Your Friday Briefing: Everything You Need to Know About the Dow Jones Today in Three Minutes

The Dow Jones today jumped at market open today after the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the U.S. economy added 157,000 jobs in July. That figure fell short of the 190,000 spots that economists had projected.

It was also the lowest increase in positions since March 2018. However, the 3.9% unemployment rate is close to the lowest level that we've seen the official unemployment rate since the late 1960s.

Life-Changing Profit Potential: One tiny firm is rapidly developing the parts for a game-changing technology – and the gains from its stock, trading for less than $10, could turn every $1,000 invested into $4,719. Learn more…

Here are the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Index	Previous Close	Point Change	Percentage Change
Dow Jones	25,326.16	-7.66	-0.33%
S&P 500	2,827.22	13.86	0.49%
Nasdaq	7,802.69	95.40	1.24%

Now here's a closer look at today's Money Morning insight, the most important market events, and stocks to watch.

Money Morning Insight of the Day

Earnings season is well underway. And if you're looking to make real money, it's not too late to get started.�Money Morning�Quantitative Specialist Chris Johnson argues the markets are at a tipping point.

And with just a few smart plays in today's classic stock picker's market, you can pull in�triple-digit gains with just a small investment.

The Top Stock Market Stories for Friday China appears ready to escalate the ongoing trade battle with the United States. The country is currently tallying a list of $60 billion in U.S. goods that it plans to hit with tariffs. These import charges would range at rates between 5% and 25%, according to the Chinese government. In a statement, the Chinese government said, "Any unilateral threat or blackmail will only lead to intensification of conflicts and damage to the interests of all parties." Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump floated an additional 25% tariff on up to $250 billion in Chinese goods. A week after Trump announced plans to offer $12 billion in aid to the U.S. farming community, now the automotive industry is looking for a handout. According to reports, General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is seeking an exemption to the 25% tariff for its SUV called the Buick Envision. That vehicle comprises 19% of brand sales for Buick in the United States. Three Stocks to Watch Today: KHC

Shares of Kraft Heinz Co. (Nasdaq: KHC) were on the move on news that the company is exploring a possible deal to purchase Campbell Soup Co.�(NYSE: CPB). A report by the New York Post suggests that Kraft has not made an offer and that any purchase would likely not offer much in the way of a premium from the current share price. The news comes a day after Kraft topped Wall Street earnings and revenue forecasts and issued positive forward guidance. Shares of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) fell slightly on Friday. The dip came a day after the technology giant officially became the first U.S. public company to hit a market capitalization of $1 trillion. "With the world's oldest profession already staked out, there are many competitors for second oldest," writes Money Morning's Tim Melvin. "Leading claimants include spies and politicians, but that can't be right." Today, Tim explains why spending on the military fuels this profession. And then he explains why he likes the firm�Vectrus Inc.�(NYSE:�VEC). Other firms reporting earnings include Groupon Inc. (Nasdaq: GRPN),�Dish Network Corp. (Nasdaq: DISH), and CBOE Global Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: CBOE).

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46,078 Shares in Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) Acquired by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG bought a new stake in Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (BATS:PAVE) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 46,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $740,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAVE. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF during the first quarter worth approximately $279,000. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF during the first quarter worth approximately $3,483,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF during the first quarter worth approximately $247,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF by 3.0% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 134,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,160,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter.

PAVE stock opened at $16.91 on Thursday. Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF has a 52-week low of $13.80 and a 52-week high of $17.80.

Read More: Average Daily Trade Volume – What You Need to Know

What Analysts Are Saying About Apple After Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) released fiscal third-quarter financial results after markets closed Tuesday. There was a lot of noise surrounding this earnings report, as Apple��s fellow FAANG stocks Netflix and Facebook took a dive after their earnings reports. However, Apple managed to weather the storm, and so did its analysts.

24/7 Wall St. has included some highlights from Apple��s earnings report, as well as what analysts are saying about the stock after the fact.

The iPhone giant said that it had $2.34 in earnings per share (EPS) on $53.3 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $2.18 in EPS on $52.34 billion in revenue. In the same period of last year, Apple posted EPS of $1.67 on revenue of $45.41 billion.

In this latest quarter, the firm reported its product sales as follows:

iPhone moved 41.3 million units, up 1% year over year. The segment pulled in revenues of $29.91 billion, an increase of 20%. iPad reported 11.6 million units sold, an increase of 1%. Revenues decreased 5% to $4.74 billion. Mac sold 3.72 million units, a decrease of 13% from last year. Revenues decreased 4% to $5.33 billion. Services revenues increased 31% to $9.55 billion. Other Products revenues increased 37% to $3.74 billion.

Regarding guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter, the company expects to see revenues in the range of $60 billion to $62 billion and gross margin of 38.0% to 38.5%. The consensus estimates call for $2.65 in EPS on $59.57 billion in revenue.

Here��s what analysts had to say:

DZ Bank reiterated a Buy rating. Nomura has a Neutral rating with a $190 price target. Needham has a Buy rating and raised its price target to $220 from $210. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a Hold rating with a $199 price target. RBC has an Outperform rating with a $225 price target. Loop Capital has a Buy rating with a $220 price target.

Shares of Apple were last seen up 4% at $198.25 on Wednesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $203.22 and a 52-week trading range of $149.16 to $199.26.

ALSO READ: Merrill Lynch’s 5 Top Equity Income Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2018

FTI Consulting, Inc. (FCN) Expected to Announce Earnings of $0.63 Per Share

Equities research analysts expect FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE:FCN) to report earnings of $0.63 per share for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Two analysts have made estimates for FTI Consulting’s earnings, with estimates ranging from $0.62 to $0.63. FTI Consulting posted earnings per share of $0.40 during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year-over-year growth rate of 57.5%. The business is expected to announce its next quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, July 26th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that FTI Consulting will report full-year earnings of $2.65 per share for the current financial year. For the next year, analysts expect that the business will report earnings of $2.89 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.81 to $2.97. Zacks’ EPS averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that that provide coverage for FTI Consulting.

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FTI Consulting (NYSE:FCN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $497.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $456.68 million. FTI Consulting had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 9.85%. FTI Consulting’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS.

FCN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. ValuEngine cut shares of FTI Consulting from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 2nd. Sidoti raised shares of FTI Consulting from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research cut shares of FTI Consulting from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. FTI Consulting presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

In related news, Director Brenda J. Bacon sold 15,966 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total value of $1,004,900.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,615.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in FTI Consulting by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,163,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,303,000 after buying an additional 6,772 shares during the last quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in FTI Consulting by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 349,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,941,000 after buying an additional 6,825 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in FTI Consulting by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 292,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,171,000 after buying an additional 2,556 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in FTI Consulting by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 285,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,279,000 after buying an additional 21,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in FTI Consulting by 121.0% in the 1st quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 170,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,249,000 after buying an additional 93,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.34% of the company’s stock.

Shares of FCN stock traded down $0.71 on Friday, reaching $66.73. The stock had a trading volume of 230,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,511. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86 and a beta of 0.10. FTI Consulting has a 12 month low of $31.65 and a 12 month high of $69.25.

About FTI Consulting

FTI Consulting, Inc provides business advisory services to manage change, mitigate risk, and resolve disputes worldwide. The company's Corporate Finance & Restructuring segment provides turnaround and restructuring, business transformation, interim management, valuation and financial advisory, transaction, dispute advisory, and tax services, as well as mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and M&A integration services.

See Also: What is a closed-end mutual fund (CEF)?

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on FTI Consulting (FCN)

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

AT&T adds three cities to mobile 5G plan

Lightning-fast 5G service may soon be within your reach.�

As part of its plan to bring speedy mobile 5G service to a dozen cities this year, AT&T announced Friday the names of three of those locations,�Charlotte, Raleigh and Oklahoma City. The trio joins the previously announced cities that AT&T says will have access to its 5G network in 2018,Dallas, Atlanta and Waco.�

In a statement, AT&T said that the company is deliberately targeting a mix of mid-size and large cities, stating that all Americans should be able to use better connectivity "to avoid a new digital divide."

"5G will be more than just a better network," AT&T technology and operations president Melissa Arnoldi said. "We believe 5G will ultimately create a world of new economic opportunity, greater mobility, and smarter connectivity for individuals, businesses and society as a whole.��

5G service is seen as the necessary step to power a new class of technology such as self-driving cars and streaming virtual reality as well as faster smartphones. AT&T has been competing with rival Verizon Wireless to bring the next generation service to consumers. Verizon is launching its own limited 5G mobile rollout this year.

T-Mobile is planning to build out 5G in 30 cities next year. The company it hopes to merge with, Sprint, is also eyeing a 2018 5G launch.

Initial 5G installments will be rolled out through "fixed wireless" service, which is essentially a broadband alternative. �Most�5G capable phones are expected to come next year, though some handsets could show up before the end of 2018.

More: Speedy 5G service is coming to smartphones later this year, AT&T says

More: 5G speed phones: We now know when they're coming, and where

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What to Do When a Freelance Client Won't Pay

Being a freelancer certainly has its perks. You get to be your own boss, set your own hours, and work on the things that interest you the most. But there's a downside to being a freelancer, and it's the lack of a reliable income. Even if you manage to get your fair share of clients, you may come to find that getting them to pay you is easier said than done. And, if you're like most freelancers, you'll probably encounter a scenario in which a client attempts to stiff you altogether.

If you've performed work for a freelance client who won't pay, you might think you have no choice but to write off that invoice and forgo the income you were counting on. But before you resign yourself to that fate, try these tactics instead.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

1. Be persistent

Some clients will try to get out of paying by simply ignoring your invoices, emails, and calls. And if you back down, they'll get away with doing just that. So don't back down. Take a minute or two each week to contact your delinquent client asking for your money. It pays to toggle between email and voice mail so that your presence is harder for your client to ignore. If that client comes to realize that you're not giving up so easily, he or she might concede and send in that payment to avoid having to hear from you again.

2. Write a threatening letter

It's one thing for you to leave a client a voicemail asking for your money, but it's another thing to make a formal demand in writing. If you do the latter, that client is more likely to take you seriously, so invest a few extra minutes into composing a message that's clear and to the point. Summarize the work that you did, document your attempts to collect the money you're due, and give your client a final date by which to remit payment before you see about taking legal action. (Whether you actually choose to take legal action will depend on the amount of money at stake. If it's a smaller sum, it's probably not worth hiring an attorney or going to court, but that doesn't mean you can't threaten to do so.)

Furthermore, send that letter by certified, return receipt mail so that you can be sure it arrived at its destination. This way, if you do decide to take legal action, there's proof that it reached its intended recipient.

3. Change your billing practices

Once you've experienced the sting of not getting paid, the last thing you want is for it to happen again. So don't let it. To avoid a repeat incident, change your billing practices so that you start getting money for projects along the way, as opposed to waiting until after you've already finished and submitted the work. You might, for example, decide that you're going to require clients to submit one-third of their project total up front, one-third at the midway point, and the final third after the job is complete. This way, if someone aims to stiff you again, you won't be looking at a total loss.

Of course, if you have a group of established clients with a strong history of paying you on time, there's no need to subject them to these new requirements. But it pays to go this route with clients you've never worked with before. And if they question it, explain that you're reeling from a job you didn't get paid for, and that this is what you need to do to protect yourself. Chances are, they'll understand.

As a freelancer, there's perhaps nothing more frustrating or upsetting than having a client who won't pay. If you land in this unfortunate situation, don't give up without a fight. Just as importantly, take steps to cover your bases going forward so that it doesn't end up happening again.

Top Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:XIN,BDSI,RDC,LUNA,TSN,III,

In the week ended June 1, 2018, the number of land rigs drilling for oil in the United States totaled 861, up by two compared to the previous week and 128 higher than a total of 733 a year ago. Including 197 other land rigs drilling for natural gas and two listed as miscellaneous, there are a total of 1,060 working rigs in the country, up by one, week over week, and 144 more than a year ago. The data come from the latest Baker Hughes North American Rotary Rig Count released on Friday afternoon.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for July delivery settled at $67.04 a barrel on Thursday and traded down about 0.9% Friday afternoon at $66.45 shortly before regular trading closes. Brent crude for August delivery traded at $77.08 a barrel.

The natural gas rig count fell by one to 197 this week. The count for natural gas rigs is now up by 15, year over year. Natural gas for July delivery traded up about 0.1%, at around $2.96 per million BTUs, up about a penny compared to last Friday.

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

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

Top Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: BioDelivery Sciences International Inc.(BDSI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (NASDAQ: BDSI) shares were also up, gaining 19 percent to $2.3272 after the company announced board restructuring plan and $50m equity financing deal led by Broadfin to "significantly strengthen" financial position.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  BioDelivery Sciences International (NASDAQ:BDSI) had its target price reduced by research analysts at HC Wainwright from $4.00 to $3.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective points to a potential upside of 40.00% from the company’s current price.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Media headlines about BioDelivery Sciences International (NASDAQ:BDSI) have been trending somewhat positive recently, according to Accern Sentiment. The research firm identifies positive and negative media coverage by reviewing more than 20 million blog and news 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. BioDelivery Sciences International earned a news sentiment score of 0.16 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media headlines about the specialty pharmaceutical company an impact score of 46.960149735727 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the next few days.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Comstock Holding Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHCI) shares climbed 154.95 percent to close at $5.15 on Thursday. Comstock reported conversion of the majority of its unsecured, short-term debt into non-convertible preferred equity. Tyme Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: TYME) jumped 33.45 percent to close at $3.87. Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) gained 29.72 percent to close at $62.85 after reporting fiscal Q4 results. Evolus, Inc. (NASDAQ: EOLS) shares rose 22.93 percent to close at $23.80. nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ: LASR) jumped 21.52 percent to close at $36.37 following Q1 results. Hudson Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: HDSN) gained 20.28 percent to close at $2.61. The Cato Corporation (NYSE: CATO) shares rose 19.57 percent to close at $21.45 after the company posted better-than-expected first-quarter results. AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXTI) gained 18.8 percent to close at $7.90. Catasys, Inc. (NASDAQ: CATS) rose 16.33 percent to close at $6.41. HUYA Inc. (NYSE: HUYA) rose 15.68 percent to close at $23.09 on Thursday. Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNS) climbed 15.11 percent to close at $6.02 on Thursday after gaining 6.30 percent on Wednesday. Baird initiated coverage on Marinus Pharmaceuticals with an Outperform rating. Destination Maternity Corporation (NASDAQ: DEST) shares rose 14.48 percent to close at $3.32 after the board announced late Wednesday the election of four activist-backed director nominees. Three women and one man comprise the selected group championed by NGM Capital’s Nathan Miller and Kenosis Capital’s Peter O’Malley. Destination Maternity had advocated for another slate of three men and interim CEO Melissa Payner-Gregor. The new directors are Holly Alden, Marla Ryan, Anne-Charlotte Windal and Christopher Morgan. China Rapid Finance Limited (NYSE: XRF) gained 11.53 percent to close at $3.29 after announcing preliminary Q1 results. Bilibili Inc.. (NASDAQ: BILI) shares rose 11.33 pe

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

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

• [By Max Byerly]

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

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

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

Top Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Luna Innovations Incorporated(LUNA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Luna Innovations (NASDAQ:LUNA) major shareholder Clinic Carilion sold 6,100 shares of Luna Innovations stock in a transaction on Friday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.41, for a total transaction of $20,801.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,054,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,005,452.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  PRA Health Sciences (NASDAQ: PRAH) and Luna Innovations (NASDAQ:LUNA) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and earnings.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Luna Innovations (LUNA)

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

Top Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Tyson Foods Inc.(TSN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,734 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,022 shares during the quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP’s holdings in Tyson Foods were worth $8,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Media headlines about Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) have been trending somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. The research group rates the sentiment of news coverage by monitoring more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Tyson Foods earned a media sentiment score of 0.19 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned headlines about the company an impact score of 46.975937339582 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the next several days.

• [By ]

  Tyson Foods (TSN) CEO Tom Hayes wasn't kidding when he told TheStreet he wanted to make another big acquisition soon. 

  But the argument could be made that Wall Street wasn't expecting his latest food purchase. On Tuesday, Tyson Foods said it will spend $850 million to buy the poultry rendering and blending assets of American Proteins, Inc. and AMPRO Products, Inc.

• [By ]

  But what investors are overlooking are the fundamental risks to this logic. Corporate earnings are the lifeblood of the market, keep in mind. Higher oil prices have already translated into higher gas prices, which is a key risk to automakers such as Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) that have pivoted big-time to producing SUVs and trucks. Higher oil prices have already taken a toll on earnings for packaged food giants like Proctor & Gamble (PG) and Tyson Foods (TSN) . Now, each are staring at consumer price increases because it costs more to deliver their products to stores.

Top Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Information Services Group Inc.(III)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  CGI Group (NYSE: GIB) and Information Services Group (NASDAQ:III) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  3i Group (LON:III) had its price target upped by Societe Generale from GBX 1,020 ($13.58) to GBX 1,130 ($15.04) in a research note released on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  RMR Group (NASDAQ: RMR) and Information Services Group (NASDAQ:III) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Information Services Group, Inc. Common Stock (III)

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

AAR Corp. (AIR) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.08

AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 10th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.075 per share by the aerospace company on Tuesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%.

AAR has a payout ratio of 16.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect AAR to earn $2.74 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 10.9%.

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Shares of AIR traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.55. 635,067 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 241,483. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.26 and a beta of 1.26. AAR has a fifty-two week low of $34.25 and a fifty-two week high of $49.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 2.86.

AIR has been the topic of several research reports. Noble Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AAR in a research report on Thursday, March 22nd. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of AAR from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 30th. Credit Suisse Group raised their target price on shares of AAR to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 22nd. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of AAR from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

About AAR

AAR CORP. provides products and services to commercial aviation, government, and defense markets worldwide. The company's Aviation Services segment offers aftermarket support and services; inventory management and distribution services; and maintenance, repair, and overhaul, as well as engineering services.

Domo's IPO Could Doom Eager Investors

Domo (NASDAQ:DOMO) went public on June 29, and the cloud analytics software firm got off to a bumpy start. After debuting at $21 per share, the stock opened at $23.80, dipped to $22, then finished the first trading day at $27.30 for a 30% gain.

However, Domo subsequently stumbled back below $22, as ongoing concerns about trade tensions pummeled the broader market. Does this pullback represent a buying opportunity? Or does it indicate that Domo could face tough headwinds in the near future?

Image source: Getty Images.

What does Domo do?

Domo's cloud-based OS�lets CEOs manage their entire companies from their smartphones with access to real-time data and business management tools. It also provides employees with real-time analytics tools for business decisions. Domo's founder and CEO Josh James previously founded Omniture, an online marketing and analytics firm that Adobe�acquired for $1.8 billion.

Domo claims that its platform "digitally connects all the people, data and systems in an organization." It also states that its cloud-powered technology helps "customers in the aggregate" query "between 100 to 200 trillion rows" of uncached queries per day.

Its expanding ecosystem includes its Mr. Roboto AI platform, its Buzz collaboration and productivity suite, its Adrenaline data warehouse, and various data visualization tools. Its DomoBots "connectors," Fusion data transformation engine, and Domo Appstore let developers integrate other apps into its platform.

Domo serves over 1,500 organizations, including 385 larger "enterprise" customers, which account for nearly half of Domo's revenue. Domo claims that by the end of last year, its 20 largest customers had "increased their investment in our platform by approximately nine times compared to their initial subscription" -- indicating that it has plenty of room for cross-selling services.

Image source: Getty Images.

Domo's competitors include Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), which integrates collaboration and productivity software into its cloud services, Tableau (NYSE:DATA), which offers data visualization and business analytics tools, and salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM), which provides a wide range of cloud services for businesses.

Spotting Domo's problems

Domo's revenue rose 46% to $108.5 million last year. However, its revenue only grew 32% to $31.9 million during the first quarter of fiscal year 2019, indicating that its sales growth was decelerating.

Between the first quarter's of 2018 and 2019, Domo's gross margin expanded from 59% to 64%. That figure sounds impressive, but it's significantly lower than Tableau or Salesforce's margins. Domo's margins are actually closer to Microsoft's margins, which aren't directly comparable since much of Microsoft's revenue still comes from non-cloud businesses.

Source:�YCharts

Domo's operating expenses also gobbled up 199% of its revenues last quarter. That was an improvement from 257% a year earlier, but it still kept its bottom line deep in the red. Its net loss narrowed from $183.1 million in 2017 to $176.6 million in 2018, but it still posted a net loss of $45.5 million during the first quarter.

In its S-1 filing, Domo warns that it will "incur losses for the foreseeable future." Decelerating sales growth, tough competition from tech giants, and widening losses indicate that it will quickly burn through the $193 million it raised from�its IPO. The company even warns that it could hit a cash crunch by August.�Therefore, investors should brace for an inevitable secondary offering.

Domo investors should also realize that they can only buy Class B shares. The Class A shares are completely owned by Josh James, which gives the CEO an 86% voting stake in the company. This dual class system, which is becoming increasingly common in tech IPOs, prevents investors from gaining any control over the company's future. Moreover, there are unanswered questions about James directing business from other companies he owns back to Domo, which may have obfuscated the company's "real" revenue growth.

The stock isn't as cheap as it looks

As of this writing, Domo has a market cap of about $593 million. This means that it trades at just over five times last year's sales. Assuming that its sales rise 30% this year, it would be trading at four times this year's sales.

That makes it "cheaper" than Tableau, Salesforce, and Microsoft, which all trade at about seven to eight times this year's sales. However, Domo trades at discounts to those three companies because investors noticed some major problems with its business.

The cloud software market is tough for smaller players due to high expenses related to infrastructure and marketing, as well as tough price competition from bigger rivals. Domo's core business sounds interesting, but it's something we've seen Tableau, Salesforce, and Microsoft already do. Therefore, I'd steer clear of Domo unless it can present meaningful ways to counter those rivals and narrow its losses.

Hot Casino Stocks For 2019

tags:LITB,ISIG,ASTC,LNC,

BitSerial (CURRENCY:BTE) traded 4.5% lower against the US dollar during the 1-day period ending at 17:00 PM E.T. on May 27th. During the last seven days, BitSerial has traded down 22.8% against the US dollar. One BitSerial token can now be bought for about $0.0038 or 0.00000052 BTC on major exchanges. BitSerial has a total market capitalization of $0.00 and $37.00 worth of BitSerial was traded on exchanges in the last day.

Here is how other cryptocurrencies have performed during the last day:

Get BitSerial alerts: Fusion (FSN) traded down 10.9% against the dollar and now trades at $5.73 or 0.00078247 BTC. DAO.Casino (BET) traded 0.1% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0287 or 0.00000392 BTC. ClearCoin (CLR) traded down 36.4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0035 or 0.00000047 BTC. Joulecoin (XJO) traded down 0.4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0090 or 0.00000123 BTC. Tigercoin (TGC) traded 1.5% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0060 or 0.00000082 BTC. C-Bit (XCT) traded up 11% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0013 or 0.00000018 BTC. Save and Gain (SANDG) traded 2.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0038 or 0.00000052 BTC. CaliphCoin (CALC) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $0.0001 or 0.00000001 BTC. United Bitcoin (UBTC) traded 4.8% lower against the dollar and now trades at $10.55 or 0.00143970 BTC. Super Bitcoin (SBTC) traded up 4.1% against the dollar and now trades at $11.35 or 0.00154852 BTC.

BitSerial Token Profile

Hot Casino Stocks For 2019: LightInTheBox Holding Co., Ltd.(LITB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  News stories about Lightinthebox (NYSE:LITB) have been trending somewhat positive recently, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. Accern identifies negative and positive news coverage by analyzing more than 20 million news and blog sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Lightinthebox earned a daily sentiment score of 0.04 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news headlines about the technology company an impact score of 46.3507616645709 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near term.

Hot Casino Stocks For 2019: Insignia Systems, Inc.(ISIG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Insignia Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISIG) major shareholder Air T. Inc acquired 16,879 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.81 per share, for a total transaction of $30,550.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Hot Casino Stocks For 2019: Astrotech Corporation(ASTC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alexander Bird]

  We're talking 471% potential gains…

  Penny Stock Current Share Price Last Week's Gain Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) $2.50 158.64% Astrotech Corp. (Nasdaq: ASTC) $4.17 132.80% Xenetic Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq: XBIO) $5.58 71.95% Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd. (NYSE: NAT) $2.73 38.43% United States Antimony Corp. (NYSE: UAMY) $0.49 36.47% Soeno Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: SLNO) $2.65 33.05% Fibrocell Science Inc. (Nasdaq: FCSC) $3.16 31.36% Teekay Tankers Ltd. (NYSE: TNK) $1.30 29.70% Neovasc Inc. (Nasdaq: NVCN) $0.04 27.30% Actinium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OTCMKTS: ATNM) $0.24 25.98%

  While the gains of last week's top penny stocks are exciting, investors who know where to look can unlock even bigger gains…

Hot Casino Stocks For 2019: Lincoln National Corporation(LNC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Stifel Financial Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 783 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $3,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 24,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,779,000.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Gideon Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 36.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,686 shares during the quarter. Gideon Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

• [By Max Byerly]

  Traders purchased shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) on weakness during trading on Thursday. $47.59 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $34.03 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $13.56 million into the stock. Of all companies tracked, Lincoln National had the 32nd highest net in-flow for the day. Lincoln National traded down ($0.84) for the day and closed at $68.05

Recon Technology (RCON) Given News Impact Score of 0.27

Media coverage about Recon Technology (NASDAQ:RCON) has been trending positive recently, Accern Sentiment reports. The research firm rates the sentiment of media coverage by reviewing more than twenty million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Recon Technology earned a media sentiment score of 0.27 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media headlines about the oil and gas company an impact score of 44.9374991541436 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the immediate future.

Recon Technology traded up $0.13, hitting $1.55, during midday trading on Tuesday, according to MarketBeat.com. 1,491,100 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 850,115. Recon Technology has a 1-year low of $0.64 and a 1-year high of $5.36. The company has a quick ratio of 4.30, a current ratio of 4.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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Recon Technology (NASDAQ:RCON) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 15th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.64 million for the quarter. Recon Technology had a negative return on equity of 47.79% and a negative net margin of 48.08%.

Separately, Maxim Group initiated coverage on Recon Technology in a report on Tuesday, June 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2.50 target price on the stock.

About Recon Technology

Recon Technology, Ltd. provides hardware, software, and on-site services to companies in the petroleum mining and extraction industry in the People's Republic of China. The company offers equipment, tools, and other hardware related to oilfield production and management; and develops and sells industrial automation control and information solutions.

Stephen E. Budorick Buys 526 Shares of Corporate Office Properties Trust (OFC) Stock

Corporate Office Properties Trust (NYSE:OFC) CEO Stephen E. Budorick bought 526 shares of Corporate Office Properties Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.34 per share, for a total transaction of $14,906.84. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,986,129.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Shares of OFC stock opened at $29.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.88. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 6.95 and a beta of 0.67. Corporate Office Properties Trust has a 52 week low of $24.55 and a 52 week high of $35.65.

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Corporate Office Properties Trust (NYSE:OFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $155.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $155.72 million. Corporate Office Properties Trust had a return on equity of 4.49% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. analysts forecast that Corporate Office Properties Trust will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 28th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. Corporate Office Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.19%.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Corporate Office Properties Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Co assumed coverage on shares of Corporate Office Properties Trust in a research report on Friday, April 20th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Corporate Office Properties Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Mercantile Trust Co. raised its holdings in Corporate Office Properties Trust by 31.9% during the 1st quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 7,616 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 1,840 shares during the period. Federated Investors Inc. PA raised its holdings in Corporate Office Properties Trust by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Federated Investors Inc. PA now owns 43,716 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,129,000 after buying an additional 1,939 shares during the period. Eaton Vance Management raised its holdings in Corporate Office Properties Trust by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 12,849 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 1,947 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Corporate Office Properties Trust by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Corporate Office Properties Trust by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 254,999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,446,000 after buying an additional 2,805 shares during the period.

About Corporate Office Properties Trust

COPT is a REIT that owns, manages, leases, develops and selectively acquires office and data center properties in locations that support the United States Government and its contractors, most of whom are engaged in national security, defense and information technology (?IT?) related activities servicing what it believes are growing, durable, priority missions (?Defense/IT Locations?).

Virgin America (VA) Earning Somewhat Positive News Coverage, Accern Reports

News headlines about Virgin America (NASDAQ:VA) have trended somewhat positive recently, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. The research group identifies negative and positive news coverage by analyzing more than 20 million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Virgin America earned a news impact score of 0.22 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media coverage about the transportation company an impact score of 45.3779505917989 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the immediate future.

Virgin America remained flat at $$56.98 during trading on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Virgin America has a 12-month low of $26.30 and a 12-month high of $58.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Virgin America Company Profile

Virgin America Inc is an airline that provides scheduled air travel in the United States and Mexico. The Company operates in air transportation service segment. The Company operates from Los Angeles and San Francisco with a presence at Dallas Love Field (DAL) to other destinations in North America. The Company provides service to over 20 airports in the United States and Mexico with a fleet of over 60 narrow-body aircraft.

May Housing Starts Soar to 11-Year High

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Tuesday morning that new housing starts in May rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.35 million, an increase of 5% from the downwardly revised March rate of 1.286 million and an increase of 20.3% compared with the May 2017 rate of 1.122 million. The May start-rate was the highest since 2007.

The revision to the April rate dropped 50,000 new housing starts from the previously reported total. The consensus estimate from a survey of economists expected a May rate of around 1.323 million.

Single-family housing starts rose month over month by 35,000 in May to 936,000. The increase reflects a month-over-month increase of 48,000 in the Midwest and a rise of 6,000 in the Northeast, along with declines of 18,000 in the South and 1,000 in the West.

The seasonally adjusted rate of new building permits slipped to 1.301 million, down 4.6% from the upwardly revised April rate of 1.364 million and 8% higher than the May 2017 rate.

Permits for new single-family homes fell in May from a revised annual rate of 863,000 in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 844,000. The rate dipped 2.2% year over year.

Multifamily starts for buildings with five or more units increased by 0.2% year over year in May and fell by 1% compared with April. This number is more volatile than the single-family number and has moved mostly sideways since 2013.

In 2017, 1.202 million housing units were started, up 2.4% compared with 2016 and a 10-year high. An estimated 1.263 million permits were issued in 2017, up 4.7% year over year.

ALSO READ: Worst County to Live in Every State

Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) Earns Buy Rating from Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank restated their buy rating on shares of Standard Life Aberdeen (LON:SLA) in a report released on Friday morning. The firm currently has a GBX 440 ($5.90) price target on the stock.

SLA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Numis Securities restated an add rating and set a GBX 505 ($6.78) price objective on shares of Standard Life Aberdeen in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Standard Life Aberdeen in a report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Standard Life Aberdeen from GBX 540 ($7.25) to GBX 500 ($6.71) and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a GBX 460 ($6.17) target price on shares of Standard Life Aberdeen in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a GBX 479 ($6.43) target price on shares of Standard Life Aberdeen in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Standard Life Aberdeen currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of GBX 467.54 ($6.27).

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Standard Life Aberdeen stock opened at GBX 359.90 ($4.83) on Friday. Standard Life Aberdeen has a one year low of GBX 339.67 ($4.56) and a one year high of GBX 448.60 ($6.02).

In related news, insider Richard Stephen Mully purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 364 ($4.88) per share, with a total value of 拢72,800 ($97,678.79). Also, insider Rod Paris sold 57,948 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 367 ($4.92), for a total transaction of 拢212,669.16 ($285,347.05). Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 34,321 shares of company stock worth $12,393,354.

About Standard Life Aberdeen

Standard Life Aberdeen plc provides asset management services in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, and Asia. The company offers investment solutions and funds; long-term savings and investment products to individual and corporate customers; and life insurance and savings products. It provides its products through institutional, wholesale, and retail distribution channels.

Icahn Unloads Part of Herbalife Position, Stock Tanks

Carl Icahn is a longtime owner of a substantial portion of Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE: HLF)�and has fought off other investors and short sellers who believe the company’s core business was a series of scams. He has declared victory, claiming his support of company management has helped save Herbalife and enhanced the value of his own shares and all others who held the stock after his early purchase.

However, Icahn now has decided to take much of his profits off the table, and other investors do not like it.

The announcement:

Icahn Enterprises L.P. (Nasdaq: IEP) is Herbalife��s largest shareholder and is one of the Company��s longest-standing shareholders having first acquired shares at the end of 2012, almost six years ago. In fact, of the 29 long equity positions currently held by IEP in its Investment segment, there are only three positions that IEP has held longer than Herbalife.

Yesterday IEP tendered its Herbalife shares into the Company��s self-tender offer. Of the shares we tendered, at most only 11.4 million could possibly be purchased in the tender, which would still leave us as the Company��s largest shareholder with at least 34.3 million shares. For almost six years, we have been one of Herbalife��s strongest, most loyal supporters; we stood by the Company through a half-decade long short-selling campaign; and we never sold a share, even after our investment doubled. But, given that our Herbalife investment has become an outsized position, representing approximately 24% exposure to total NAV, it is only prudent for IEP to reduce its exposure.

IEP��s investment in Herbalife is a quintessential example of our activist investment strategy. In late 2012 and early 2013, when Herbalife was under attack and the stock was out of favor, we studied the business and assessed the risks. At that time, we concluded the risk/reward ratio was very favorable. We amassed a large position and joined the Board. Our directors worked closely with management to stabilize the Company in the face of short-sellers and to guide management in their discussions with the FTC and other government officials. We are very proud of our activism at Herbalife and the value we have created for all shareholders. From our first Herbalife share purchase in late 2012 through yesterday, almost $7 billion of value has been created for all Herbalife shareholders.

We believe Herbalife��s business is stable, the short-sellers have largely exited, and the Company is well-positioned for the future. On behalf of all shareholders, I congratulate Michael Johnson, John DeSimone, Rich Goudis and all the other members of management, all the employees and all the distributors who have stood by, and steered, this Company so effectively over the past six years.

The stock was down almost 7% on the news to near $50. However, to Icahn’s credit, at least according to him, the stock is up about 70% in the past two years.

ALSO READ: The 6 Most Shorted Nasdaq Stocks

CrossAmerica Partners (CAPL) – Research Analysts’ Recent Ratings Updates

CrossAmerica Partners (NYSE: CAPL) has recently received a number of price target changes and ratings updates:

5/22/2018 – CrossAmerica Partners had its price target lowered by analysts at B. Riley from $29.00 to $25.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 5/11/2018 – CrossAmerica Partners was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating. According to Zacks, “CrossAmerica Partners LP engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels, consisting of gasoline and diesel fuel, and owns and leases real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels. CrossAmerica Partners LP, formerly known as Lehigh Gas Partners LP, is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. “ 5/8/2018 – CrossAmerica Partners was downgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating. 5/8/2018 – CrossAmerica Partners was given a new $29.00 price target on by analysts at B. Riley. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 5/1/2018 – CrossAmerica Partners was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating. According to Zacks, “CrossAmerica Partners LP engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels, consisting of gasoline and diesel fuel, and owns and leases real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels. CrossAmerica Partners LP, formerly known as Lehigh Gas Partners LP, is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. “ 4/17/2018 – CrossAmerica Partners had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stephens. They now have a $23.00 price target on the stock.

Shares of CrossAmerica Partners traded down $0.05, hitting $17.38, during trading hours on Wednesday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. The company had a trading volume of 16,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 83,596. CrossAmerica Partners has a 52-week low of $17.25 and a 52-week high of $29.80. The firm has a market cap of $593.01 million, a PE ratio of -217.28, a P/E/G ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.54, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

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CrossAmerica Partners (NYSE:CAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The oil and gas company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. CrossAmerica Partners had a return on equity of 4.73% and a net margin of 0.84%. The company had revenue of $552.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $572.48 million. sell-side analysts anticipate that CrossAmerica Partners will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 25th. Investors of record on Friday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 17th. CrossAmerica Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2,625.00%.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. OppenheimerFunds Inc. raised its stake in CrossAmerica Partners by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. OppenheimerFunds Inc. now owns 3,783,442 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $77,788,000 after acquiring an additional 367,320 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CrossAmerica Partners by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,079,155 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,630,000 after acquiring an additional 18,180 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in CrossAmerica Partners by 2,703.0% in the first quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 550,487 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,318,000 after acquiring an additional 530,848 shares in the last quarter. Global X Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in CrossAmerica Partners by 8.2% in the first quarter. Global X Management Co. LLC now owns 340,027 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,991,000 after acquiring an additional 25,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in CrossAmerica Partners by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 241,552 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,736,000 after acquiring an additional 145,272 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.06% of the company’s stock.

CrossAmerica Partners LP engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels, and ownership and leasing of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. The wholesale segment engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels to lessee dealers, independent dealers, commission agents, operators of retail motor fuel stations, Circle K Stores Inc, and company operated retail sites.

Oil retailers fall up to 7%; CLSA says macro risks in election-heavy FY19 to keep buyers away

Oil retailers share prices corrected up to 7 percent intraday Wednesday after HPCL chief doesn't expect crude to fall below $70 a barrel in short term and global brokerage firm CLSA expects macro risks in election-heavy FY19 to keep buyers away.

Indian Oil Corporation rallied 5.7 percent, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation 7 percent and Bharat Petroleum Corporation jumped nearly 7 percent intraday.

MK Surana, Chairman and Managing Director of HPCL said he is happy to see oil prices in the range of $60-70 a barrel, but he does not see any trigger for oil prices to cool down to $70 a barrel over the next 2-3 months.

Retail fuel prices are linked to international petroleum product prices. Brent crude futures, the global benchmark for oil prices, touched $80.50 a barrel, the highest since November 2014, in the last week.

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The oil prices shot up more than 77 percent from the level of $45 a barrel traded in June 2017. The Brent futures dropped 0.52 percent to $79.21 a barrel, after climbing 35 cents on Tuesday, at 12:10 hours IST.

Surana said he has no information on oil marketing companies meeting on fuel prices.

Meanwhile, BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday said the government is taking the issue of rising petroleum prices seriously and will soon announce measures to deal with the matter. "The government at the highest level is concerned about it and is taking the matter seriously," he said, adding it will come out with a solution in three-four days.

He told a press conference that Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is meeting representatives of oil companies and that he is hopeful that a solution will be worked out soon.

More than a week after the state-owned oil firms ended a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus on revising fuel prices, petrol and diesel rates have touched record highs.

Petrol price increased by 29 paise to Rs 84.99 per litre and diesel price by 28 paise to Rs 72.76 per litre in Mumbai last midnight.

CLSA said there is a need for another 5-6 percent hike in fuel prices after recent 3 percent hike by oil marketing companies.

In particular for HPCL, CLSA has reiterated its Sell call on the stock as concern about its marketing margin may continue and macro risks in election-heavy FY19 will keep buyers away.

At 11:51 hours IST, the stock price was quoting at Rs 153.80, down 4.80 percent, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation was down 6.28 percent at Rs 292.50 and Bharat Petroleum Corporation down 5.74 percent at Rs 374.50 on the BSE.

Hot Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2018

tags:GLMD,RF,VKI,APC,FOXF,

General Electric (NYSE:GE) is one of the most outstanding dividend plays out there. Not only has the company paid out a dividend for more than 100 uninterrupted years, it has also grown that dividend in most years. GE's current yield of 3% is considerably higher than the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDX:INDU) average yield of 2.76%.

Anything that would threaten that dividend is, therefore, likely to reflect badly on GE stock. Power and Water are GE's largest revenue segments, contributing roughly 25% to the company's top line. And right now, one of GE's major business threats could be changes that are likely to affect�the energy sector under Trump. Investors fear that sale of power plant upgrades by companies like GE might suffer if the U.S. bails out of climate change treaties under the Trump administration. The view is that Trump will be awful for clean energy and the climate change fight since he has promised to rip apart environment regulations, including the Paris Climate Agreement, and said that he thinks climate change is a hoax created by the Beijing government.

Hot Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2018: Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(GLMD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Here are some of the media stories that may have effected Accern’s rankings:

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  A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GLMD shares. ValuEngine lowered shares of Galmed Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Maxim Group set a $14.00 price target on shares of Galmed Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Galmed Pharmaceuticals from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $20.40.

Hot Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2018: Regions Financial Corporation(RF)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Regions Financial (RF) : "I think this one is real good. I like the banks here."

  Edwards Lifesciences (EW) : "They have the best devices. That stock is a buy."

• [By ]

  In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Align Technology (ALGN) , Regions Financial (RF) , Edwards Lifesciences (EW) , Qualys (QLYS) and HEICO (HEI) .

• [By ]

  Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) could be a beneficiary of the move to deregulation in banking this year and is expected to grow earnings by 24% to $1.35 per share. The bank is seeing strong growth in non-interest income sources and management has a plan to cut up to 10% in operating expenses for greater profitability. Regions has a strong deposit base across the Southeast and averages a 7% return on equity, well above the industry average.

Hot Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2018: Invesco Advantage Municipal Income Trust II(VKI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Invesco Advantage Municipal Income Trust II (NYSEAMERICAN:VKI) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 35,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $382,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. owned 0.08% of Invesco Advantage Municipal Income Trust II as of its most recent SEC filing.

Hot Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2018: Anadarko Petroleum Corporation(APC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.GURUFOCUS.COM]

  For the details of Community Bank of Raymore's stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Community+Bank+of+Raymore

  These are the top 5 holdings of Community Bank of RaymoreHospitality Properties Trust (HPT) - 1,255,573 shares, 13.81% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 0.01%Realty Income Corp (O) - 398,012 shares, 8.94% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 0.17%NRG Energy Inc (NRG) - 623,760 shares, 8.27% of the total portfolio. CSX Corp (CSX) - 329,953 shares, 7.98% of the total portfolio. US Bancor
• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Furthermore, the company also noted that its guidance didn't include any production from its $400 million acquisition of the remaining 22% interest in its Alaskan assets from Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC). Those assets produced an average of 63,000 BOE/D last year and could provide an incremental boost during the first quarter depending on when it closed. The deal also benefits Anadarko by giving it some cash to beef up its share repurchase program, which it did by adding another $500 million to its $2.5 billion authorization earlier this year.

• [By ]

  Cramer and the AAP team have been looking for a new name to play in light of higher energy prices. Their choice? Anadarko Petroleum (APC) . Find out what they're telling their investment club members and get in on the conversation with a free trial subscription to Action Alerts PLUS.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  As things stand right now, analysts anticipate that at least some Iranian oil will come off the market as a result of the sanctions. That lost output would further tighten an oil market that suddenly has little margin for error thanks to red-hot demand and tame supply growth. That's the recipe for higher oil prices and could make top-tier U.S. oil stocks Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC), Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) big winners in the coming years.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  AlpaCoin (CURRENCY:APC) traded flat against the U.S. dollar during the 1-day period ending at 22:00 PM E.T. on May 13th. AlpaCoin has a market cap of $0.00 and $0.00 worth of AlpaCoin was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. During the last seven days, AlpaCoin has traded 71.5% lower against the U.S. dollar. One AlpaCoin coin can currently be bought for about $0.0003 or 0.00000004 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges.

Hot Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2018: Fox Factory Holding Corp.(FOXF)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of Fox Factory (NASDAQ:FOXF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

  Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on FOXF. BidaskClub downgraded Fox Factory from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. DA Davidson reiterated a buy rating on shares of Fox Factory in a research report on Monday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Fox Factory from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $39.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Fox Factory presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $39.50.

Brokerages Anticipate Scpharmaceuticals Inc (SCPH) to Announce ($0.63) EPS

Scpharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:SCPH) has been assigned a consensus broker rating score of 1.00 (Strong Buy) from the three analysts that provide coverage for the company, Zacks Investment Research reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a strong buy recommendation.

Analysts have set a 1-year consensus price objective of $23.33 for the company and are anticipating that the company will post ($0.63) EPS for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Zacks has also assigned Scpharmaceuticals an industry rank of 150 out of 265 based on the ratings given to its competitors.

Get Scpharmaceuticals alerts:

Several equities research analysts have commented on SCPH shares. Zacks Investment Research lowered Scpharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Jefferies Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Scpharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 21st. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded Scpharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd.

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Scpharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $139,000. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Scpharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $167,000. Monashee Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Scpharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Scpharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $414,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in Scpharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $462,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.35% of the company’s stock.

Scpharmaceuticals traded down $0.31, reaching $13.07, during trading hours on Friday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. The stock had a trading volume of 96,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,218. The firm has a market cap of $242.34 million and a P/E ratio of -1.63. Scpharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $8.89 and a 52-week high of $18.17. The company has a quick ratio of 19.23, a current ratio of 19.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Scpharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SCPH) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.51) by $0.04. research analysts expect that Scpharmaceuticals will post -2.91 earnings per share for the current year.

About Scpharmaceuticals

scPharmaceuticals Inc, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, engages in the development and commercialization of various pharmaceutical products. The company's lead product candidate is Furoscix, a drug-device combination product that is under development for treatment of worsening or decompensated heart failure outside of the inpatient setting.

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Scpharmaceuticals (SCPH)

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

Investors Should Avoid Aurora Cannabis' Acquisition of MedReleaf Like the Plague

In roughly three weeks, the face of the global marijuana industry could change forever. Bill C-45 in Canada, better known as the Cannabis Act, is set for a vote in the Senate on June 7, with the strong likelihood that'll it swiftly be moved along and signed into law not long thereafter. In doing so, Canada will become the first developed country in the world to have legalized recreational marijuana.

Opening the door to adult-use pot is expected to be quite lucrative to the legal cannabis industry. Forecasts are calling for approximately $5 billion in added annual revenue, which comes atop existing medical marijuana sales and export revenue. As a result, marijuana growers have been expanding their capacity as quickly as their balance sheets will allow.

Image source: Getty Images.

No pot stock has expanded like Aurora Cannabis

Arguably the most aggressive of these expansion efforts has come from Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQOTH:ACBFF). Toward the end of 2017, Aurora was in the midst of constructing its flagship project, the highly automated, 800,000-square-foot Aurora Sky facility that was to be capable of producing 100,000 kilograms of dried cannabis a year. When added to existing, but considerably smaller facilities, Aurora Cannabis was expected to produce just above 100,000 kilograms a year.

However, 2018 has been a ridiculously active year for the company.

In January, Aurora partnered with tomato producer Alfred Petersen & Son in Denmark to retrofit a 1 million-square-foot facility to produce cannabis. When complete, the Aurora Nordic facility will be capable of 120,000 kilograms of cannabis a year. Aurora Nordic will primarily be responsible for supplying cannabis to Europe's medical-marijuana-legal countries.�

Recently, Aurora Cannabis completed its acquisition of Saskatchewan-based CanniMed Therapeutics, which added 20,000 active medical patients and 20,000 kilograms of production a year. When completed, it was the priciest marijuana acquisition in history.

And just last month, the company announced its intent to build a 1.2 million-square-foot facility, to be known as Aurora Sun, in Medicine Hat, Alberta. When complete, this facility will have the potential to produce 150,000 kilograms a year. Add this up, and we're looking at roughly 430,000 kilograms of production per year. �

Image source: Getty Images.

Aurora announces the largest marijuana acquisition in history

And Aurora isn't close to finished. On Monday, May 14, the company announced what has now become the largest marijuana acquisition in history, assuming it's completed. According to the company, it's acquiring Ontario-based MedReleaf (NASDAQOTH:MEDFF) for $2.5 billion in an all-stock deal. The 3.575 shares of Aurora for each MedReleaf share represent an approximate premium of 34%, based on the 20-day volume-weighted average prices for each company's common stock.�

Why is Aurora hell-bent on acquiring MedReleaf? For one, it would allow Aurora to become the world's leading cannabis producer.

MedReleaf has three core facilities. Its Markham facility and ramped-up Bradford facility can combine for about 35,000 kilograms at full capacity. Recently, though, MedReleaf announced the purchase of 164 acres of land in Ontario, which it plans to use to quadruple its production. On 69 of these acres sits the Exeter facility, which MedReleaf will be retrofitting to grow cannabis. Retrofitting an existing facility rather than building a new one from the ground up saves time and money. Exeter, when complete, is expected to yield 105,000 kilograms of cannabis. All told, MedReleaf will allow Aurora's fully funded capacity to rocket to 570,000 kilograms per year.�

Let's not forget that MedReleaf also has the 95 acres of land adjacent to Exeter that isn't being used. MedReleaf has suggested that it could construct a facility that's one-and-a-half times the size of Exeter, if demand warranted such an expansion. This would allow Aurora Cannabis to increase its production to beyond 700,000 kilograms a year.

Acquiring MedReleaf also gives Aurora Cannabis access to new product lines. MedReleaf's AltaVie cannabis line goes after users who desire a higher-quality (and pricier) weed strain. Meanwhile, MedReleaf has regularly emphasized the importance of cannabis oils. Based on its most recent quarterly report, MedReleaf generated 21% of total sales from oils, up from just 3% in the year-ago period.

Image source: Getty Images.

Avoid this merger like the plague

While the "bigger is better" ethos is seemingly engrained into the minds of pot stock investors, that's not always the case. In this instance, I'd dub this a terrible deal for both companies.

The biggest issue I've had with Aurora Cannabis -- and an issue that's only going to be magnified with this deal -- is its ongoing destruction of shareholder value via dilution.

Marijuana stocks usually don't have access to traditional banking services, since the banks themselves fear criminal and/or financial penalties for aiding cannabis companies. Instead, Canadian pot stocks almost always turn to bought-deal offerings to raise capital. With a bought-deal offering, common stock, convertible debentures, stock options, and/or warrants are sold in order to raise money that can be used to expand growing operations. The good news is that companies like Aurora Cannabis have had no trouble whatsoever raising capital. The bad news is that all forms of bought-deal offerings dilute existing shareholders by increasing the number of shares outstanding. It also makes it tougher for companies to turn a meaningful per-share profit, since there are more shares for net income to be divided into.

The deal to acquire MedReleaf is entirely share-based. To cover the 3.2 billion Canadian dollars, according to the exchange ratio implied in the press release, Aurora Cannabis is going to have to issue around 388 million shares in Canada. Of course, the exchange ratio is merely an implied ratio. Since the deal was announced, Aurora's share price has declined a bit more. As of May 14, some 405 million shares would need to be issued to cover the entirety of the deal.

Since the end of fiscal 2014, Aurora's share count has exploded higher from just north of 16 million shares to 564.8 million (based on its Canadian listing) as of the end of the third quarter. Taking into account its more than 26 million outstanding stock options, nearly 18 million convertible debentures, and over 8 million warrants, and adding in this acquisition, it's not out of the question that Aurora has more than 1 billion shares outstanding by this time next year. The impact of dilution on Aurora's shareholders, and that of MedReleaf's shareholders who are now tied to Aurora's share price, will be enormous.�

Image source: Getty Images.

One last thing

Should that not be enough to keep investors away from this merger, I'm also dumbfounded that Aurora would pay $2.5 billion for MedReleaf when it could get almost 100,000 kilograms more in annual capacity for a presumably similar buyout price by going after Aphria (NASDAQOTH:APHQF). Keep in mind that this is merely hypothetical, and I'm not suggesting that Aurora should be buying any company with its need to finance everything with share issuances, but Aphria would appear to offer far more bang for the buck than MedReleaf.

Like MedReleaf, Aphria has three core facilities. Its organic, four-phase project known as Aphria One is expected to yield around 100,000 kilograms of dried cannabis a year and be completed in January 2019. Similarly, its partnership with Double Diamond Farms, known as Aphria Diamond, should generate as much as 120,000 kilograms when complete. Lastly, the acquisition and expansion of West Coast Cannabis should yield 10,500 kilograms per year. That's roughly 230,000 kilograms of production for a current price tag of just below $2 billion.�

It's possible that Aphria simply isn't looking for a buyer, but I'm still scratching my head at Aurora Cannabis's actions all around. If you're a marijuana stock investor, my suggestion would be to stay far away from this merger.