Tech, Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra and Wipro.

From the FMCG space, the top gainers are ITC, GSK Consumer, Dabur India, Emami, Marico and Tata Global Beverage.

From the BSE midcap space, the top gainers are DHFL that jumped 10 percent followed by Central Bank of India, Godrej Properties, GMR Infra and Edelweiss Financial.

The top smallcap gainers are Khadim which zoomed 17 percent followed by Indiabulls Ventures, Panacea Biotech and Apex Frozen.

The top Nifty gainers include HCL Tech, Adani Ports, Indiabulls Housing, Zee Entertainment and Sun Pharma while ONGC, Hindalco Industries, Power Grid, Dr Reddy's Labs and Bajaj Auto slipped.

The most active stocks are YES Bank, DHFL, State Bank of India and Reliance Industries.

Bata India, Capri Global, JB Chemicals, Muthoot Finance, Pidilite Industries, RBL Bank, Titan Company and Spacenet Enterprises have hit 52-week high on NSE.

The breadth of the market favoured the advances with 1,128 stocks advancing and 554 declining while 404 remained unchanged. On the BSE, 1,547 stocks advanced, 829 declined and 121 remained unchanged.

Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.

  First Published on Mar 28, 2019 01:28 pm

7 Financial Stocks to Invest In Today

The Federal Reserve rate hike in 2018 created a positive environment for investors in the financial sector and it has boosted financial stocks. The higher the interest rate, the wider the rate spread and the bigger the profit margin for banks and credit card companies.

U.S. financials, especially Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup (NYSE:C), for the most part, started their rally in 2016, when rates were close to the bottom. Since then, they climbed higher.

With the easy money already made and rate hikes slowing in 2019, investors may want to look outside of the U.S. and in the European markets for financial stocks to buy. Uncertainties from the Brexit vote are artificially capping the valuations of various British banks. Even after Citi and Bank of America reinstated their dividends, various European banks pay a dividend yield that is twice their levels.

There are five U.S. banks and two European banks investors should consider buying.

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JPMorgan (JPM) Source: Shutterstock

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) is trading in between its low and high for the year at around $105. The stock is valued at 11.7 times earnings and has a dividend yield of 3%. The beauty of JPMorgan’s business model is that its operating model positions the firm to outperform in any environment. It attributes the resilient business model to its customer focus at the franchise level, strong balance sheet and general discipline and cost controls.

In 2018, thanks to record revenue of $111.5 billion and net income of $32.5 billion, JPMorgan earned $9 a share as return on average tangible common shareholders’ equity rose to 17%. The firm stands out against its peers on these metrics. Revenue and the 10-year CAGR earnings-per-share growth is higher than that of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Bank of America, Citi and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC).

Net interest income growth is a key baseline growth factor for JPMorgan’s bottom line. In 2019, it expects net interest income from CIB markets to top $58 billion. This is up from $45 billion in 2015.

Current Quarter Highlights: In its Q4 conference call, management said that the current Q1 period will benefit from the normal seasonal strength. It will also include a $500 million accounting write-off when it reports results on April 16. For 2019, as boring as it is, net interest income will go up over last year. Investors will have nothing to complain about as the bank strives to acquire new accounts while offering value, simplicity and compelling products to its customers.

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Lloyds Banking Group (LYG) Source: Via Wikimedia

Since falling to a yearly low at $2.43 at the start of the year, Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) recently traded at $3.40. Lloyds reported strong full-year results on Feb. 20. It also announced a dividend increase and a $2 billion share buyback. Markets appreciated those kinds of shareholder-friendly moves. With the stock’s uptrend in place, investors could start a position in the U.K. bank despite Brexit worries and still do well.

Full-Year Highlights: Lloyds reported revenue falling 35.5%, but will still increase its dividend by 5% of 2017 levels. Its share buyback of £1.75 billion will represent a total capital return of up to £4 billion. Net income rose a modest 2%, while its net interest margin rose to 2.93%. The bank cut its costs, with its cost-to-income ratio coming in at 49.3%.

Lloyds said its credit quality remained strong and saw no deterioration in credit risk. Its gross asset quality ratio is stable and comparable to both the 2016 and 2017 levels.

Improving Operational Efficiency: Lloyds forecast strong underlying profits and a return on tangible equity of 14% to 15% in 2019. The resilient net interest margin of 2.9% this year complements the falling operating costs in the next two years. The bank’s £8 billion costs in 2019 are a year ahead of its original target. And the cost-to-income ratio will still fall to the low 40’s at the end of 2020.

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Citigroup (C) Source: Shutterstock

Citigroup is at around $10 below its $75 52-week high. In the fourth quarter report posted on Jan. 14, the company highlighted its expense discipline while continuing its investments across the franchise. Shareholders may expect RoTCE to improve. Last year’s RoTCE came in at 10.9%, above its 10.5% target.

Fourth-Quarter Highlights: Citi reported revenue dipping by 2% to $17.1 billion. This dip was assisted by a 4% drop in operating expenses; EPS grew 26% to $1.61. The bank also reduced its average diluted shares by 8%.

The bank forecast some headwinds in the first quarter. Equities and Fixed Income Markets revenue will fall in the high single digits. Slower corporate banking activity in the period hampered results. And a government shutdown may have weakened the business, especially mergers and acquisitions.

Still, with the bank seeing expenses falling over last year’s levels and no temporary government shutdowns ahead, Citi’s business should be stable this year.

Outlook: Mexico gave Citi’s results a good lift in 2018. That momentum will continue this year. Asia is another area of strength. In the second half of this year, its branded card business will perform well due to earlier investments and promotional programs that converted average interest earnings balances.

Overall, its discipline in driving higher efficiency will bring productivity benefits and savings that will add $500 – $600 million in savings for Citi in 2019. Savings will continue into 2020. With that level of expense management, Citi stock should perform well over the next two years.

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Wells Fargo (WFC) Source: Shutterstock

Wells Fargo has a reputation problem to contend with that is hurting its stock price. Investors haven’t forgotten about the credit card scandal. Add CEO Sloan’s compensation package for the year and investors will wonder if the stock may perform well this year.

In January, the company launched a marketing campaign to clean up its image. This followed a fourth-quarter report where revenue slipped 4.9% to $20.98 billion but GAAP EPS of $1.21 beat consensus estimates.

2018 Highlights: Wells beefed up its risk management division by hiring a new Chief Risk Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, Head of Regulatory Relations and Chief Operational Risk Officer. It spent $1.8 billion in technology and bought cyber, data and risk management solutions.

Wells Fargo reported a few weak numbers in Q4. Auto loans balances fell by $1 billion sequentially. As it focuses on higher quality auto loans, this portfolio should start growing by the middle of this year. Average deposits fell $42.7 billion, hurt by lower wholesale banking deposits and customers moving cash to higher rate alternatives.

Cost Cuts: The bank cut expenses by $424 million (down 3%) from the third quarter, thanks to lower compensation levels. On a year-over-year basis, costs fell $3.5 billion as the company limited spending on advertising and promotion, travel and entertainment and outside professional services.

For 2019, the Fed’s rate hike pause will not hurt Wells Fargo’s loan growth and deposit growth. Loans grew in Q4 and have the momentum to continue doing so. That alone should give WFC stock some support at these levels.

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Banco Santander (SAN) Source: Mike Mozart via Flickr (Modified)

Banco Santander S.A. (NYSE:SAN) is range-bound because the markets are waiting on the Brexit to play out. The British government approved a Brexit delay but rejected a second referendum. With the Brexit temporary off the table, investors are cautiously accumulating SAN stock. The stock’s forward price-to-earnings rato 9.5X and the dividend yield of around 5.4% are compelling for value investors seeking income. And after the stock broke down in August 2018, $5 appears to be the resistance level for the stock.

Banco Santander’s Fourth-Quarter Results: In its Q4 report, the bank reported gross income of €12.5 billion while profits grew 34% to €2.02 billion. For the full-year 2018, revenue grew to €48.4 billion, up 9% from the previous year. Profits increased 18% Y/Y to €8.06 billion. Banco Santander benefited from customer revenue growth in Brazil, Spain, Mexico and the U.S.

Like its U.S. counterparts, Santander is growing out its digital services. Customers using these services increased by 6.6 million, adding to its 32 million users. Nearly half of its customers now actively use digital services on a regular basis.

Its loan portfolio is healthy. The NPL (non-performing loan) ratio is 3.73%. Its Openbank grew its mortgage balance by 373% after its first full year of mortgage sales.

Europe made up 52% of Santander’s profits, with the U.K. accounting for just 13%. The Americas (includes Brazil, Mexico, and the U.S.) comprised 48% of the profit total.

Strong Three-Year Performance: Santander’s 2015-2018 performance does not reflect in its share price, which fell in that time. Its customer count grew from 13.8 million to 19.9 million. EPS grew 11.2%, while RoTE rose to 11.7%, up from 10% in 2015. At this juncture, SAN stock is poised to break out above the $5. It still needs clearer, ECB-friendly policies to draw investors. The Brexit’s resolution would also help persuade buyers to accumulate the stock.

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Visa (V) Source: Kārlis Dambrāns via Flickr

Credit card transactions continue to make plenty of fee income for Visa (NYSE:V). As consumer spending, both online and offline, grows, Visa becomes more attractive to investors. Visa has three big lines of revenue: service fees, international revenue and transaction fees. Whenever markets selloff and take V stock down with it, those selling the stock forget how big Visa’s business has become. The size of its transactions processing business and domestic business is big and both keep getting bigger.

Challenges for Visa: Europe is a long-term opportunity for Visa’s international market growth. In the near-term, it needs to adjust to the regulatory changes going on there. Fortunately, Visa adjusted its business in the last 12 months as it took a better understanding of Europe’s diverse market to adjust its business accordingly. For example, card penetration is around 90% in places like Sweden but is in the low 30% range in the Southern and Eastern areas of Europe.

2019 First-Quarter Highlights: Visa’s payments volumes grew 7% in the Q1/2019 period, to $2.2 billion. Total transactions grew 11% YoY to 49.96 billion with a credit/debit mix of 34% and 66%, respectively. Revenue grew a solid 13% to 6.96 billion.

Visa stock trades at a P/E of 33.4X as its shares closed at 52-week highs. Investors may want the stock to pull back before starting a position.

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Mastercard (MA) Source: Håkan Dahlström via Flickr (Modified)

Like Visa, Mastercard (NYSE:MA) is trading at 52-week highs, and for a good reason. It has a moat in the transaction and payments business and leverages its relationship with over 30,000 banks worldwide. Its growth potential comes from advancing its real-time payment system, which would significantly increase its growth.

Mastercard provides real-time payment systems but needs to increase its presence in the current marketplace. PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) and Square (NYSE:SQ) command high valuations because investors know the real-time, electronic payment processing market is growing.

Mastercard can build on its relationship with its over 30,000 banks whose customers need ACH real-time payments and cross-border transactions. As markets upgrade those real-time payment systems in the next decade, Mastercard is positioned in the major markets to play a big role in the modernized payment ecosystem.

Now that MA stock is at yearly highs, there is no perfect time to pick an entry point. Value investors may shy away from this stock, but MA stock is valued below that of Square or PayPal stock.

As of this writing, Chris Lau did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securiti

Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallMarch 21, 2019 11:00 a.m. ET

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

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Wheaton Precious Metals year-end 2018 financial results conference call. [Operator instructions] I would like to remind everyone that this conference call is being recorded on Thursday, March 21 at 11 AM Eastern Time.

I will now turn the conference over to Mr. Patrick Drouin, senior vice president of investor relations. Please go ahead.

Patrick Drouin -- Senior Vice President of Investor Relations

Thank you, operator. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for participating in today's call. I'm joined today by Randy Smallwood, Wheaton Precious Metals president and chief executive officer; Gary Brown, senior vice president and chief financial officer; and Haytham Hodaly, senior vice president, Corporate Development. I'd like to bring to your attention that some of commentaries in today's call may contain forward-looking statements.

There can be no assurances that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. In addition to our financial results' cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements, please refer to the sections titled Description of the Business Risk Factors in Wheaton's annual information form and the risks identified under Risks and Uncertainties in Management's Discussion and Analysis, both available on SEDAR and in Wheaton's Form 40-F and Wheaton's Form 6-K, both on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The annual information form, Q4 2018 Management's Discussion and Analysis and the press release from last night set out the material assumptions and risks that could cause actual results to differ, including, among others, fluctuations in the price of commodities, the absence of control over mining operations from which Wheaton purchase its precious metals, risks related to such mining operations and the continued operations of Wheaton's counterparties, risks in estimating cash taxes payable in respect to the 2005 to 2010 taxation years and assessing the impact of the settlement with CRA for years subsequent to 2010.

It should be noted that all figures referred to on today's call are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. In addition, reference to Wheaton or Wheaton Precious Metals on this call will include Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. and/or its wholly owned subsidiaries as applicable.

Now I'd like to turn the call over to Randy Smallwood, our president and chief executive officer.

Randy Smallwood -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Patrick, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for dialing into our conference call to discuss our 2018 fourth quarter and year-end results. I am pleased to report that Wheaton Precious Metals had an incredibly successful year on so many fronts. Our high-quality portfolio of low-cost, long-life assets once again delivered solid production results.

During 2018, we produced over 370,000 ounces of gold, 24 million ounces of silver and 14,000 ounces of palladium, all in excess of the company's guidance. Furthermore, annual gold production and sales represented a record. We continued to generate strong operating margins, resulting in sector-leading cash flow of over $475 million in 2018 from revenue of close to $800 million. In addition to our strong production and cash flow, we strengthened our stream on San Dimas, making it more sustainable.

We also completed the largest acquisitions of the year in the streaming space by adding two new high-quality streams to our portfolio, Voisey's Bay and the Stillwater mines. And perhaps most notably, we closed the year by reaching a settlement on our long-standing tax dispute with the Canada Revenue Agency. Our foreign income is not taxable in Canada. So from this firm foundation that 2018 has provided, we look forward to a steady and strong organic growth profile in the coming years.

Before I get to that, I'd like to turn the call over to Gary Brown, one of our senior vice presidents and our chief financial officer, who will provide more details on our results. Gary?

Gary Brown -- Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Randy, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The company's precious metal interests produced 107,600 ounces of gold, 5.5 million ounces of silver and 5,900 ounces of palladium in the fourth quarter of 2018. Relative to the fourth quarter of the prior year, this represented an increase of 11% in gold production and a decrease of 23% in silver production, with the decrease in silver production being primarily due to the termination of the San Dimas silver stream effective May 10, 2018, and the expiry of the streams relative to the Lagunas Norte, Veladero and Pierina mines on March 31, 2018. The increase in gold production was due primarily to the new streaming agreements relative to the San Dimas and Stillwater mines, partially offset by lower production at Sudbury and the other gold interests, including Minto, which was placed into care and maintenance in October of 2018.

Sales volumes amounted to 102,800 ounces of gold, 4.4 million ounces of silver and 5,000 ounces of palladium in the fourth quarter of 2018, representing an increase of 9% for gold and a decrease of 40% for silver relative to the fourth quarter of 2017. The increase in gold sales volumes was attributable to the increased production, partially offset by relative changes to payable gold produced but not yet delivered to Wheaton. The decrease in silver sales volumes was attributable to the combination of decreased production, coupled with relative changes to payable silver produced but not yet delivered. As at December 31, 2018, approximately 77,500 payable gold ounces, 3.3 million payable silver ounces and 5,300 payable palladium ounces have been produced but not yet delivered to the company.

We estimate a normal level for payable ounces produced but not delivered to equate to approximately two to three months for gold, two months for silver and three months for palladium, with the balances at December 31 being consistent with these expectations. Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2018 amounted to $197 million, representing a 19% decrease relative to Q4 2017, primarily due to a 40% decrease in the number of silver ounces sold combined with a 12% decrease in the average realized silver price, partially offset by increased gold and palladium sales. Of this revenue, 65% was attributable to gold sales, 32% was attributable to silver sales and 3% was attributable to palladium sales. Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2018 decreased 32% to $65 million, with the decrease being primarily driven by the decrease in silver-based revenue.

However, it is important to highlight that the cash operating margins continued to be robust at 68% for the quarter, just 3% lower than Q4 2017. By far, the most significant highlight for the fourth quarter of 2018 was the settlement agreement that the company reached with the Canada Revenue Agency, or the CRA, on December 13, 2018. This agreement provides a definitive resolution of Wheaton's tax appeal in connection with the reassessment of the 2005 to 2010 taxation years. As a reminder, under the terms of the settlement, foreign income on earnings generated by Wheaton's wholly owned foreign subsidiaries will not be subject to tax in Canada.

In addition, Wheaton agreed to increase the fees charged by the parent company for the services rendered to its foreign subsidiaries by: first, including the third-party cost incurred by Wheaton directly associated with the raise in capital that was used to fund the investments made by its foreign subsidiaries in precious metal purchase agreements; and secondly, increasing the markup on costs incurred from 20% to 30%. Importantly, subject to there being no material changes in tax or changes in law or jurisprudence, the principles included in this settlement will apply to all taxation years subsequent to 2010, providing clarity on the implications of Canadian taxes to our business model moving forward. As a result of this settlement, we recorded several onetime adjustments in the statement of earnings during the fourth quarter of 2018. Specifically, we have recorded an income tax expense of $20 million, of which $16 million represented a noncash expense.

Additionally, we have reflected interest and penalties totaling $4 million and a onetime success fee relating to legal services rendered in the amount of $5 million. In total, expenses relative to the CRA settlement amounted to $29 million in Q4 2018, with net cash expenses amounting to $13 million, consistent with company guidance. Cash-based G&A expenses amounted to $20 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, representing an increase of $12 million from Q4 2017, with the increase being primarily related to increased accruals relative to the outstanding performance share units, or PSUs, during Q4 2018, coupled with the previously noted onetime success fee of $5 million. Interest costs for the fourth quarter of 2018 amounted to $13 million, resulting in an effective interest rate on outstanding debt of 3.83% as compared to $6 million of interest costs at an effective interest rate of 2.8% incurred in Q4 2017.

After reflecting the impact of the CRA settlement, net earnings amounted to $7 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to a net loss of $138 million in Q4 2017, with the prior year loss reflecting a $229 million impairment taken on the Pascua Lama silver stream. After negating the impact of the CRA settlement for Q4 2018, the impairment charge for Q4 2017 and other items that are nonrecurring in nature, adjusted net earnings in the fourth quarter of 2018 amounted to $37 million, a decrease of $46 million relative to Q4 2017, with the decrease being primarily due to the lower silver sales volumes and prices combined with increased interest costs and PSU charges. Basic adjusted earnings per share decreased to $0.08 compared to $0.19 in the prior year. Operating cash flow for the fourth quarter of 2018 amounted to $108 million or $0.24 per share compared to $165 million or $0.37 per share in the prior year, representing a 35% decrease on a per share basis.

Under the company's dividend policy, the quarterly dividend per common share is targeted to equal approximately 30% of the average cash generated by operating activities over the previous four quarters. To minimize the volatility in quarterly dividend, the company has set a minimum quarterly dividend of $0.09 per common share for the duration of 2019. On this basis, the company's board has declared a dividend of $0.09 a share payable to shareholders of record on April 5, 2019. Under the dividend reinvestment plan, the board has elected to offer shareholders the option of having their dividends reinvested in newly issued common shares of the company at a 3% discount to market.

For the year ended December 31, 2018, gold, silver and palladium production all exceeded company guidance, with gold production representing a record for the company. As anticipated, silver experienced a 14% decrease relative to 2017, with this decrease being the result of the termination of the San Dimas stream and the cessation of deliveries from Lagunas Norte, Veladero and Pierina. This decrease in silver production was partially offset by the introduction of palladium to the company's product mix and a 5% increase in gold production, with the contribution from the new streaming agreements relative to the San Dimas and Stillwater mines being partially offset by lower production at the Sudbury and the other gold interests. Revenue for 2018 amounted to $794 million, representing a 6% decrease relative to 2017.

Of this revenue, 55% was attributable to gold, 44% was attributable to silver and 1% was attributable to palladium, with gold sales volumes of 349,200 ounces representing a record for the company. Gross margin amounted to $296 million, a decrease of 12% relative to 2017, with operating margins decreasing to 37% in 2018 from 40% in 2017 due primarily to lower realized silver prices, partially offset by lower silver depletion rates. Cash-based G&A expenses in 2018 totaled $46 million, representing a $17 million increase relative to 2017, with such increase being primarily related to a $9 million increase in expenses related to PSUs, combined with the $5 million success fee relating to the successful resolution of the company's dispute with the CRA. For 2019, the company estimates that nonstock-based G&A expenses, which excludes expenses relating to the value of stock options and PSUs, will amount to $36 million to $38 million.

Interest costs for 2018 amounted to $36 million, an increase of $11 million relative to 2017, resulting in an effective interest rate on outstanding debt of 3.57%. After neutralizing for the effect of the gain on disposal of the San Dimas silver stream, which was reflected in the second quarter of 2018, the impact of the CRA settlement and for other nonrecurring charges, adjusted net earnings for 2018 amounted to $214 million, representing a 23% decrease from adjusted net earnings for 2017 due primarily to the lower silver sales volumes and prices in 2018, combined with the higher G&A and interest costs. Basic adjusted earnings per share amounted to $0.48 i

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:ATAI,FCEL,ACHN,MOBI,CNR,

Dynamic Levels

The Nifty settled Thursday with a modest loss as investors remained cautious before the Karnataka assembly elections which will be held on May  12.

The index fell 25 points, or 0.23 percent, to settle at 10,716. The day began on a positive note as the Nifty opened higher but selling pressure among

sectors such as state run banks, metals and pharma dragged the indices down in the afternoon session.

The Small Cap index fell sharply by 148 points, or 1.79 percent, from its Wednesday close. It hit a high of 8,311 and a low of 8,119 to finally settle at 8,126.

Nifty future are indicating a 66 point gap up opening against Thursday's close of 10,725 as indicated by SGX Nifty which is currently trading at 10,791.

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.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: ATA Inc.(ATAI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  ATA Inc. (NASDAQ: ATAI) traded down about 14% Monday to set a new 52-week low of $0.82, based on revalued shares that closed at $0.72 on Friday but traded up about 250% on Monday at $2.53. Volume was more than 200 times the daily average of around 42,000. You’re on your own here to figure this one out.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: FuelCell Energy Inc.(FCEL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) posted a dip of 4.7% in short interest during the short interest period. Some 9.92 million shares were short as of August 15. The stock closed at $1.15 on Friday, up about 0.9% for the day, in a 52-week range of $1.00 to $2.49. Shares traded down about 20.7% in the two-week period, and days to cover were unchanged at nine.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FCEL) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.80.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) posted a drop of 8.5% in short interest during the period. Some 15.18 million shares were short as of February 15, about 14.8% of the total float. The stock closed at $0.47 on Wednesday, up about 3.3% for the day, in a 52-week range of $0.43 to $2.11. Shares traded up about 19% in the first two weeks of this month, and days to cover decreased from 12 to eight.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on FuelCell Energy (FCEL)

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

• [By Paul Ausick]

  FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) posted an increase of 17.8% in short interest during the period. Some 6.9 million shares were short as of May 15. The stock closed at $1.88 on Thursday, down about 1.1% for the day, in a 52-week range of $0.93 to $2.49. Shares traded up about 1.4% in the short interest period, and days to cover rose from eight to 14.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACHN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN)

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

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Shares of Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $4.50.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN)

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

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: Sky-mobi Limited(MOBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Media coverage about Sky-mobi (NASDAQ:MOBI) has trended somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment. The research group ranks the sentiment of media coverage by analyzing more than twenty million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Sky-mobi earned a news impact score of 0.06 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news stories about the software maker an impact score of 45.6853785900783 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near term.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Mobius (CURRENCY:MOBI) traded 5.5% higher against the dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 16:00 PM E.T. on February 21st. Mobius has a market cap of $6.06 million and $37,433.00 worth of Mobius was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Mobius token can now be purchased for $0.0118 or 0.00000298 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges including GOPAX, Gate.io, BitMart and Stellarport. Over the last seven days, Mobius has traded up 22.4% against the dollar.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Mobius (CURRENCY:MOBI) traded up 0.1% against the dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 18:00 PM ET on February 11th. In the last week, Mobius has traded 3.1% lower against the dollar. One Mobius token can now be bought for approximately $0.0095 or 0.00000260 BTC on exchanges including OTCBTC, Gate.io, Stellar Decentralized Exchange and BitMart. Mobius has a total market capitalization of $4.89 million and approximately $19,445.00 worth of Mobius was traded on exchanges in the last day.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Mobius (CURRENCY:MOBI) traded 1.2% lower against the dollar during the 1-day period ending at 14:00 PM E.T. on August 21st. In the last week, Mobius has traded down 1.1% against the dollar. One Mobius token can now be bought for about $0.0291 or 0.00000452 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges including GOPAX, BitMart, Gate.io and Stellar Decentralized Exchange. Mobius has a total market capitalization of $11.23 million and approximately $78,528.00 worth of Mobius was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Mobius (CURRENCY:MOBI) traded 12.4% lower against the US dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 17:00 PM E.T. on September 25th. One Mobius token can now be bought for approximately $0.0265 or 0.00000414 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges including Gate.io, Kucoin, BitMart and GOPAX. Over the last week, Mobius has traded up 8.8% against the US dollar. Mobius has a market cap of $10.22 million and approximately $69,762.00 worth of Mobius was traded on exchanges in the last day.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: China Metro-Rural Holdings Limited(CNR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 1,956 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,818% compared to the typical volume of 102 put options.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Canadian National Railway (TSE:CNR) (NYSE:CNI) had its target price upped by investment analysts at CIBC from C$116.00 to C$120.00 in a research report issued on Friday. CIBC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.54% from the stock’s current price.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,917 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $11,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Press coverage about Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) has been trending somewhat positive on Thursday, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. Accern identifies positive and negative press coverage by monitoring more than twenty million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Canadian National Railway earned a coverage optimism score of 0.15 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media coverage about the transportation company an impact score of 47.5112066080017 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the immediate future.

• [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 Ethan Ryder]

  Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $93.33.

Analysts Set Lindblad Expeditions Holdings Inc (LIND) Target Price at $16.25

Shares of Lindblad Expeditions Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LIND) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.25.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Investment Research lowered Lindblad Expeditions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 8th. TheStreet raised Lindblad Expeditions from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday. ValuEngine raised Lindblad Expeditions from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Imperial Capital reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 target price (up from $17.00) on shares of Lindblad Expeditions in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, BidaskClub raised Lindblad Expeditions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 8th.

Get Lindblad Expeditions alerts:

In other Lindblad Expeditions news, insider Trey Byus sold 60,000 shares of Lindblad Expeditions stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.62, for a total transaction of $937,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 336,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,257,801.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 51.60% of the company’s stock.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LIND. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lindblad Expeditions by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 269,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,569,000 after acquiring an additional 4,943 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Lindblad Expeditions in the 3rd quarter valued at $610,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lindblad Expeditions by 327.7% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 80,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 61,772 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Lindblad Expeditions by 179.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 39,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 25,374 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lindblad Expeditions by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 82,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 5,726 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.85% of the company’s stock.

NASDAQ LIND traded down $0.09 on Friday, reaching $15.51. 197,900 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 142,114. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $723.42 million, a PE ratio of 64.63 and a beta of -0.09. Lindblad Expeditions has a 12 month low of $9.57 and a 12 month high of $16.40.

Lindblad Expeditions (NASDAQ:LIND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.01. On average, research analysts expect that Lindblad Expeditions will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Lindblad Expeditions Company Profile

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc provides expedition cruising and adventure travel services. It offers itineraries that feature up-close encounters with wildlife, nature, history, and culture, as well as promote guest empowerment and interactivity. The company operates expeditions on intimately-scaled ships and interaction between guests, crew, and the teams of scientists, naturalists, researchers, and photographers that participate in the expeditions.

Further Reading: Trading Strategy Examples and Plans

Is Honeywell a Buy?

Based on management's guidance for 2019 and the underlying trends in its business, you can make a strong case for buying stock in Honeywell International (NYSE:HON). The questions are whether the company can hit its guidance in 2019, and where in the guidance range it could be.

Let's take a closer look at the details, and the recent update on business trends given by CFO Greg Lewis at the recent J.P. Morgan Aviation, Transportation, and Industrials Conference.

Why Honeywell's guidance makes it a buy

The midpoint of Honeywell's guidance for earnings per share (EPS), from $7.80 to $8.10, puts the stock at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 19. Furthermore, the guidance range for free cash flow (FCF) of $5.4 billion to $6.0 billion puts it at a forward price-to-FCF multiple of 19.4 (see the chart below for historical reference). That's a good valuation for a stock forecast to grow earnings at nearly 10% in the next couple of years.

HON Price to Free Cash Flow (Annual) data by YCharts.

Furthermore, Honeywell has a good track record of meeting and beating its internal estimates. For example, the table below shows how 2018's actual results soundly trumped initial estimates for the year:

Honeywell International

2019 Guidance

Actual 2018

Original 2018 Guidance

Organic sales growth	2% to 5%	6%	2% to 4%
Segment margin	20.7% to 21.0%	19.60%	19.2% to 19.5%
Adjusted EPS	$7.80 to $8.10	$8.01	$7.55 to $7.80
Free cash flow	$5.4 billion to $6.0 billion	$6.0 billion	$5.2 billion to $5.9 billion

Data source: Honeywell International presentations.

It's even more impressive considering that Honeywell lost $0.19 of EPS and $200 million in FCF in the fourth quarter, when it spun off turbocharger company Garrett Motion and home-products company Resideo Technologies.

In case you're wondering why the EPS and FCF guidance for 2019 look weak, it's largely due to the loss of those two companies. No matter, Honeywell still looks like a good value; underlying EPS is expected to grow by 6% to 10% in 2019.

Can Honeywell hit guidance?

Going back to the fourth-quarter earnings in early February, Lewis argued that "Based on what we can see today, we expect to be at the upper end of our sales guidance range for organic growth." That suggests management was taking a conservative approach to guidance -- perfect for investors looking for companies to underpromise and overdeliver.

Honeywell Segment

2018 Sales

End-Market Exposure (Share of Segment Revenue)

Aerospace	$12.9 billion	42% commercial aftermarket, 27% U.S. defense, 22% commercial original equipment
Home and building technologies (HBT)	$5.4 billion	45% building solutions, 40% building products
Performance materials and technologies (PMT)	$10.7 billion	35% process solutions, 27% Honeywell UOP, 16% fluorine products
Safety and productivity solutions (SPS)	$6.3 billion	32% industrial safety, 27% warehouse automation, 22% productivity products

Data source: Honeywell International presentations.

Fast-forward to the J.P. Morgan conference, and it appears the company is well on track. While Lewis acknowledged that some of Honeywell's short-cycle business in SPS had seen some softness, overall, Honeywell is tracking toward the high end of first-quarter guidance for organic revenue growth of 3% to 5%.

SPS and Aerospace

On a segmental level, Lewis expects mid-single-digit growth from commercial aftermarket, while Honeywell's business-jet-related sales are expected to do well on the back of its positioning on General Dynamics' new Gulfstream G500 and G600 aircraft. Lewis's positive tone on aerospace echoed that of CEO Darius Adamczyk on the fourth-quarter earnings call.

In addition, SPS will be supported by strong growth from its warehouse automation operations: Lewis expects double-digit growth for the next few years, and there's little doubt that it's a hot sector to be invested in right now.

PMT and HBT: Less positive

In PMT, Honeywell's process-solutions rival Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) continues to report strong results. But whereas Emerson's CEO David Farr is expecting to benefit from relatively stronger LNG (liquefied natural gas) spending in the current cycle, Honeywell's LNG revenue accounts for just 5% of its PMT sales, and it's more heavily exposed to petrochemical and refining spending.

Meanwhile, the HBT segment is under pressure to improve performance, now that the distraction of the Resideo spinoff is out of the way.

Image source: Getty Images.

The verdict

On balance, Honeywell looks worth buying. The valuation isn't screamingly cheap. It will be nice to see some improvement at HBT, but SPS and aerospace trends remain strong, and management's overall guidance looks conservative.

All told, the stock looks modestly undervalued and is capable of growing in line with its earnings. That could lead to double-digit returns -- making many investors happy.

Best Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:ALNY,ARQL,AMGN,BIIB, What

Shares of ImmunoGen (NASDAQ:IMGN) are up 10.4% at 3:10 p.m. EDT on no apparent news. Most likely, shares of the highly volatile biotech are up as investors jump in ahead of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting set to start tomorrow.

So what

In an abstract for ASCO that was released earlier this month, ImmunoGen disclosed data from the phase 1b/2 Forward II trial testing its lead drug, mirvetuximab soravtansine, in combination with a variety of other cancer medications.

In 23 ovarian cancer patients with medium or high expression of FRalpha, which mirvetuximab soravtansine targets, treatment with mirvetuximab soravtansine plus Roche's Avastin produced an overall response rate (ORR) of 48% with a median duration of response of 10.6 months. That's not bad considering these patients could have failed up to three previous treatments.

Image source: Getty Images.

Best Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) released first-quarter results last week, but all eyes were looking forward as the company waits for a potential approval of its hereditary TTR amyloidosis (ATTR) drug, patisiran.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Alnylam's (NASDAQ:ALNY) Onpattro is the first Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved RNAi therapy. However, competition is fast approaching and could make it difficult for Alnylam to pocket profits. Can Onpattro carve out significant sales as a treatment for polyneuropathy in hereditary transthyretin-mediated (hATTR) amyloidosis?

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) was downgraded by stock analysts at ValuEngine from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a hold rating to a sell rating. According to Zacks, “Although Alnylam has a broad and promising pipeline, we note that most candidates are in mid stages of development. These candidates still have a long way to go before hitting the market. The company relies highly on collaborators for funding. Any development/regulatory setback would be a negative for the company.  However, Alnylam reported positive data from the ATLAS study in the first quarter which led to regulatory filings for its late-stage pipeline candidate patisiran and the FDA set an action date of Aug 11, 2018. The company along with its partners Sanofi and The Medicines Company, restarted fitusiran's ATLAS phase III study and advanced inclisiran in the ORION-9, -10, and -11 phase III studies, respectively, with results expected for both programs in 2019. Alnylam expects to achieve the profile of three marketed products by the end of 2020.”

• [By Sean Williams, Chuck Saletta, and Brian Feroldi]

  So, which biotech stocks should you consider buying in June? That's a question we posed to three of our healthcare-focused investors. Interestingly enough, mid-cap biotech stocks are the clear flavor of the month. If biotech is on your radar in June, our investors suggest you consider Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS), Spark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ONCE), and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY).

Best Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: ArQule Inc.(ARQL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

  Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ARQL. Zacks Investment Research upgraded ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $2.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 20th. BidaskClub upgraded ArQule from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Saturday, March 24th. B. Riley set a $4.00 price objective on ArQule and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 26th. Leerink Swann upgraded ArQule from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 5th. Finally, Roth Capital boosted their price objective on ArQule from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $5.35.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on ArQule (ARQL)

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

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) rose over 70% today after the company reported full-year 2018 operating results and provided full-year 2019 guidance. That said, investors are probably used to wild swings in the stock price by now. The development-stage pharma didn't turn in a particularly impressive performance last year. Management expects revenue to drop significantly in the year ahead as collaboration revenue dries up, which will also widen operating losses.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQL)’s share price rose 6.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $5.21 and last traded at $5.15. Approximately 955,706 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 1,244,948 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.85.

Best Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,120,853 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,484 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $391,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Todd Campbell]

  Neulasta has been one of Amgen's (NASDAQ:AMGN) crown jewels for years, but following FDA approval of Mylan's (NASDAQ:MYL) Neulasta biosimilar this week, Amgen could see Neulasta's revenue slow to a trickle. Is Mylan about to deliver a big blow to Amgen's market share? Read on to find out what's at stake for these companies and their investors.

• [By Keith Speights]

  The way to determine where a puck is going to be requires evaluating its direction and speed. I used a similar approach to identify five stocks with fast-growing dividends: Boeing (NYSE:BA), Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), CVS Health (NYSE:CVS), Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN), and AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV). Here's why these stocks could be great picks for dividend-seeking investors.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Amgen (AMGN)

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

• [By Todd Campbell]

  When a brand new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors won Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2015, it was heralded as the biggest advance in battling heart disease since the invention of statins. The launch of PCSK9 inhibitors was accompanied by billion-dollar-plus predictions for sales. However, revenue has fallen far shy of blockbuster status, leaving drugmakers Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN), and Sanofi SA (NYSE:SNY) in the lurch.

Best Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Biogen Idec Inc(BIIB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) were flat despite dismal news out of China. This morning, the company reported a 38% slump in Chinese sales during the month of June. It was a terrible first six months for the iconic vehicle manufacturer. The company said that its Chinese operations saw a 25% slide in sales over the first half of the year. That was the largest six-month decline since launching its Chinese operations in 2001. Shares of Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) are off more than 1% after California regulators announced a new probe into the company. The probe was announced following a safety complaint filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The agency has not provided any details on the case. Shares of Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) popped more than 14% after the company announced positive results from a trial for an Alzheimer's drug. The phase 2 study examined BAN2401, an anti-amyloid beta protofibril antibody. It was tested on 856 patients with early stages of Alzheimer's disease. In a research note, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) announced that the results would be positive for Biogen's drug pipeline. Look for an earnings report Friday from InnerWorkings Inc. (Nasdaq: INWK). Wall Street projects that the company will report earnings per share of $0.09 on top of $284.9 million in revenue.

  Follow Money Morning on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

• [By Jim Crumly]

  As for individual stocks, Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) announced it's buying Nightstar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NITE), and Village Farms International (NASDAQ:VFF) is launching an effort to enter the U.S. hemp market.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  This large-cap biotech will partner with Samsung Bioepis in the biosimilar world. Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) discovers, develops and delivers to patients worldwide innovative therapies for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, hematologic conditions and autoimmune disorders. Founded in 1978, Biogen is one of the world's oldest independent biotech companies, and patients worldwide benefit from its leading multiple sclerosis (MS) and innovative hemophilia therapies.

7 Hello Spring Images to Welcome the New Season

The sunshine is returning in only a matter of days and we have compiled seven hello spring images to welcome back the new season.

Source: Jocelyn Kinghorn via Flickr

It’s been a cold winter marked by plenty of snowfall, little sunshine and unpredictable weather throughout most of the season across the northern part of the U.S., and even some areas in the south. Thankfully, the snow is starting to recede, the ice floes are melting and winter is moving away to make way for the beginning of spring.

Over the next few slides, we have chosen the spring images that most resonate with us for you to peruse. Pick your favorite and share it on social media with your friends and family.

We hope you have a great spring and a productive rest of your 2019.

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Hello Spring Source: Pexel

 

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Hello Spring Source: Pixabay

 

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Hello Spring Source: Flickr

 

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Hello Spring Source: DeviantART

 

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Hello Spring Source: Pixabay

 

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Hello Spring Source: Geograph

SONY DSC

 

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Hello Spring Source: Geograph

Earnings Preview: What To Expect From Dick's Sporting Goods On Tuesday

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-953652038&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/953652038/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;682&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; South Plainfield, NJ, 02/17/2018: The entrance to a Dick&s;s Sporting Goods store.

&l;span&g;Dick&s;s Sporting Goods, Inc. is scheduled to release earnings before Tuesday&s;s open.&a;nbsp;The stock hit a record high of $62.88/share in 2016 and is currently trading near $38/share. The stock is prone to big moves after reporting earnings and can easily gap up if the numbers are strong. Conversely, if the numbers disappoint, the stock can easily gap down. To help you prepare, here is what the Street is expecting:&l;/span&g;

&l;strong&g;Earnings Preview:&l;/strong&g;

Dick&s;s Sporting Goods is expected to earn $1.07/share on $2.48 billion in revenue. Meanwhile, the so-called Whisper number is $1.09/share. The Whisper number is the Street&s;s unofficial view on earnings.

&l;strong&g;Company Profile&l;/strong&g;&l;span&g;:&l;/span&g;

&l;span&g;Here is a brief company profile courtesy of&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;Thomson Reuters&l;span&g;:&l;/span&g;

Dick&s;s Sporting Goods, Inc., incorporated on November 25, 1996, is an omni-channel sporting goods retailer offering an assortment of sports equipment, apparel, footwear and accessories in its specialty retail stores primarily in the eastern United States. The Company also owns and operates Golf Galaxy, Field &a;amp; Stream and other specialty concept stores, and Dick&s;s Team Sports HQ, an all-in-one youth sports digital platform offering free league management services, mobile applications for scheduling, communications and live score&a;nbsp;keeping, custom uniforms and FanWear and access to donations and sponsorships. The Company offers its products through a content-rich e-commerce platform that is integrated with its store network and provides customers with the convenience and expertise of a 24-hour storefront.

&l;strong&g;Competitors:&l;/strong&g;

The company&a;nbsp;competes with other retailers such as, Macys, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and Target, just to name a few.

&l;strong&g;Pay Attention To How The Stock Reacts To The News&l;/strong&g;:

From where I sit, the most important trait I look for during earnings season is how the market and a specific company reacts to the news.&l;/p&g;

Cramer Remix: These FANG stocks are heating up once again

The so-called FANG shares have yet to regain their momentum since bouncing from lows during the December sell-off and gave way to the cloud stocks and semiconductors to lead the tech sector, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Tuesday.

But with the tide of the market turning, current conditions could present an opportunity for the group to get its "groove" back, the "Mad Money" host said. He called on Dan Fitzpatrick, the founder and CEO of Stock Market Mentor and Cramer's RealMoney.com colleague, who saw interesting chart action in some of the FANG stocks, including the data privacy-troubled Facebook.

Negative headlines doomed Facebook in 2018 and the stock plummeted too fast and too far as investors thought it would lose its gigantic user base, Cramer said. Fitzpatrick's charts show that the company has climbed above its 200-day moving average, which makes technical analysts think the stock can be bought again, the host said.

Following a strong fourth quarter report, the stock price has gained more than 30 percent this year and is 5 percent off its mark a year ago.

"Fitzpatrick notes that Facebook has been in [a] resting phase since its big spike in late January," Cramer said. "Late last week, Facebook started breaking out and Fitz thinks the volatility squeeze could result in some significant upside."

The technician, who has a knack for making calls on battered internet stocks, also foresees some positive action in other FANG stocks like Google-parent Alphabet and Amazon, Cramer said.

"Some parts of FANG have definitely gotten their groove back. I think FB and Alphabet are worth buying right here," he said. "Maybe wait for the breakout before picking up Amazon."

Get a deeper look at FANG's momentum here.

Deal or no deal? Fred Dufour | AFP | Getty Images Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017.

President Donald Trump is in a position to get more concessions or even walk away from trade negotiations with China President Xi Jinping as the Chinese economy weakens, Cramer said.

The U.S. could put more pressure on the Chinese to meet demands to stop stealing intellectual property and allow American companies to operate in China without making joint ventures, among other priorities, he said. Or Trump could walk away and find a better bargaining position, but it could come at a cost he might not want to take on, he added.

"President Trump believes he's given big business enough of a boost with his tax cuts. He can afford to alienate business with a little tough love on China," Cramer said. "The wild card: The president may not want the stock market to go down because he views the averages as his Nielsen ratings, and he cares tremendously about his Nielsens."

Click here for more on why Cramer thinks Trump is gaining an edge over Xi.

Bypassing surgeries and scars Scott Mlyn | CNBC Gary Guthart, CEO, Intuitive Surgical

The earlier a doctor can diagnose lung cancer, the better the outcome can be, Intuitive Surgical CEO Gary Guthart told Cramer in a one-on-one interview.

The company is cutting past the competition with its da Vinci Surgical System, which allows doctors to find a cancerous mass "transorally" in lieu of surgery, he said. The procedure — which does not involve making any surgical cuts — can help doctors avoid damaging healthy tissue, he added.

"The flexible catheter goes through the mouth. So instead of making any cuts, there are no cuts, it goes into the body and navigates the lungs with computer-aided control," Guthart said. "And the idea is to pull definitive diagnosis forward in time. So somebody who has a suspicious lesion gets a definitive diagnosis earlier, that's the goal."

Listen to the full interview here.

Churning out small business loans with data Scott Mlyn | CNBC Jackie Reses, Square

Square Capital, the lending arm of Square Inc., has taken advantage of a market of small- and medium-sized businesses that lack access to traditional financing, the subsidiary's head Jackie Reses told CNBC.

In a sit-down interview with Cramer, Reses said the financial technology company has leveraged data to serve businesses that aren't well capitalized. Square reported making out about $472 million in 72,000 business loans in 2018, up 55 percent from the prior year.

"I think one of the unique differentiators of our product is that we can see the data that comes across payments," she said. Square also offers clients point of sale software. "So we can see the success of these businesses like restaurants, who've historically been left out of the financial system because of the type of business that they are."

Find out more about how Square Capital is giving firms access to loans here

The force is with Benioff Adam Jeffery | CNBC Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.

Salesforce.com delivered a stronger-than-expected quarter after the bell Monday, but sellers began to ditch the stock because the company offered a tepid guidance, Cramer said.

The shares dropped nearly 1 percent Tuesday and the sellers feel vindicated, but the host, who was skeptical about the company a decade ago, said he learned that co-CEO Marc Benioff was the real deal when he saw what customers were signing on to the cloud service.

Even though Salesforce lost about $10 per share since last Friday, the stock didn't top $166 last week for no reason, Cramer said.

"To me, this is all kind of nutty. Every time Salesforce.com has gotten dinged, you know what it happened to be? A buying opportunity," he said. "And guess what: I'm betting this time no different."

Hear why Cramer is bullish about Salesfore here.

Cramer's lightning round: Paper over plastic

In Cramer's lightning round, the "Mad Money" host ran through his answer to callers' favorite stock picks:

Ameriprise Financial Inc.: "Boom. I've always liked that company. It pulls back periodically and you have to be a buyer."

Ship Finance International Ltd.: "I don't trust the shipping stocks and it's always lost everybody in this room a lot of money, so we're not going to do that ... they've been losers."

International Paper Co.: "Well, it's the wrong point of the cycle to buy them, but it does have a 4-percent yield. So I'm never going to sneer (at) something with a 4-percent yield and a good balance sheet, which what IP has and they make paper and I am very environmentally more prone toward paper than I am toward plastic."

Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Salesforce.com, Facebook, Alphabet, and Amazon.com.

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Better Buy: Veeva Systems vs. Hubspot

The cloud has changed the business landscape in less than a decade. What once took an army of servers to pull off can now be accomplished with a simple subscription to a service. That's the beauty of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

The two companies we're comparing today -- pharmaceutical cloud specialist Veeva Systems (NYSE:VEEV) and inbound-marketing guru Hubspot (NYSE:HUBS) -- have both benefited from this trend. And shareholders have reaped the rewards: On average, the stocks have quadrupled over the past three years.

But which is the better buy today? 

Image source: Getty Images

We can't answer that question authoritatively -- my magic eight-ball is broken -- but we can dig a little deeper. By comparing the two companies across three different dimensions, a winner emerges.

Financial fortitude

When investigating financial fortitude, what I'm really wondering is this: If a financial crisis hit today, how would it affect the company's fortunes ten years from now? There's little doubt all stocks would suffer. But I want to know which companies could actually grow stronger.

How can that happen? Companies with lots of cash, little debt, and strong free cash flows have options during a downturn. They can use their war chests to buy back stock at a discount, acquire distressed but promising start-ups, or simply price the competition out the market.

Keeping in mind that Veeva is valued at over twice the size of Hubspot, here's how the two stack up.

Company	Cash	Debt	Free Cash Flow
Veeva	$1.1 billion	$0	$302 million
Hubspot	$603 million	$319 million	$62 million

Data source: Yahoo! Finance. Cash includes long and short-term investments. Free cash flow presented on trailing twelve-month basis.

Both companies are assuredly on solid financial footing. But if forced to choose, I think Veeva would have the better bet of benefiting from a downturn over the long-run. That cash-rich, debt-free balance sheet helps, as well as the company's very strong free cash flow.

Hubspot isn't in a bad position per se, but it wouldn't have the same type of flexibility as Veeva if times got tough.

Winner = Veeva Systems

Valuation

Next we have a tougher metric to measure: How expensive are these two stocks relative to one-another? I have consulted four different metrics below to see which comes out on top.

Company	P/E	P/FCF	PEG Ratio	P/S
Veeva	69	54	3.6	18.9
Hubspot	187	108	2.5	13.0

Data source: Yahoo! Finance, E*Trade. Earnings calculated on non-GAAP basis.

This is very close. Veeva trades at a 50% discount when we talk about earnings or free cash flow, but Hubspot appears cheaper when taking growth (PEG Ratio) and price-to-sales into consideration.

Make no mistake about it: Both of these companies are expensive. As there's not a clear winner here, I'm willing to call it a draw.

Winner = Tie

Sustainable competitive advantages

Finally, we have what I consider the most important variable to consider: A company's sustainable competitive advantage, or its "moat." Companies with large moats can keep the competition from encroaching for years, while those without one will quickly succumb to the pressures that come with their success.

Both Veeva and Hubspot benefit from high switching costs. This makes sense: Hubspot gives companies a single platform to manage all of their inbound marketing. If that marketing works -- and indications are that it clearly does, especially when Hubspot is the provider -- users are more likely than not to stick with Hubspot. That's because the customer's would much rather focus on their own businesses than worry about migrating data, retraining staff, and dealing with possible downtime from switching away from Hubspot.

Veeva benefits in much the same way. The company has so many cloud applications for drug companies that they're hard to keep track of. Suffice it to say this: Pharmaceutical teams are becoming more reliant on Veeva to do everything -- collect data, comply by regulatory standards, track sales data, you name it. The company's Veeva Vault product in particular has been a huge success.

So how do we pick a winner? I actually think this is pretty easy. SaaS companies have a crucial metric that lets us know how good they are at hanging onto their customers and getting them to pay for more services year after year. The exact name and meaning for that metric differs (dollar-based revenue retention, for example).

For this Veeva is the clear winner. Hubspot's revenue retention sat at 103% last year. That's nothing to sneer at, and on the whole it means that Hubspot is -- hypothetically, at least -- holding onto all of its existing customers from one year to the next, and getting them to spend 3% more per year.

But Veeva's revenue retention is much higher, clocking in at 122% last year. That means its claws are sinking deeper and deeper into the everyday functions of its clients. The moat is wider at Veeva.

Winner = Veeva

My winner is...

So there you have it. Veeva and Hubspot are both very successful companies with expensive stocks. But Veeva's balance sheet strength and widening moat give it the upper hand. Personally, I'm a big believer, as the company accounts for about 5% of my family's real-life holdings. If you're looking for an SaaS investment in your portfolio, Veeva is a great place to start.

Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 3,896 Shares of Dover Corp (DOV)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in Dover Corp (NYSE:DOV) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 181,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,896 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Dover were worth $12,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DOV. Ashler Capital LLC bought a new stake in Dover in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,080,000. AXA boosted its holdings in Dover by 619.8% in the 3rd quarter. AXA now owns 337,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,847,000 after purchasing an additional 290,300 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Dover by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,827,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $781,489,000 after purchasing an additional 288,630 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in Dover by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 981,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,930,000 after purchasing an additional 288,540 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Dover in the 3rd quarter valued at about $22,849,000. 87.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Get Dover alerts:

DOV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Dover from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Dover from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Dover from an “overweight” rating to an “equal” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $94.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Dover from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Dover from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $76.35 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.18.

In related news, SVP Jay L. Kloosterboer sold 12,363 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.53, for a total transaction of $1,082,133.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,085,577.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP William Spurgeon sold 13,102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $1,142,363.38. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,393 shares in the company, valued at $557,405.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,200 shares of company stock worth $4,277,800. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Shares of NYSE DOV opened at $90.98 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $13.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.51. Dover Corp has a 12-month low of $65.83 and a 12-month high of $93.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Dover had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 24.90%. Dover’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Dover Corp will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 27th. Dover’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.63%.

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Dover Profile

Dover Corporation provides equipment and components, specialty systems, consumable supplies, software and digital solutions, and support services worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Engineered Systems, Fluids, and Refrigeration & Food Equipment. The Engineered Systems segment offers precision marking and coding, digital textile printing, soldering and dispensing equipment, and related consumables and services; and automation components, including manual clamps, power clamps, rotary and linear mechanical indexers, conveyors, pick and place units, glove ports, and manipulators, as well as end-of-arm robotic grippers, slides, and end effectors for fast-moving consumer goods, digital textile printing, vehicle service, environmental solutions, and industrials end markets.

Read More: Different Options Trading Strategies

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