ArcelorMittal SA (EPA) (MT) Given a €37.00 Price Target by Cfra Analysts

ArcelorMittal SA (EPA) (AMS:MT) has been assigned a €37.00 ($43.53) price objective by stock analysts at Cfra in a report issued on Friday. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Cfra’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 38.84% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank set a €39.00 ($45.88) price target on shares of ArcelorMittal SA (EPA) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 16th. Societe Generale set a €44.40 ($52.24) price target on shares of ArcelorMittal SA (EPA) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup set a €40.00 ($47.06) price target on shares of ArcelorMittal SA (EPA) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 10th. Goldman Sachs Group set a €38.00 ($44.71) price target on shares of ArcelorMittal SA (EPA) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a €36.50 ($42.94) price target on shares of ArcelorMittal SA (EPA) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of €35.42 ($41.67).

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AMS MT opened at €26.65 ($31.35) on Friday. ArcelorMittal SA has a one year low of €17.72 ($20.85) and a one year high of €30.76 ($36.19).

ArcelorMittal SA (EPA) Company Profile

ArcelorMittal, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates steel manufacturing and mining facilities in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa. It operates through NAFTA, Brazil, Europe, ACIS, and Mining segments. The company produces finished and semi-finished steel products with various specifications.

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The Pizza Party Isn't Over for Domino's

When it comes to picking top CEOs, Domino's Pizza Inc.'s (NYSE:DPZ) former head Patrick Doyle often gets left out of the conversation. This is unfortunate considering his record of accomplishment. In fact, since Doyle took the reins, Domino's shares have increased by approximately 20-fold (1,960%), significantly higher than Apple and Alphabet at 370% and 550%, respectively.

After starting off 2018 with a blistering 50% gain, shares sold off as investors digested results from the recently reported second quarter. Investors were unnerved that comparable-store sales in the international segment only rose 4%, versus expectations of 5.1%. Patient long-term investors should use this opportunity to buy shares in a well-run company.

Image source: Getty Images.

Domino's is well-situated in pizza

Domino's stock gains were greatly aided by missteps from other large nationwide chains, particularly Yum! Brands' (NYSE:YUM) Pizza Hut, the No. 1 pizza restaurant. Last year the company dismissed calls to divest the struggling brand and instead invested $130 million to grow sales. This year the company assumed the title of "Official Pizza of the NFL"�after Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA) and the NFL ended their longtime partnership.

Per data from Pizza Today, Pizza Hut has been the slowest-growing pizza purveyor among the top four over the last six years, growing gross sales approximately 4.2% per year versus 7.8% for Domino��s. This allowed the latter to significantly narrow the gap between the No. 1 and No. 2 pizza chains.

Data source: Pizza Today. Chart by author.

Papa John's has seen its once-considerable third-place lead shrink under challenge from a resurgent Little Caesars Pizza, which has more than doubled Papa John's 7.5% growth rate. More recently, Papa John's has seen revenue and earnings go the wrong way as the company has struggled in the wake of its messy breakup with the NFL and subsequent controversy.

It's possible Little Caesars will overtake Papa John's soon; it may be the biggest risk to the others, because of its massive growth rate and hyper-discounting approach to sales.

The biggest risk is not from restaurants

New CEO Richard Allison faces a different risk than Doyle, and it's likely the competition will become fiercer. Throughout Doyle's leadership, Domino��s biggest competitive advantage was its heavy investment in technology, particularly in its app. The former CEO's approach was best summed up by his comments that "we're as much a technology company as we are a pizza company."

Mom-and-pop restaurants -- pizza and otherwise -- simply could not afford to invest in app technology, and Domino's nationwide competitors initially failed to see its potential. As a result, Dominos first-mover advantage into the space led to strong growth and customer loyalty.

This advantage is being threatened on multiple fronts. First, nationwide pizza chains have spent significant money on technology, building out their app experience.

Domino��s biggest competitor, however, isn't another restaurant -- it's the rise of delivery apps like Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Amazon Restaurants. These technology-first companies have partnered with restaurants to provide an out-of-the-box solution that strikes at the heart of Domino's competitive advantage.

Domino's is taking the challenge head-on

What's notable in that in the face of strong U.S. competition from food delivery apps, particularly in the United States, Domino's continues to post strong growth rates. While the company's international segment provided lower-than-expected performance, the company's U.S. same-store sales increased at a rapid 6.9% clip, on par with analyst expectations.

Even with the recent sell-off, shares remain richly valued via traditional metrics, trading hands at 31 times forward earnings, which is nearly double the greater market's valuation of 17. However, Domino's deserves this rich valuation, having grown its top line 24% and net income 17% in the prior quarter.

While the competition will only get more difficult from here, Domino's is well-situated to withstand competition from app-delivery companies while taking advantage of missteps from other pizza restaurants.

Why the Rich Get Richer and the Poor Stay Poor

It��s no secret the rich tend to stay rich and the poor rarely find their way out of money-grubbing.

The chances of someone of little means finding his or her way to considerable wealth are that much lower.

The question begs: what, exactly, separates the rich from the poor?

Too many people assume the wealthiest people rely on connections, luck or an inheritance to build wealth and retain it across posterity. In reality, those who continue to grow their fortune almost always take a different path than the rest of the investing crowd. Being a rebel has the potential to pay massive dividends in the investing world. Swim against the tide, buck the trends and you just might develop a successful investing strategy that stands the test of time or at least nets you a quick profit that you can spread out across a diverse portfolio.

What Separates the Rich From the Poor? Risk Tolerance is a Large Piece of the Puzzle

An investor’s tolerance for risk is a good indicator of his or her chance for building wealth. There has to be some tolerance for risk in order to make a meaningful amount of money in a reasonable amount of time. In some cases, a stock or mutual fund with heightened risk is that much more of a prudent investment than one with minimal risk. This is your chance to have your money work for you. Tolerate risk, take a few chances and you might end up investing ��house money�� in the near future while other more conservative investors are still waiting to make an initial profit.

The moral of the story is an overly-conservative approach to investing is nearly akin to sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing. Embrace risk to a certain point and you will be on your way to compounding wealth.

The Rich Do Not Take Investing Cues from Mass Media

Another key difference between rich and poor investors is those who fail to achieve investing success often allow outside forces to strongly influence their decisions. The wealthy are more self-righteous, focused and careful when it comes to investing. Ask any successful investor about investing in a business featured in the public spotlight and he or she will likely state by the time it is on the news, the opportunity is gone.

Be Open to the Contrarian Strategy

Contrarian investors almost always do the opposite of what the investing masses do. This means if the masses are bullish on the market, contrarians will short stocks or buy put options, expecting the market to go down. Though this may seem like an odd strategy to inexperienced investors, it works if applied in a careful and timely manner.

Those who can separate fact from hype capitalize on over-eager investors and novices looking to make a quick buck by riding the wave. Keep an open mind to the contrarian investing strategy, recognize the fact that the investing world is rife with followers and you just might make a substantial amount of money.

The Difference Between Rich and Poor: Shrugging Off Investing Tips

I won��t pretend advantage doesn��t exist in the world. There are plenty of people who got lucky on a stock pick, were born into the right family, or married someone who was.

But plenty of the 1% have achieved their position on the economic totem pole for good reason, having earned their wealth or become savvy investors after inheriting money. The poor are more likely to consider investment tips doled out by supposed experts only� to lose their money. A reality that I don��t think is fair.

Alternatively, those who have had their own success in the market are less inclined to follow the advice of false experts. Investment tips are a lot like opinions–everyone seems to have them.

Don’t be gullible. Don’t assume another person’s information or research are accurate. This is your chance to demonstrate irreverence for convention, break free from the pack and think critically before investing your hard-earned savings.

Key in on Value

Value is the name of the game when it comes to investing as well as business.

However, defining value is a challenge.

This word means different things to different people. In the context of investing, value is typically thought of as the stock price in relation to the total number of shares. Like I discussed in yesterday��s issue, there is also a lot of value to be gained from stock charts. Furthermore, value has considerable meaning in the context of investing in terms of a business’s price to earnings ratio, commonly referred to as the P/E ratio.

P/E ratios account for important fundamentals. This number is especially valuable when comparing companies that do business in the same industry. The P/E ratios can be compared against competing businesses as well as the industry average.

Make prudent use of these tools, and you will be able to identify lucrative opportunities for overlooked value. Alternatively, the charts and this important ratio can also be used to review stocks in an investment portfolio to pinpoint those that might be overvalued.

Successful investors also key in on ratios like the price-cash flow ratio. If a business’s stock price is fairy low in relation to operating cash flow, it is a good sign the stock is valued below where it should be. Savvy investors also pinpoint value with the price to book ratio. Book value is value of a company’s common stock minus liabilities as well as preferred shares. The bottom line is those who enjoy investing success are willing to put in the time or hire someone to perform in-depth analyses of financial ratios and other details to determine if a value opportunity exists.

The Wealthy are Opportunists

If a stock is beaten up well beyond reason, plenty of wealthy investors will consider swooping in to take advantage of a possible ��dead cat bounce.��

This is an investing term that refers to a battered stock left for dead that ultimately bounces back to life, even if only temporarily. This is just one example of how irreverence for convention and willingness to tolerate risk can pay off in a big way.

Pick enough beaten down stocks for dead cat bounces, sell following the bounce and you can profit along with those successful investors who have taken advantage of similar opportunities for years.

To a richer life,

Nilus Mattive
Editor, Rich Life Roadmap

Hudson Pacific Properties (HPP) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE:HPP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday. Zacks Investment Research currently has $38.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

According to Zacks, “Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. is a full-service, vertically integrated real estate company focused on owning, operating and acquiring office properties and media and entertainment properties in select growth markets primarily in Northern and Southern California. These markets include Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and the East Bay. The Company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. “

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Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Hudson Pacific Properties from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Wednesday, May 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Hudson Pacific Properties from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 25th. Barclays restated a buy rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Hudson Pacific Properties in a report on Tuesday, April 17th. DA Davidson set a $45.00 price target on shares of Hudson Pacific Properties and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Hudson Pacific Properties from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $37.83.

HPP stock opened at $33.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.70. Hudson Pacific Properties has a 52 week low of $28.25 and a 52 week high of $36.06.

Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE:HPP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $174.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.65 million. Hudson Pacific Properties had a return on equity of 2.44% and a net margin of 13.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. analysts anticipate that Hudson Pacific Properties will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 19th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 18th. Hudson Pacific Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.25%.

In other Hudson Pacific Properties news, EVP Arthur X. Suazo sold 10,000 shares of Hudson Pacific Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total value of $355,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,995 shares in the company, valued at $3,659,412.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sanford Dale Shimoda sold 5,000 shares of Hudson Pacific Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.96, for a total transaction of $179,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,217,628.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 78,213 shares of company stock valued at $2,794,149 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HPP. Piermont Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties by 15.7% in the first quarter. Piermont Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties by 9.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 12,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,106 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties by 18.1% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 16,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,512 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties by 2.7% in the first quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 97,771 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,547 shares during the period.

About Hudson Pacific Properties

Hudson Pacific Properties is a vertically integrated real estate Company focused on acquiring, repositioning, developing and operating high-quality office and state-of-the-art studio properties in select West Coast markets. Hudson Pacific invests across the risk-return spectrum, favoring opportunities where it can employ leasing, capital investment and management expertise to create additional value.

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The Bulls Reign, but Let's Prepare for the Bears

Chris Johnson

Even a so-so start to earnings season hasn't fazed the bulls in what has been a pretty ho-hum week for the market.

Sure, there has been some geopolitical action as the NATO summit, presidential visit to the United Kingdom, and Helsinki summits dominated headlines, but the bluster from across the pond only served to take the focus off tariffs and trade wars, which had been churning stock prices.

Still, the bulls are in control right now – which means this is the perfect time to find out why – and look at when those bears might finally gain the upper hand.

That way, we'll be properly positioned to make some money when they do…

There's Precedent for a Bullish July

Over the last 20 years, seasonality has favored the bulls this month.

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

Chris Johnson

About the Author

Browse Chris's articles | View Chris's research services

Chris Johnson is a quant - he's obsessed with building and perfecting mathematical models that allow him to predict, with startling accuracy, the direction of the markets, entire sectors, and individual securities. For the last year, he's been researching and building a new system that lets him move swiftly in and out of the hottest stocks in the market for life-changing gains - entirely on his own terms. The results of his newly-minted Night Trader system are nothing short of amazing.

Chris also contributes to Money Morning as the Quant Analysis Specialist.

… Read full bio

6 Speculative BioHealth Analyst Stocks That Could Rally 50% to 300%

The bull market is now more than nine years old. Many investors have begun looking for new ideas and new strategies to generate income and gains, and the old strategy of buying every major market selling day has become less rewarding in 2018 versus the prior few years. It turns out that Wall Street brokerages and research shops still have many stock picks for big upside.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations each day of the week. This ends up being hundreds of analyst calls each week. Most Dow or S&P 500 stocks getting traditional analyst coverage are assigned total upside of 8% to 10% on average at this stage of the bull market.

It turns out that the biotech and biohealth sector within health care are receiving analyst coverage where the analyst is calling for upside of 50%, 100%, 200% and some even come with 300% upside price targets. There are of course zero assurances that these upside targets will ever be reached. Some of the companies are even likely to flop and hurt investors due to not living up to expectations.

Investors need to understand that biotech and biohealth stocks are almost always riskier than traditional Dow and S&P 500 stocks. After all, one bit of news on one drug candidate can make or break a company. That means the outcome is likely to lead to a boom or bust for speculators and investors. And it also means that conservative investors, retirees, funds for widows and orphans and risk-averse investors need to look elsewhere besides speculative biotech and biohealth analyst stock picks. Some of these companies even have the risk that they might not exist if circumstances don’t go their way.

Here are six biotech and biohealth stocks where one or more analyst has called for upside of 50% to 300% in speculative stocks during the middle of July.

Eidos Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: EIDX) was started with an Overweight rating and a $32 price target at Barclays on July 16. JPMorgan also started the company at Overweight with a $36 target. The company had an IPO in late June, and shares have traded between $18.10 and $24.75 since pricing. The stock closed�Friday�at $20.77. Despite a 1% drop�on Friday, it closed at $21.28 for a higher price later in the week. Eidos Therapeutics is focused on developing drugs to treat diseases caused by transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis (ATTR), and its AG10 is an orally-administered small molecule designed to stabilize tetrameric TTR.

Innovative BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: INNT) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $35 price target (versus an $8.08 close) at H.C. Wainwright on July 17. That represents some 300%-plus upside, but this stock was battered this last week. Innovate Bio develops medicines for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Its lead product candidate is INN-202, which has completed Phase 2b clinical trials and is targeting the treatment of celiac disease. Innovate Bio is worth only about $160 million and closed down at $6.08�on Friday�due to pressure from a capital raise.

24/7 Wall St.
How a New Gout Drug Could Lead to 100% to 200% Upside

Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: GLMD) was started as Outperform with a $26 price target at Raymond James on July 20, and that was versus a previous $15.02 closing price. A week earlier, on�June 13, Stifel Nicolaus initiated Galmed with a Buy rating and issued a $35 price target that would imply more than 100% upside. Galmed has been quite volatile as its 52-week range is listed at $3.61 to $27.06. It had a $322 million market cap as of�Friday. Galmed, which focuses on diseases and issues targeting the liver, closed at $15.00�on Friday. Its lead product candidate is RA101495, an injection into the tissue under the skin that has completed Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.

Magenta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGTA) started as Outperform at Wedbush Securities on July 16, and the $22 target price implied upside of 64% at the time. Magenta Pharma shares closed up almost 6% at $15.00�on Friday�and Wedbush is calling for a win here based upon a rosier picture for stem cell transplants. The firm sees Magenta’s wholly owned pipeline as having multiple shots on goal in an area largely overlooked by drug developers.

Ra Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RARX) was given a relook by BMO Capital Markets. Ra was started at Outperform and was assigned a $20 price target at BMO Capital Markets. Back in March, BMO Capital Markets had a $31 target, so investors need to consider this in the mix. Ra closed up 2% at $11.17�on Friday, versus a 52-week range of $4.78 to $17.90. Its market cap is $360 million.

Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SNDX) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $30 price target at H.C. Wainwright on July 12. This is a small $175 million market cap company at the time of the call, but the price target in this call was about 300% higher than the $7.10 closing price. Syndax has a 52-week range of $6.61 to $15.20, and its most recent closing price was $7.49. The cancer pipeline has been the focus for such large upside here, and at one point one analyst was pointing to Syndax rallying to as high as $40.

 

Disney wins: Comcast drops its bid for 21st Century Fox

Disney has won the war for 21st Century Fox.

Comcast announced Thursday that it will drop its pursuit of the 21st Century Fox assets that it was fighting over with Disney.

Comcast had bid $65 billion for Fox's movie studio, which is responsible for franchises like "Avatar" and "X-Men," along with Fox's regional sports networks and cable channels like FX and National Geographic. Disney's most recent bid was $71 billion.

The battle with Disney isn't completely over: Comcast said Thursday it will continue to pursue its bid for British broadcaster Sky, which Disney is also trying to buy through Fox. Comcast has offered $34 billion for that company.

A Comcast takeover of Sky would deprive Fox, and thus Disney, of a major direct-to-consumer platform in Europe that Iger has described as a "crown jewel" of the Fox assets.

Over the course of the bidding war, 21st Century Fox's value surged 36% as Disney, then Comcast, then Disney again bid for rights to most of Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

The Murdochs will hold onto their broadcast, news and national sports programming, including Fox News, Fox Business and Fox Sports. The new company, known as "New Fox," will be headed by Lachlan Murdoch.

"I'd like to congratulate Bob Iger and the team at Disney and commend the Murdoch family and Fox for creating such a desirable and respected company," Comcast chief Brian Roberts said in a statement.

The bidding war between Iger and Roberts had become one of the most closely followed stories among Hollywood executives, given the sheer scale of the acquisition and the two men's well-known dislike for one another.

By winning the war for Fox, Disney will now have arguably the most formidable content portfolio in all of Hollywood, adding to an already impressive stable that includes Marvel, Pixar and LucasFilm.

But Sky is the other piece of the puzzle: One of Disney's top priorities is building direct-to-consumer relationships globally, so that it can compete with the likes of Netflix and Amazon. Sky has a direct-to-consumer relationship with 23 million paying subscribers across five European countries, making it a key part of the overall Fox acquisition.

Should Sky go to Comcast, Iger would effectively cede the direct-to-consumer market in Europe to Roberts, who would then oversee the biggest pay-TV provider in the world.

Disney won the US Justice Department's approval for its acquisition of Fox assets last month. It agreed to spin off Fox's sports networks to get the government's blessing.

In an unrelated but equally consequential decision, the Justice Department last week appealed a court's approval of AT&T's purchase of Time Warner, the parent company of CNN.

That effectively drove a stake through Comcast's chances of buying Fox: Comcast's deal looks a lot more like AT&T's Time Warner purchase than Disney's Fox bid.

Somewhat Negative Press Coverage Somewhat Unlikely to Impact Global Water Resources (GWRS) Share Pri

Press coverage about Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) has been trending somewhat negative on Thursday, according to Accern. The research group identifies positive and negative news coverage by reviewing more than twenty million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Global Water Resources earned a media sentiment score of -0.01 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave headlines about the utilities provider an impact score of 45.0223623397261 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the immediate future.

Global Water Resources traded up $0.03, reaching $9.55, on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. 29 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,520. Global Water Resources has a twelve month low of $8.40 and a twelve month high of $10.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.46 million, a PE ratio of 79.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

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Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.01. The firm had revenue of $7.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 million. Global Water Resources had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 14.70%. equities research analysts expect that Global Water Resources will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 30th. Investors of record on Monday, July 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.0236 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 13th. Global Water Resources’s payout ratio is currently 233.33%.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GWRS shares. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Global Water Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 27th. TheStreet upgraded Global Water Resources from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 9th.

In related news, Director Trevor T. Hill sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.09, for a total transaction of $77,265.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Trevor T. Hill sold 3,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.24, for a total value of $29,956.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,407 shares of company stock worth $120,729. Corporate insiders own 50.00% of the company’s stock.

Global Water Resources Company Profile

Global Water Resources, Inc, a water resource management company, owns, operates, and manages regulated water, wastewater, and recycled water utilities primarily in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona. As of December 31, 2017, it served approximately 51,000 people in approximately 20,000 homes. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.

$1.97 EPS Expected for Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) This Quarter

Wall Street brokerages forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) will announce $1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Five analysts have provided estimates for Illinois Tool Works’ earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at $2.00 and the lowest estimate coming in at $1.95. Illinois Tool Works reported earnings of $1.66 per share during the same quarter last year, which suggests a positive year over year growth rate of 18.7%. The firm is expected to report its next quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Monday, July 23rd.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works will report full-year earnings of $7.78 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $7.70 to $7.91. For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the business will post earnings of $8.43 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $8.28 to $8.72. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS calculations are a mean average based on a survey of research firms that follow Illinois Tool Works.

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Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 12.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ITW shares. Zacks Investment Research raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $158.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 27th. Deutsche Bank set a $152.00 target price on Illinois Tool Works and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. ValuEngine cut Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 2nd. MED cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $152.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Wednesday, June 27th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.65.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter worth about $101,000. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth about $117,000. Parisi Gray Wealth Management raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 88.8% during the first quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth about $130,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 15,135.9% during the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 132,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 131,380 shares in the last quarter. 77.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works traded up $0.99, reaching $142.60, on Friday, according to Marketbeat Ratings. The company had a trading volume of 29,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,555,233. The company has a market capitalization of $48.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. Illinois Tool Works has a 52 week low of $135.07 and a 52 week high of $179.07.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 29th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 28th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.34%.

About Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment worldwide. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses.

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Innospec (IOSP) Getting Somewhat Favorable Media Coverage, Analysis Finds

Press coverage about Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) has trended somewhat positive this week, Accern reports. The research firm rates the sentiment of news coverage by analyzing more than twenty million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Innospec earned a daily sentiment score of 0.08 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media stories about the specialty chemicals company an impact score of 46.0007935851604 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the next few days.

Innospec traded down $0.30, hitting $80.55, during trading on Thursday, according to Marketbeat.com. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 91,049. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 2.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29 and a beta of 1.06. Innospec has a twelve month low of $54.10 and a twelve month high of $82.20.

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Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $360.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.90 million. Innospec had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 4.86%. Innospec’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. equities research analysts forecast that Innospec will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several research analysts have weighed in on IOSP shares. BidaskClub upgraded Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Johnson Rice upgraded Innospec from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 24th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Innospec from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 19th. Finally, ValuEngine downgraded Innospec from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Innospec currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.00.

In other news, Director Hugh Aldous sold 1,687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.72, for a total transaction of $129,426.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,588,487.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Philip Curran sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.63, for a total value of $147,260.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $310,571.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,841 shares of company stock valued at $1,209,657 over the last quarter. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Innospec Company Profile

Innospec Inc develops, manufactures, blends, markets, and supplies specialty chemicals for use as fuel additives, ingredients for personal care, home care, agrochemical, mining and other applications, and oilfield chemicals worldwide. It operates through four segments: Fuel Specialties, Performance Chemicals, Oilfield Services, and Octane Additives.

The Last Straw for Starbucks Will Come in 2020

Many millions of people have a preferred vendor of coffee, and with more than 27,000 locations worldwide, Starbucks�(NASDAQ:SBUX) leads the pack. So everything it does has an impact.

In this segment from�MarketFoolery, host Mac Greer and senior analysts Taylor Muckerman and Jason Moser discuss a pair of unrelated news items from the company. First, Starbucks will phase out disposable plastic straws in the next two years. Second, its former CEO asserted that the current slowdown in growth it's experiencing in China would be strictly short term. The guys weigh in on the opportunities for Starbucks in the world's most populous market, their expectations, and where they see the stock going.

A full transcript follows the video.

This video was recorded on July 9, 2018.

Mac Greer: Guys, let's move on to Starbucks. A lot of different news here. We have outgoing executive chairman Howard Schultz saying that the recent slowdown in China would be short-lived. Starbucks also announcing that it's getting rid of plastic straws by 2020.

Jason Moser: [claps] I applaud that plastic straws move! Thank you!

Greer: That's great! We were just talking before the show, Jason, you were saying you're not a straw guy, you don't use straws.

Moser: I'm not. I'm not a straw guy. I feel like that's one of the obvious things that you could either just change, or make it out of something compostable. It's just one of those simple little fixes, I don't know why we haven't done it yet. K-Cups, same thing. How hard is it to produce a fully compostable K-Cup? I don't know! That stuff is all magic to me anyway! But I have to believe someone out there can do it, right?

Greer: You have to believe. If we can put a man on the moon ... Taylor, what do you think of the Starbucks news?

Taylor Muckerman: I wonder if straws were even big back when we put the first man on the moon. When did the first straw come out? I don't know, McDonald's, probably --

Greer: This is a bit of a digression, but when I was a kid -- there are going to be two or three listeners who will know this reference -- there were these things called Krazy straws.

Moser: Oh, yeah!

Muckerman: Oh, sure.

Greer: That would be the one exception. I would say that they should eliminate all straws but have Krazy straws.

Moser: But here's the difference, the Krazy straw is reusable! You would use it, you'd put it in the dishwasher, you'd clean it, and it's Krazy all over again!

Greer: Oh, my God! It would last a thousand years!

Moser: Exactly! I'm OK with that because you can reuse it. It's that plastic, disposable, it kills me.

Greer: I would go to Starbucks more if they had Krazy straws. Right now, I'm a Dunkin' guy.

Moser: See, Dunkin' kills me because of the Styrofoam cups.

Greer: That's a great point.

Moser: I don't understand, why can't you make that switch?

Greer: You know what Dunkin' does? They take the time to put the cream and sugar in your coffee for you. I like that. I like that extra step. Life's hard enough.

Moser: Or are you lazy?

Greer: Absolutely! That's what I mean by the extra step. I'm lazy, do it for me. Taylor, back to Starbucks. What do you think about this whole China thing, Schultz saying, "Hey, you know the China story? Not too bad, don't worry." Do you buy that?

Muckerman: Just based on the fact that it's still pretty early days for Starbucks, and they are opening stores, it seems like, every 30 minutes in China ... I'm not too sure of the consumer preferences in China. I know tea is probably a big deal over there. I don't know about coffee. But coffee wasn't big and other countries that Starbucks moved into. In Europe, you think espresso is the big deal, but Starbucks is very successful serving their full cups of coffee over there, along with all their sugary beverages. I think there's a good future there.

For me personally, I do wonder, Starbucks might become that dividend stock that you hold on to. I don't know if it's the same growth story, or even close to what we've seen over the last five to ten years, regardless of how China pans out. Even if it hits all the marks. I still think it's not going to be that stock that you see those life-changing gains anymore from.

Moser: Yeah, I tend to agree with that. I think the local risk is in play here, at least domestically. Growing that store base here in the U.S., it seems like we're pretty saturated at this point. It also does seem like mom-and-pop coffee shops are making a little bit of a comeback.

Muckerman: Yeah, it's almost like the craft brew industry here in the U.S., with all these mom-and-pop coffee shops.

Moser: That's not going to have a tremendous impact on their business, but it certainly brings into question the growth domestically. The thesis for the growth story in Starbucks over the past few years has been China. If you look at what Schultz says, I quote, he says, "I will say unequivocally that anyone who is betting against Starbucks in China is dead wrong."

Greer: Fighting words!

Moser: Yeah. He's very certain. I will say this, I don't think there's a CEO out there, at least of an American multinational company, that has done more research into the Chinese market than Howard Schultz has. I think that a lot of people that might get out there and criticize him on that statement don't know anywhere close to what he knows about the China market.

Greer: We should add that Schultz is leaving. Does that concern you?

Moser: No, not really. I think, at the end of the day, he's still going to be there to help, whether it's a formal or an informal way of making sure that Starbucks is doing well. I think a lot of what's going on right now, is unfolding, is stuff that he had already put into work. I think he got that ball rolling, helped get that ball rolling, some time ago. Kevin Johnson understands a lot about the China market as well because of his relationship with Howard Schultz. It's all to say that I don't think Schultz makes or breaks this company, but I do take his opinion seriously when he talks about things like this. A lot of what's going on right now, this strategy was already put into action before he decided to sever ties.

The fact of the matter is, if you're talking about a company like Starbucks partnering up with Alibaba and Jack Ma, Jack Ma's goal with Alibaba is to make China more of an importer, to bring more American goods into China. You could open up a tremendous distribution network there on the tea and coffee side with the Starbucks brand, the Teavana brand. A lot of opportunities there.

It's all to say, great businesses go through tough times. I think Starbucks is going through a tough time. Even if it's not that robust growth story that some were hoping for, I think it's going to be a pretty reliable investment. Certainly, the dividend is going to be there. I think it'll continue to grow. I could think of many reasons to hang on to these shares.

It's Put Up or Shut Up Time for Cryptocurrencies

What an incredible difference six months has made.

At this time last year, cryptocurrencies were about to begin one heck of a six-month run higher. When the curtain closed on 2017, the combined market value of all cryptocurrencies had soared more than 3,300% to $613 billion. Mind you, it would have taken the stock market decades to deliver similar returns.

Cryptocurrencies have made a complete 180 in 2018

But things changed in early January. After hitting an intraday high of $835 billion on Jan. 7, according to CoinMarketCap.com, cryptocurrencies began to sink...precipitously. With the exception of a few short-lived rebounds, digital currency valuations have been in retracement mode ever since. In fact, the aggregate value of virtual currencies recently hit $232 billion, which represents a 72% peak-to-trough decline, and somewhat rivals the 78% plummet in the Nasdaq�following the dot-com crash.

Image source: Getty Images.

Part of this recent selling may have to do with investors locking in massive gains. After all, some of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency space delivered mindboggling returns in 2017, including Ethereum and Ripple, which rose 9,383% and 35,564%, respectively. But there appears to be something even more pressing at hand behind this sell-off: the desire from Wall Street and investors to see tangible results.

In the cryptocurrency coming-out party that was 2017, virtual currencies regularly soared after announcing or hinting about corporate partnerships or tie-ups. For example, IOTA soared in the final two months of the year following the beta launch of its Data Marketplace, and announcing that a bevy of brand-name companies, including Microsoft, were participants providing feedback or some form of support on the project. Likewise, Ripple ascended to the heavens after announcing partnerships with American Express and Banco Santander�in November, and MoneyGram International�in January.

However, we're not seeing that same enthusiasm from investors any longer. Last month, IOTA announced partnered projects with Volkswagen, Nordic Semiconductors, and SinoPac, yet its MIOTA coin wound up shedding nearly half of its value in June. Similarly, Ripple has continued to announce new additions to RippleNet, yet has seen its XRP coin decline significantly in value.�

After one of the biggest rallies investors have ever witnessed, it's finally happened: it's officially put up or shut up time in the cryptocurrency space.

Image source: Getty Images.

It's put up or shut up time

The biggest question mark in the virtual currency space revolves around blockchain technology, which some optimists have anointed as the greatest thing since sliced bread. Blockchain is the digital, distributed, and decentralized ledger that underlies most cryptocurrencies and is responsible for processing transactions without the need for a financial intermediary, as well as logging data in a transparent and unchanging manner.

On paper, blockchain has a lot of potential in both the financial service and nonfinancial setting. It could expedite money flows from one party to another, as well as help businesses track goods in a supply chain in real time. The list of what blockchain can do is actually quite long. But what blockchain hasn't done is demonstrate that it can provide real-world benefits without any training wheels.

You see, up to this point, we've witnessed plenty of successful proof-of-concept testing done with blockchain, but we haven't seen any big businesses adopting the technology on a broad basis. That's because blockchain hasn't yet proven its ability to scale. Yet, blockchain can't prove its ability to scale if it's not given an opportunity by large businesses. We call this a Catch-22, and it's made the near term for blockchain incredibly murky.

Aside from the fact that cryptocurrencies have no traditional fundamental metrics with which to be valued on, investors have piled into virtual coins with the assumption that blockchain acceptance would be swift. However, that hasn't been the case, and it's thrown the entire thesis of owning cryptocurrencies into limbo.

Image source: Getty Images.

Don't overlook these concerns, either

To be clear, this isn't an easy fix for the developers behind virtual currencies. Proving scalability will probably take years.

Furthermore, these developers will have to convince businesses that blockchain technology is just as safe, if not safer, than existing infrastructure, which is debatable. According to a recent analysis from Carbon Black, some $1.1 billion in cryptocurrencies was stolen in a little over five months since 2018 began. Worse yet, because cryptocurrencies are mostly unregulated, there's little the Securities and Exchange Commission can do to recover stolen funds, some of which are concealed by privacy coins that obfuscate the sender and receive of funds.�

Another concern to be aware of is the growing presence of institutional investors. I know what you're probably thinking: "Doesn't the presence of financial institutions validate cryptocurrencies?" Unfortunately, the answer is no. The reason being that most institutional firms have a mixed or negative view on virtual currencies, and their entrance into the space has coincided with the precipitous decline in bitcoin futures, which were introduced in mid-December.

Investors want tangible results, and this slide in cryptocurrency valuations may not end until they get them.

MTU AERO ENGINE/ADR (MTUAY) Receives Buy Rating from DZ Bank

MTU AERO ENGINE/ADR (OTCMKTS:MTUAY)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities research analysts at DZ Bank in a report issued on Thursday.

MTU AERO ENGINE/ADR stock traded down $1.45 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $92.52. 8,069 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,038. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 0.51. MTU AERO ENGINE/ADR has a fifty-two week low of $70.00 and a fifty-two week high of $97.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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MTU AERO ENGINE/ADR (OTCMKTS:MTUAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter. MTU AERO ENGINE/ADR had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 24.67%.

MTU AERO ENGINE/ADR Company Profile

MTU Aero Engines AG, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and supports commercial and military engines, modules, and components in Germany, Europe, North America, Asia, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Original Equipment Manufacturing Business; and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Business.

Cooper Companies Inc (COO) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Cooper Companies Inc (NYSE:COO) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $265.40.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Cooper Companies from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, June 15th. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Cooper Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 15th. Oppenheimer set a $265.00 price target on shares of Cooper Companies and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 8th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Cooper Companies from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 5th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Cooper Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 28th.

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In other Cooper Companies news, Director Allan E. Rubenstein sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.13, for a total transaction of $235,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,074,073.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Daniel G. Mcbride sold 2,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.13, for a total transaction of $504,824.11. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 28,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,676,516.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,292 shares of company stock valued at $1,220,863. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BB&T Investment Services Inc. increased its stake in Cooper Companies by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. BB&T Investment Services Inc. now owns 542 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Cooper Companies by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Cooper Companies by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,239 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Cooper Companies by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,614 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $4,946,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Cooper Companies by 94.0% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 912 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.85% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Cooper Companies stock traded up $1.86 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $238.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 281,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,199. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $11.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.64. Cooper Companies has a 52 week low of $216.47 and a 52 week high of $260.26.

Cooper Companies (NYSE:COO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 7th. The medical device company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $631.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $627.49 million. Cooper Companies had a net margin of 5.58% and a return on equity of 17.14%. Cooper Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. equities analysts anticipate that Cooper Companies will post 11.81 EPS for the current year.

Cooper Companies Company Profile

The Cooper Companies, Inc operates as a medical device company worldwide. It operates through CooperVision and CooperSurgical business units. The company develops, manufactures, and markets a range of contact lenses, including spherical lenses, and toric and multifocal lenses that correct near- and farsightedness, as well as addresses various complex visual defects, such as astigmatism and presbyopia.

Facebook shutters the teen app it just bought

Facebook is shutting down three apps, including a teen app called tbh, which it bought about eight months ago.

In a blog post, the social network said it would shutter the tbh, Hello and Moves apps due to "low usage." Facebook will delete user data from the apps within 90 days.

"We know some people are still using these apps and will be disappointed," the company said in a blog post late Monday. "But we need to prioritize our work so we don't spread ourselves too thin."

Facebook acquired tbh -- which stands for the popular texting acronym "to be honest" -- for an undisclosed sum last October. The app let users participate in anonymous polls and give positive feedback to friends. It initially was widely popular among teens. Over 5 million people downloaded the app in a matter of weeks.

Following the deal, tbh's four co-creators Nikita Bier, Erik Hazzard, Kyle Zaragoza, and Nicolas Ducdodon joined Facebook's Menlo Park headquarters. A company spokesperson said the team will stay on at Facebook and work on other products.

Meanwhile, Facebook (FB) launched Hello in 2015 for Android users in the US, Brazil and Nigeria. It allowed users to combine contact details on their phone with information from Facebook. Facebook said the app will shut down in "a few weeks."

In 2014, the company bought fitness app Moves, which tracks activities like walking and running. The app will be shuttered at the end of July.

Tetra Tech, Inc. (TTEK) Expected to Announce Quarterly Sales of $541.79 Million

Analysts predict that Tetra Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTEK) will post $541.79 million in sales for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Five analysts have issued estimates for Tetra Tech’s earnings. The lowest sales estimate is $538.54 million and the highest is $545.00 million. Tetra Tech reported sales of $498.48 million during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year-over-year growth rate of 8.7%. The business is scheduled to issue its next earnings report on Wednesday, August 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Tetra Tech will report full-year sales of $2.20 billion for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $2.17 billion to $2.21 billion. For the next fiscal year, analysts expect that the company will report sales of $2.30 billion per share, with estimates ranging from $2.28 billion to $2.31 billion. Zacks’ sales calculations are an average based on a survey of analysts that follow Tetra Tech.

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Tetra Tech (NASDAQ:TTEK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $532.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $509.14 million. Tetra Tech had a net margin of 4.83% and a return on equity of 14.38%. Tetra Tech’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS.

Several research firms recently issued reports on TTEK. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Tetra Tech from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. BidaskClub raised shares of Tetra Tech from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 8th. ValuEngine raised shares of Tetra Tech from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 8th. Finally, Boenning Scattergood reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Tetra Tech in a report on Thursday, March 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.83.

Shares of Tetra Tech traded down $0.15, hitting $57.90, during trading hours on Tuesday, according to MarketBeat. 326,914 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 252,490. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.02. Tetra Tech has a one year low of $39.95 and a one year high of $58.70.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Tetra Tech’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Tetra Tech’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.54%.

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TTEK. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Tetra Tech by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 417,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,100,000 after purchasing an additional 19,615 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Tetra Tech by 50.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Aperio Group LLC increased its position in Tetra Tech by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 28,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 2,039 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Tetra Tech by 314.5% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 19,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 14,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Tetra Tech by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 252,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,163,000 after acquiring an additional 56,364 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.01% of the company’s stock.

Tetra Tech Company Profile

Tetra Tech, Inc provides consulting and engineering services worldwide. It operates through two segments, Water, Environment and Infrastructure (WEI); and Resource Management and Energy (RME). The WEI segment offers early data collection and monitoring, data analysis and information technology, science and engineering applied research, engineering design, construction management, and operations and maintenance services; and climate change and energy management consulting, as well as greenhouse gas inventory assessment, certification, reduction, and management services.

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Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Holdings in The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. (ULTI)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTI) by 26.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,196 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 15,223 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.13% of The Ultimate Software Group worth $10,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in The Ultimate Software Group by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 4,766 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its position in The Ultimate Software Group by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 16,869 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,111,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in The Ultimate Software Group by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 96,135 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,428,000 after purchasing an additional 9,568 shares during the last quarter. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan increased its position in The Ultimate Software Group by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan now owns 9,020 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in The Ultimate Software Group by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 62,871 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,322,000 after purchasing an additional 11,983 shares during the last quarter.

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In related news, VP Robert Manne sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.12, for a total transaction of $1,235,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 68,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,975,167.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Felicia Alvaro sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.84, for a total value of $501,680.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,375 shares of company stock valued at $2,819,786. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ULTI has been the topic of several research reports. ValuEngine raised The Ultimate Software Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 2nd. BidaskClub lowered The Ultimate Software Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 27th. SunTrust Banks upped their target price on The Ultimate Software Group from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. TheStreet raised The Ultimate Software Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 1st. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on The Ultimate Software Group from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $253.29.

ULTI opened at $277.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.57 billion, a PE ratio of 343.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.97. The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.59 and a 52-week high of $281.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

The Ultimate Software Group (NASDAQ:ULTI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. The Ultimate Software Group had a return on equity of 6.24% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $277.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $270.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. equities research analysts forecast that The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ultimate Software Group Profile

The Ultimate Software Group, Inc provides cloud-based human capital management solutions primarily to enterprise companies in the United States and Canada. The company's UltiPro software solution delivers the functionality businesses to manage the employee life cycle from recruitment to retirement.

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WHO classifies video game addiction as 'gaming…

Can someone truly be addicted to video games? The World Health Organization thinks so �� but a major professional organization for psychiatrists strongly disagrees.

The World Health Organization on Monday classified "gaming disorder" as a diagnosable�condition, giving mental health professionals a basis for setting up treatment and identifying risks�for the addictive behavior. But it was almost immediately contested by the American Psychiatric�Association, which�said Monday it has not found "sufficient evidence" to consider gaming addiction as a "unique mental disorder."

The disagreement a cast veil of confusion over how to approach a behavior associated with some deaths over the last two decades and as parents grapple with the increased popularity of online gaming.�

The Geneva-based WHO said it will include "gaming disorder" in the 11th edition of its International Classification�of Diseases, which is due out this month and is used by professionals across the globe to diagnose and classify conditions. It will describe the�disorder as�"impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences."

But some mental health professionals have been fighting this classification, worried that it's more grounded in moral concerns than science.��

Earlier this year, The Society for Media Psychology and Technology, a division of the American Psychological Association, released a policy statement stating concern about the WHO's proposal.�

"There was a fairly widespread concern that this is a diagnosis that doesn��t really have a very solid research foundation," said Christopher Ferguson, a psychologist and media researcher at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla.

The symptoms are not clear-cut and there's not designated treatment for the WHO diagnosis, he said.

The WHO's "gaming disorder" diagnosis would apply togamers with fractured connections to friends and family and who exhibit impaired academics and indifference toward areas of life outside gaming for at least 12 months.

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Only a small percentage of people across the world deal with this disorder, according to the WHO. But the number suffering from this mental health condition is enough to study the behavioral pattern and create a treatment program, the organization says.

From 0.3 percent to 1 percent of the general population might qualify for a potential acute diagnosis of ��internet gaming disorder," according to a study published in the November 2016 American Journal of Psychiatry�and referenced�on the�American Psychiatric Association blog in May 2017.

The APA included the disorder in the appendix of the 2014 edition of the�Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders along with caffeine use disorder and other conditions to stimulate research into those disorders.�

Not all experts were critical of WHO's stance. "I can��t imagine they came to this decision lightly," said Iowa State University psychology professor�Douglas Gentile. "(It) undermines the ability of�public health professions to do their jobs if we��re second-guessing them and their work."

For parents concerned about their child, teen or young adult, some more practical advice involves assessing their kids' lifestyle and health. Are they giving up their friends or other hobbies for games?�"But if they keep their grades up (and their) friends and�hobbies, then it��s not an addiction," Gentile said.

����Other signs of concern: Kids not sleeping or having health problems.

�"Sometimes gaming overuse can be a symptom that something is going wrong for the child," said Ferguson, who also co-authored Moral Combat: Why the War on Video Games is Wrong with Patrick Markey. "The likelihood is the problem is bigger than gaming and gaming didn��t cause it."�

Medical professionals are more focused on the reason causing the behavior�than the behavior of playing video games itself, said�Heather Senior Monroe, director of program development at Newport Academy, which has treatment centers for teens struggling with mental health issues in California, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. "The main characteristics�are�very similar to substance abuse disorder and gambling," she said.

"The behavior is like any other self harming behavior �� a way to escape reality," Monroe said. "The treatment is then about why. Why does that person want to escape their reality so much?"

The answer: depression and anxiety, usually, Monroe said.

As interest in online games has risen internationally, there have been�extreme cases of death tied to marathon video game sessions. Last year, a 35-year-old Virginia Beach man died after a 24-hour marathon session of the World of Tanks video game, broadcast on video game streaming service Twitch.

In 2002, a South Korean man was believed to be the first person to die from online game binge-playing�after playing for 86 hours. Three years later, another South Korean man died in an internet cafe.

China, too, has been hit with deaths from addictive online game behavior with separate deaths in 2007 and 2011. More recently, in 2015, a man died in a Shanghai internet cafe after playing World of Warcraft for 19 consecutive hours.

Other deaths connected to marathon game sessions�in the last six years have occurred in Taiwan, Russia and the U.K.

To address the issue, South Korea in 2011 passed a law prohibiting those under 16 from playing online games between midnight and 6 a.m. However in 2014, the country amended the law, allowing parents to lift the ban on their children.�

More: These are the video games the White House played in its meeting on game violence

More: New NRA president Oliver North decries 'culture of violence' but worked on 'Call of Duty'

�

Retirement Fund Sues Redstones' Firm Over Battle to Control CBS

A CBS Corp. investor sued a company controlled by billionaire Sumner Redstone for demanding changes to the media company’s bylaws that would harm other shareholders backing a stock issuance.

The changes pushed by National Amusements Inc. President Shari Redstone and her CBS board allies would improperly grant the Redstone family a veto over a stock-dilution plan backed by a majority of the company’s directors, the Pennsylvania-based Westmoreland County Employees’ Retirement System said in a Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit.

The investor suit backs CBS directors’ moves to wrest voting control of the owner of the U.S.’s most-watched prime time network from the Redstones, who own NAI, the company’s controlling shareholder. The stock plan, known as a special dividend, would reduce the family’s control to 17 percent from 79 percent by giving more shares to minority investors.

The bylaw changes, which would require 90 percent of the board to approve the dividend, were designed “solely to further defendants’ interests,” according to Thursday’s suit.

Control Battle

“NAI exercised its legal right to amend CBS’ bylaws,” Sara Evans, an outside spokesman for NAI, said in an emailed statement about the suit. “The efforts of the CBS directors to unilaterally dilute the voting rights of its controlling shareholder are extraordinary, unjustified and unlawful. We are confident the court will uphold NAI’s action.”

The suit is the latest chapter in the CBS control battle, which pits Les Moonves, the company’s chief executive officer, against Shari Redstone, Sumner’s daughter. The issue is whether the media company’s directors have the power to wipe out the Redstones’ voting control and block an unwanted merger with Viacom Inc.

It was Shari Redstone’s effort to merge Viacom and CBS that sparked the fight. She has been advocating a merger for almost two years, a move CBS has resisted unless Moonves was granted autonomy to run the combined companies.

Besides Shari Redstone, the investment fund named CBS directors David Andelman and Robert Klieger as defendants in the case. Both backed the Redstone family’s demands for changes to the company’s bylaw and corporate charter as part of the control fight.

The changes were “invalid” under Delaware law and are an improper attempt to nullify other shareholders’ rights to receive shares under the dividend, the fund’s lawyers said in the suit.

The fund wants a judge to approve the special dividend and find Shari Redstone and her allies breached legal duties to other CBS shareholders by demanding the flawed bylaw changes.

The case is Westmoreland County Employees’ Retirement System v. National Amusements Inc., No. 2018-0392, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).

(Updates with details from suit.) LISTEN TO ARTICLE 2:40 Share Share on Facebook Post to Twitter Send as an Email Print

Only a Few Got It Right at Sohn 2017 in Hong Kong. Here��s Who

Only a handful of clear winners stand out among the hedge-fund managers and short-sellers who pitched their top trade ideas at the Sohn Investment Conference in Hong Kong a year ago.

The majority of investment picks unveiled at the annual event on June 7, 2017 would have lost money in a year marked by concerns over rate hikes and rising trade tensions, in some cases giving up gains after a promising start. Flowering Tree Investment Management’s Rajesh Sachdeva, SC Lowy Financial (HK)’s Michel Lowy and Oasis Management Co.’s Seth Fischer were among the few managers whose ideas would have made investors money had they acted on the tip on the day they were made and held on to them until now.

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Seth Fischer

Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg

Bearish calls by short-seller Carson Block and hedge fund manager Dan David backfired as the Hong Kong stocks they targeted rallied.

As some of the region’s top managers gather again on Wednesday in Hong Kong, here’s a look at how some of those ideas fared:

Rajesh Sachdeva, CEO and founder of Flowering Tree Investment

Investment thesis: Sachdeva bet on India’s growing middle class and urbanization trend, which he said would augur well for "organized" home improvement retailers. He described Shankara Building Products Ltd. as the emerging Home Depot Inc. of India and said the firm could boost revenue by 18 percent to 20 percent in each of the next three to five years.

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One year on: Shankara’s share price has surged by more than 160 percent since last June, as its growth accelerated and the company saw record same-store sales growth in the March quarter, said Sachdeva. Flowering Tree hasn’t sold a “single” share and the stock remains a core position, he said. “They’re still only scratching the surface of penetration and if they continue to execute, they can keep growing at the current pace for five-plus years.”

Seth Fischer, CIO of Oasis Management

Investment thesis: After presenting a surprise short idea the year before, Fischer turned to a bullish pick in 2017, saying Sony Corp. was undervalued and could rise as much as 39 percent. Fischer cited a massive turnaround under Kazuo Hirai, who was chief executive officer at the time, and said the company’s gaming, music and image-sensor businesses were strengths.

One year on: Sony’s stock has risen about 30 percent in the past year. Fischer says he “feels good” about the call. “Our thesis was that sometimes there is value in plain sight,” he says. “While the future of image sensors looks slightly less clear after weak iPhone X numbers, the gaming and music businesses continue to be strong.” In fact, Fischer says the company is still trading “at what we think is a very cheap multiple.” He says Oasis continues to hold the stock.

Michel Lowy, CEO of SC Lowy

Investment thesis: Lowy recommended shares of Peabody Energy Corp., the U.S. coal miner that emerged from bankruptcy protection. He said the stock would trade in the “high 30s” within three months, and saw as much as 60 percent upside in coming months.

One year on: The shares have jumped about 70 percent in the past year, and are trading above $41 per share. Lowy didn’t comment on whether he holds the shares.

Carson Block, chief investment officer of Muddy Waters

Investment thesis: Block tried a new strategy in shorting Hong Kong stocks last year. By telling media that he would announce a new target at Sohn Conference but not name it, Block triggered a flurry of speculation in the city’s equity market one day before the conference, causing selloffs in some mid- and small-cap stocks. Man Wah Holdings, the real short target which Block believed was a fraud, plunged 18 percent in two days.

One year on: Two days after being targeted, Man Wah published a statement denying Muddy Waters’ allegations and sent the shares up by record. It then conducted share buybacks to show management’s confidence. The stock recovered the losses soon and gained as much as 43 percent in the five months after the conference. They’ve since fallen, but are still up 18 percent from a year ago. Block declined to comment.

Dan David, CIO of FG Alpha Management

Investment thesis: The U.S. hedge fund said it was short-selling Hong Kong-listed Dali Foods Group Company Ltd., questioning the firm’s accounting. Shares of Dali Foods dropped 6.5 percent on that day.

One year on: It turned out to be another burnt short. A day after David’s call, Dali Foods rebounded after the company put out a statement saying the allegations were misleading. Riding on Hong Kong’s bull market, its shares rallied almost 40 percent in the past year. David didn’t reply to emails seeking comment.

Brandon Lin, CIO of SPQ Asia Capital

Investment thesis: Lin said U.S.-listed Chinese company Momo Inc. had morphed from an online dating platform into a top social networking service. He described it a "a strong buy, a strong leader in a terrific industry, and an attractive valuation,” adding that live video was a game-changer.

One year on: Momo’s share price has dropped 3.4 percent since last year’s conference. SPQ fund began buying Momo shares in late 2016 and it was the fund’s top winning trade in 2017 as shares soared, said Gregoire Dechy, SPQ’s chief operating officer. The fund started to cut holdings from mid-July, believing Momo’s growth had started to slow with quickly rising expenses, making the stock fairly priced, he said. The fund has since sold all of its Momo shares.

Wan Yuet Wei, CIO of Wei Capital Management

Investment thesis: Wan said shares of Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor Co. had the potential to surge as much as 100 percent in a best case scenario and could rise 48 percent even in a base-case scenario. She said her call was based on a product upgrade from China’s largest SUV-maker.

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One year on: Great Wall, a popular target of short-sellers in Hong Kong last year, has slumped almost 10 percent in the past year. The product upgrade was well received and drove strong performance initially, said Wan. That changed as it became evident that Great Wall was hanging on too long to old models that weren’t selling well, and China’s automakers lagged as trade pressure from the U.S. intensified, said Wan, adding that her fund has been trading the stock actively. She declined to say whether it continues to own the shares.

Eashwar Krishnan, managing partner of Tybourne Capital

Investment thesis: Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc.’s stock price might rise 85 percent by 2020 as the company boosted its share of a growing market for aircraft enginees, Krishnan said last year. It could double its market share in the next five to seven years, he added.

One year on: Rolls-Royce shares have declined about 2 percent in the past year after being hit by fears of cost overruns. The company has met or exceeded all business guidance and non-recurring expenses should be resolved by early 2019, said Krishnan. The costs don’t detract from its attractive growth in revenue, margins and cash flows for many years to come, he added. “We believe Rolls-Royce’s ability to generate cash is vastly under-estimated by the street,” he said. “Our estimates are significantly ahead of consensus and we continue to be shareholders.”

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