Q: Is it smart to buy retailer stocks before the holidays?
A: It's not unusual for retailers to lose money all year, except for the critical holiday season. Does that mean investors who jump into the stocks now can profit?
Not so fast. The vicious cyclicality of the retailers' business is not a surprise and is already baked into the price of the stock. The fact retailers' profits are back loaded in December is something investors and analysts already know. For instance, at retailer L Brands, which operates Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, profit jumped 455% in the quarter containing holiday 2012 results from the previous quarter in 2012.
5 Best Sliver Stocks To Own Right Now: Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (ICPT)
Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on September 4, 2002, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics to treat chronic liver diseases utilizing its bile acid chemistry.The Company�� product candidates treat orphan and more prevalent liver diseases for which there are limited therapeutic solutions. The Company�� product candidate, obeticholic acid, or OCA, is a bile acid analog, a chemical substance that has a structure based on a naturally occurring human bile acid. It is developing OCA initially for primary biliary cirrhosis, or PBC, as a second line treatment for patients who have an inadequate response to or who are unable to tolerate standard of care therapy and therefore need additional treatment. The Company is conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial of OCA in PBC, which it calls the POISE trial, that serves as the basis for seeking regulatory approval in the United States and Europe. As of December 19, 2012, the Company completed enrollment of the POISE trial with 217 patients.
The Company�� clinical focus is on the development of OCA, orally administered, first-in-class FXR agonist that has broad liver-protective properties and may a variety of chronic insults to the liver that cause fibrosis, which can eventually lead to cirrhosis, liver transplant and death. The Company owns worldwide rights to OCA outside of Japan and China, where it has licensed the compound to Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, or DSP, and granted it an option to license OCA in certain other Asian countries.The Company is sponsoring an independent study involving more than ten leading PBC centers in North America and Europe, or collectively the Global PBC Study Group, that are pooling their long-term patient data to evaluate the relationship between biochemical and clinical endpoints.
The Company competes with Eli Lilly, Exelixis, Inc., Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG, , Johnson & Johnson, NovImmune SA, Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH, Galmed Medical Researc! h Ltd., Immuron Ltd., Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., NasVax Ltd. , Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. Astellas Pharma US, Inc., AstraZeneca, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Tioga Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
In what’s turned into a bad day for biotech stocks, Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) is among the worst performers.
REUTERSShares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals have dropped 8.3% to $295, lagging the 3.3% drop in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) and the 4.7% decline in the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI). Gilead Sciences (GILD) has fallen 2.1% to $72.44 and Amgen (AMGN) is off just 1.8% at $121.88.
Blame SAC’s decision to drastically cut its position and a secondary offering for Intercept’s decline.
Wedbush’s Liana Moussatos explains the purpose of the secondary offering:
Intercept raised approximately $183.3MM in a follow-on offering of 600,000 shares at $320/share. We project runway into Q3 2016 from Q3 2015, which covers major milestones, including regulatory review and potential approval of OCA in PBC in 2015…
Reiterate OUTPERFORM rating and acquisition value of $493. Our acquisition value is calculated by applying a 30% annual discount to our net peak WW revenues for each drug/indication and applying a 1-10x multiple depending on stage of development to reflect risk. Each combination is added in a sum-of-parts to calculate an acquisition value for [Intercept Pharmaceuticals] and projected to the end of 2015 to include the time frame we see for potential acquisition.
Just expect a heck of a lot of volatility before then.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
When a biotech stock has already gained 556% this year, like Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) has, there’s really only one thing for an analyst to do–raise their price target. And that’s exactly what Citigroup did today with Intercept Pharmaceuticals, the best performing biotech company in the Russell 2000.
Intercept Pharmaceutical has surged 576% this year after gaining today, besting InterMune’s (ITMN) 119% spike and Sangamo BioSciences’ (SGMO) 63% advance.
Citigroup’s Jonathan Eckard and team explain why they’re even more excited about Buy-rated Intercept Pharmaceuticals:
We are raising�[Intercept Pharmaceuticals' target price] to $700 (+$100) based on higher regulatory confidence following a thorough assessment of FDA history with blood lipid changes in other settings involving liver damage/repair. We believe the FDA�� understanding of these lipid changes is under-recognized by the Street and the agency�� past ��ack of��response to them highlights this. Therefore, we expect the lipid changes in the FLINT trial are likely to receive less regulatory scrutiny than current Street expectations and this is not reflected in [Intercept Pharmaceuticals'] current valuation. We also believe certain FLINT data could be publicly available by the end of July and before the anticipated AASLD showing.
What does all that mean for Intercept Pharmaceuticals? Here’s the one-sentence version: “Our increase is driven primarily by higher probability of approval and more rapid penetration into the most severe NASH population.”
Shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals have gained 2.9% to $461.11, while InterMune has dropped 2.9% to $32.29 and Sangamo BioSciences has dipped 0.5% to $22.67.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Equities Trading UP
Shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ICPT) got a boost, shooting up 62.40 percent to $452.02. Citigroup lifted the price target on the stock from $60.00 to $400.00, while Bank of America raised the price target from $81.00 to $872.00.
5 Best Sliver Stocks To Own Right Now: United States Steel Corporation(X)
United States Steel Corporation produces and sells steel mill products in North America and Central Europe. It operates in three segments: Flat-rolled Products (Flat-rolled), U. S. Steel Europe (USSE), and Tubular Products (Tubular). The Flat-rolled segment offers slabs, rounds, strip mill plates, sheets, and tin mill products, as well as iron ore and coke. This segment serves service center, conversion, transportation, construction, container, and appliance and electrical markets in North America. The USSE segment offers slabs, sheets, strip mill plates, tin mill products, and spiral welded pipes, as well as heating radiators and refractory ceramic materials. This segment serves the European construction, service center, conversion, container, transportation, and appliance and electrical, as well as and oil, gas, and petrochemical markets. The Tubular segment offers seamless and electric resistance welded steel casing and tubing; and standard, and line pipe and mechanical tubing. It primarily serves customers in the oil, gas, and petrochemical markets. The company also provides transportation services, including railroad and barge operations. In addition, it owns, develops, and manages various real estate assets, which include approximately 200,000 acres of surface rights primarily in Alabama, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania; participates in joint ventures that are developing real estate projects in Alabama, Maryland, and Illinois; and owns approximately 4,000 acres of land in Ontario, Canada. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Nucor have gained 0.6% to $49.75 at 2:43 p.m., while ArcelorMittal has risen 1.4% to $15.31, US Steel (X) has jumped 4.6% to $25.31, AK Steel (AKS) has climbed 4.4% to $6.39 and Steel Dynamics (STLD) has advanced 1.6% to $16.95.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
That dynamic means that companies that can benefit from construction strength and cut costs will outperform others. For that reason, Murphy keeps Nucor (NUE) and�Steel Dynamics (STLD) at Buy. He wasn’t so kind to Reliance Steel (RS), US Steel (X) and AK Steel (AKS), which were all cut, though for different reasons.
- [By Rich Smith]
If you want to know what the future holds for global steel giants like Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT ) , U.S. Steel (NYSE: X ) , and Nucor (NYSE: NUE ) , one of the best ways you can spend your time, I suspect, is by reviewing the earnings reports of another company entirely -- Schnitzer Steel (NASDAQ: SCHN ) .
- [By Roberto Pedone]
Another stock that looks poised to trigger a big breakout trade is U.S. Steel (X), which is an integrated steel producer of flat-rolled and tubular products with major production operations in North America and Europe. This stock has been hit hard by the sellers so far in 2013, with shares off by 22%.
If you take a look at the chart for U.S. Steel, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last three months and change, with shares moving between $15.76 on the downside and $19.70 on the upside. Shares of X have just started to trend back above its 50-day moving average of $17.87 a share and it's quickly pushing within range of triggering a big breakout trade above the upper-end of its sideways trading chart pattern. If this breakout hits soon, then it would take X out of its consolidation pattern and potentially into a new uptrend.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in X if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $19.26 to $19.40 and then once it clears more resistance at $19.70 with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action 7.31 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then X will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $21.30 to $24, or even $25 a share.
Traders can look to buy X off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day at $17.87 a share, or below more support at $16.86 a share. One could also buy X off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
This stock is another favorite target of the short-sellers, since the current short interest as a percentage of the float for X is very high at 30.1%. This stock could easily see a powerful short-squeez
Top Trucking Companies To Buy For 2015: iShares North American Tech-Software ETF (IGV)
iShares S&P North American Technology-Software Index Fund (the Fund), formerly, iShares S&P GSTI Software Index, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance as represented by the S&P North American Technology-Software Index (the Index). The Index has been developed as an equity benchmark for United States-traded, software-related stocks.
The Index includes companies that are producers of client/server applications, enterprise software, Internet software, personal computer and entertainment software. The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities in the Index, which has a similar investment profile as the Index.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Small cap Synacor Inc (NASDAQ: SYNC) says its "where Tech, Hollywood and Madison Avenue meet in the cloud��but its not exactly been a blockbuster for investors���meanings its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with the performance of potential benchmarks like the First Trust ISE Cloud Computing Index (NASDAQ: SKYY), iShares North American Tech-Software (NYSEARCA: IGV) and Global X Social Media Index ETF (NASDAQ: SOCL).
5 Best Sliver Stocks To Own Right Now: LaSalle Hotel Properties (LHO)
LaSalle Hotel Properties, a real estate investment trust (REIT), engages in the purchase, ownership, redevelopment, and leasing of primarily upscale and luxury full-service hotels in convention, resort, and urban business markets in the United States. It owns 34 hotels, totaling approximately 9,200 guest rooms in 15 markets in 11 states and the District of Columbia. The company qualifies as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal corporate income tax to the extent that it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Bethesda, Maryland.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Marshall Hargrave]
The other key benefit for Strategic is that it enjoys industry-leading earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) per available room. For 2012, Strategic generated $81 per room of EBITDA. Compare this to top comps LaSalle Hotel (NYSE: LHO) at $74 per room and Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) at $71. The reason for this is that Strategic is much less reliant than its peers on rooms, with much greater exposure to food and beverages. Strategic earns 53% of its revenue from rooms, while its peers get around 66% of revenues from rooms.
- [By Rich Duprey]
Upscale hotel operator�LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE: LHO ) announced yesterday its third-quarter dividend of $0.28 per share, a 40% increase in the payout made to investors from the $0.20 per share paid last quarter.
- [By Marc Bastow]
Hotel, convention and resort real estate investment trust LaSalle Hotel Properties (LHO) raised its quarterly dividend 34% to 37.5 cents per share payable July 15 to shareholders of record June 30.
LHO Dividend Yield: 4.66%
5 Best Sliver Stocks To Own Right Now: Mitel Networks Corporation(MITL)
Mitel Networks Corporation provides integrated communications solutions to the small-to-medium sized enterprise market in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Canada, Caribbean, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. It offers Internet protocol (IP) telephony platforms, including IP telephony software that performs various functions comprising multi-media call control and communications, which allow business users to reach each other, share information, and collaborate; appliances; and desktop devices, such as IP and digital phones, specialty desktop devices, and peripherals. The company also provides a suite of UCC applications, which consist unified communicator advanced, mobility, customer interaction solution, unified messaging, speech auto attendant, telecollaboration solution, teleworker solution, and business dashboard, as well as audio, video, and Web conferencing for integrating voice, video, and data communications with business applications. In addi tion, it offers network services that include local access services; long distance services; mobile voice and data services; data services, such as Internet access and private networking services; hosted offerings, which comprise network monitoring and management, audio conferencing, Web conferencing, hosted secure Internet access, and Web hosting; and hosted IP telephony services. Further, the company provides managed services, including project management, installation, training, maintenance, professional, consulting, business requirements review, and disaster recovery planning services; support services; and financing of its solutions. It serves education, government, healthcare, hospitality, and retail markets through wholesale distributors, solution providers, system integrators, authorized channel partners, and other technology providers. The company is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By MONEYMORNING.COM]
Mitel Networks Corp. (Nasdaq: MITL) is a small-cap communication and collaboration software company that caters to small and medium-sized businesses.
- [By Michael Robinson]
Mitel Networks (MITL)
Small-cap Mitel is known for its advanced contact center platform that includes mobile chat and also helps mid-market firms generate sales leads while lowering expenses.
- [By Richard Lomas]
How much impact there will be on the profit margin will depend on the royalty rate set. Virnetx has an established royalty rate structure both published and through agreements with other licensees. Virnetx's published royalty rate is between 1 and 2 percent for customers in good standing. This royalty rate has been validated through licenses with 4 different companies, Siemens (SI), NEC, Mitel (MITL), and Aastra (AATSF.PK). The average rate agreed to by these companies through negotiations is 1.52%, right in the middle of the 1 to 2 percent published rate. Whatever rate is set will further reduce Apple's profit margin.
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