Hot Small Cap Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:FCEL,PQ,CNR,ACHN,

Yesterday, our Under the Radar Movers�newsletter suggested small cap emissions solutions stock Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc (NASDAQ: ADES) as a potential long/bullish trade:

��ADES earned a sport on out watchlist a few days ago when it broke out of a converging wedge pattern and pushed above a horizontal ceiling at $8.20. As we expected would be the case, Advanced Emissions Solutions cooled off a bit, but the rally was rekindled today with another (and even stronger) break above the $8.20 mark, on huge volume.

No new long-term positions today, though no exits either. Like we've said a few times now, we're waiting for the market to breakdown here so we can go bargain shopping. On that note...��

Hot Small Cap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: FuelCell Energy Inc.(FCEL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

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

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

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Electro Scientific Industries (NASDAQ: ESIO) and FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and earnings.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ: FCEL) and HRG Group (NYSE:HRG) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FCEL) shares traded up 5.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $1.49 and last traded at $1.45. 12,581,855 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 983% from the average session volume of 1,161,380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.37.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ: FCEL) is one of 25 public companies in the “Miscellaneous electrical machinery, equipment, & supplies” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare FuelCell Energy to related companies based on the strength of its risk, dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ: FCEL) and Integer (NYSE:ITGR) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Hot Small Cap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Petroquest Energy Inc(PQ)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  News headlines about Petroquest Energy (NYSE:PQ) have been trending somewhat positive recently, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. Accern identifies negative and positive news coverage by reviewing more than 20 million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Petroquest Energy earned a coverage optimism score of 0.05 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news stories about the energy company an impact score of 47.638327846877 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near future.

Hot Small Cap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: China Metro-Rural Holdings Limited(CNR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) – Cormark raised their Q3 2018 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Canadian National Railway in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, April 10th. Cormark analyst D. Tyerman now expects that the transportation company will post earnings per share of $1.15 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.14.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Compass Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,535 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Brokerages expect Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) to announce earnings of $1.03 per share for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Eight analysts have issued estimates for Canadian National Railway’s earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at $1.10 and the lowest estimate coming in at $0.97. Canadian National Railway reported earnings of $1.00 per share in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 3%. The business is scheduled to issue its next quarterly earnings report on Tuesday, July 24th.

• [By Shane Hupp]

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

Hot Small Cap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACHN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

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

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Achillion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACHN) – Research analysts at B. Riley reduced their FY2018 EPS estimates for shares of Achillion Pharmaceuticals in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 2nd. B. Riley analyst M. Kumar now anticipates that the biopharmaceutical company will earn ($0.58) per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of ($0.55). B. Riley has a “Neutral” rating and a $3.50 price objective on the stock. B. Riley also issued estimates for Achillion Pharmaceuticals’ FY2019 earnings at ($0.64) EPS, FY2020 earnings at ($0.71) EPS, FY2021 earnings at ($0.70) EPS and FY2022 earnings at ($0.84) EPS.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Avenue Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATXI) rose 29.4 percent to $5.50 in pre-market trading after the company disclosed that its first pivotal Phase 3 trial of IV tramadol achieved the primary and key secondary endpoints. MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBFI) rose 16.8 percent to $51.00 in pre-market trading. Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) agreed to acquire MB Financial for $54.70 per share in cash and stock. LiveXLive Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIVX) rose 9.3 percent to $5.40 in pre-market trading after falling 28.92 percent on Friday. Celyad SA (NASDAQ: CYAD) shares rose 9 percent to $29.30 in pre-market trading after climbing 3.26 percent on Friday. Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE: ETH) rose 6.7 percent to $26.40 in pre-market trading after gaining 1.64 percent on Friday. Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) rose 5.4 percent to $3.90 in pre-market trading after gaining 3.06 percent on Friday. Acacia Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACIA) rose 5.2 percent to $34.70 in pre-market trading after gaining 1.38 percent on Friday. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (NYSE: WAB) rose 5.1 percent to $100 in pre-market trading. General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) agreed to merge its transportation unit with Wabtec. Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN) shares rose 4.7 percent to $11.50 in pre-market trading. Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) shares rose 4.3 percent to $93.98 in the pre-market trading session. LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE: LHO) shares rose 4.2 percent to $33.25 in pre-market trading. Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) will buy LaSalle Hotel Properties in a $4.8 billion deal, Bloomberg reported. Monro, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNRO) shares rose 4 percent to $58.35 in pre-market trading as the company posted upbeat quarterly earnings and disclosed that it has acquired Free Service Tire. HUYA Inc. (NYSE: HUYA) rose 3.7 percent to $19.75 in pre-market trading after falling 4.80 percent on Friday.

  Find out what's going

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Achillion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACHN) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.20.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

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

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

• [By Shane Hupp]

  News articles about Achillion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACHN) have trended somewhat positive this week, Accern Sentiment reports. The research firm ranks the sentiment of press coverage by analyzing more than twenty million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Achillion Pharmaceuticals earned a media sentiment score of 0.16 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news articles about the biopharmaceutical company an impact score of 46.941587509483 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near term.

Bytecoin (BCN) Market Capitalization Hits $550.44 Million

Bytecoin (CURRENCY:BCN) traded down 6.2% against the US dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 13:00 PM Eastern on July 9th. Bytecoin has a total market capitalization of $550.44 million and $7.57 million worth of Bytecoin was traded on exchanges in the last day. One Bytecoin coin can currently be bought for approximately $0.0030 or 0.00000045 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges including Stocks.Exchange, Binance, Poloniex and cfinex. In the last seven days, Bytecoin has traded 14.3% lower against the US dollar.

Here’s how related cryptocurrencies have performed in the last day:

Get Bytecoin alerts: Monero (XMR) traded 1.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $137.18 or 0.02047640 BTC. DigitalNote (XDN) traded up 0.9% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0061 or 0.00000091 BTC. Aeon (AEON) traded 3.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $1.27 or 0.00019009 BTC. Boolberry (BBR) traded 1.9% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.91 or 0.00013560 BTC. Interplanetary Broadcast Coin (IPBC) traded up 2.6% against the dollar and now trades at $0.18 or 0.00002206 BTC. Sumokoin (SUMO) traded up 32.8% against the dollar and now trades at $0.77 or 0.00011472 BTC. Karbo (KRB) traded down 4.2% against the dollar and now trades at $0.35 or 0.00005147 BTC. IntenseCoin (ITNS) traded 3.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0024 or 0.00000036 BTC. Stellite (XTL) traded 14.9% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0003 or 0.00000005 BTC. LeviarCoin (XLC) traded 13.5% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0776 or 0.00000823 BTC.

Bytecoin Profile

Bytecoin is a proof-of-work (PoW) coin that uses the Cryptonight hashing algorithm. Its genesis date was July 4th, 2012. Bytecoin’s total supply is 183,890,481,254 coins. The Reddit community for Bytecoin is /r/BytecoinBCN and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here. The official message board for Bytecoin is bytecointalk.org. The official website for Bytecoin is bytecoin.org. Bytecoin’s official Twitter account is @Bytecoin_BCN and its Facebook page is accessible here.

Buying and Selling Bytecoin

Bytecoin can be purchased on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: cfinex, TradeOgre, Vebitcoin, HitBTC, Crex24, Poloniex, Binance and Stocks.Exchange. It is usually not currently possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as Bytecoin directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to trade Bytecoin should first buy Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Coinbase, Changelly or Gemini. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to buy Bytecoin using one of the exchanges listed above.

new TradingView.widget({ “height”: 400, “width”: 650, “symbol”: “BCNUSD”, “interval”: “D”, “timezone”: “Etc/UTC”, “theme”: “White”, “style”: “1”, “locale”: “en”, “toolbar_bg”: “#f1f3f6”, “enable_publishing”: false, “hideideas”: true, “referral_id”: “2588”});

General Motors to Post FY2018 Earnings of $6.33 Per Share, Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts (GM)

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) – Jefferies Financial Group issued their FY2018 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of General Motors in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, July 5th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst P. Houchois anticipates that the auto manufacturer will earn $6.33 per share for the year. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for General Motors’ FY2019 earnings at $6.40 EPS.

Get General Motors alerts:

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 26th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $36.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.67 billion. General Motors had a negative net margin of 3.76% and a positive return on equity of 23.03%. General Motors’s quarterly revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on GM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (down previously from $56.00) on shares of General Motors in a research note on Tuesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of General Motors in a research note on Wednesday, March 14th. Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a research note on Wednesday, March 28th. TheStreet downgraded shares of General Motors from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 27th. Finally, Vetr downgraded shares of General Motors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.50 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.45.

Shares of General Motors opened at $39.75 on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.19 billion, a PE ratio of 6.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.86. General Motors has a 1 year low of $34.50 and a 1 year high of $46.76.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stelac Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of General Motors in the first quarter valued at about $119,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Motors in the first quarter valued at about $141,000. Advisors Preferred LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 407.7% in the first quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 3,904 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. Knott David M bought a new position in shares of General Motors in the first quarter valued at about $182,000. Finally, Fieldpoint Private Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of General Motors in the first quarter valued at about $184,000. Institutional investors own 73.30% of the company’s stock.

In other news, EVP Alan S. Batey sold 215,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.01, for a total value of $9,276,611.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 84,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,638,387.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 8th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 7th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.96%.

About General Motors

General Motors Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, builds, and sells cars, trucks, crossovers, and automobile parts worldwide. The company operates through GM North America, GM International, and GM Financial segments. It markets its vehicles primarily under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Baojun, Jiefang, and Wuling brand names.

Bed, Bath and Beyond's Comps Took a Dip; BJ's New Shares Jumped Higher

For this segment from the Motley Fool Money podcast, it's a tale of two retailers -- one enjoying the best of times, and one having a rougher go of things. Host Chris Hill and senior Motley Fool analysts Jason Moser, Matt Argersinger, and Ron Gross start with the bad news first: Housewares specialist Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) met its revenue targets, but a slump in same-store sales spooked investors, at least temporarily. The Fools' consensus is that this is not a stock you want in your portfolio -- but there's one possible catalyst that could help the company change course.

On the good news front, BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ), which was taken private in 2011, returned to the public markets last week, and its shares took a healthy jump from their initial public offering price. The situation is certainly a win for the private-equity players who owned it, and who still own a majority. But again, the question for Fools is: Would you be well-advised to join them?

A full transcript follows the video.

This video was recorded on June 29, 2018.

Chris Hill: First quarter revenue for Bed Bath & Beyond was about what analysts were expecting, but same-store sales were negative. Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond down 10% on Thursday. Although, Jason, they do appear to have recovered from that.

Jason Moser: See, Chris, your statement right there, it's kind of like, I'm trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel. I want to be a glass-half-full guy.

Ron Gross: I don't believe you.

Moser: [laughs] When it comes to Bed Bath & Beyond, I truly can't think of one reason why you would want to own this stock. There are just so many challenges the business is facing. Top line growth is anemic, comps are down, they're still buying back shares with a net debt position. It's a very difficult space to be in these days, bricks-and-mortar retail. They've spent more than $5.5 billion on shares repurchases since 2014, and all the while, the stock price is down 75% over that same course of time. That's the George Costanza, man! That's the opposite! You don't want to be doing that!

Now, there is, potentially, a catalyst that could help the business with their new Beyond+ loyalty program. It's a membership program, you pay $29 a year, you get deals in store, free shipping on qualified items. That's reducing the amount of couponing. What remains to be seen is if this is a program that can actually gain traction, keep members, and then renew members. Does it mean you want to own the stock? I don't think so.

Matt Argersinger: Wait, if I sign up for that program, will I stop getting the 20% off blue coupons in my mail every day?

Moser: See, that's where I'm not totally clear.

Gross: You'll probably still get them, but you can throw them away.

Moser: It's like, you can't stop the mail, right? That stuff, I think, is still going to come your way. But maybe you won't have to actually go to the store and use them, you could buy online, or you could go to the store and just present your membership card.

Hill: Is the loyalty program brand new? Or has this been going on? Do you have any sense of how many people are already in it?

Moser: I do not have a sense of how many people are in it. If you look at the website, they actually still classify it as a beta program. The inception started a couple of years back. Still very new program. They're learning a lot from in.

Honestly, I think, you look at something like Restoration Hardware, they tried the same thing. It seems like it's given them another lease on life. Perhaps that'll play out for Bed Bath & Beyond that way, too. But still, a lot to be seen.

Hill: I'm glad you mentioned that because that's what I was thinking of. When Restoration Hardware announced that loyalty program, I think we all looked around the table and said, "There's no way this is actually going to work, is it?" And that's actually paid off for them.

Moser: It's paid off so far. The big question is, can it sustain those renewals? Will people continue to renew as time goes on? That's what Amazon Prime has done so well, that's what Costco has done so well. Restoration Hardware, Bed Bath & Beyond, I'm not sure they have the same place in the consumer's day-to-day shopping experience. That's the question mark.

Gross: RH also revamped their stores, the look and feel and even the merchandising of them, whereas Bed Bath is just a cluster. You walk in there -- I don't know who designed those carts that you can't even push down the aisle. The shopping experience is not perfect.

Hill: At least one bricks and mortar retail stock had a good week. BJ's Wholesale Club was taken private in 2011. It's now back as a public company and shares up 30% on the first day of trading for BJ's Wholesale. Ron, you buying?

Gross: It's like Costco, but not as big and not as good.

Moser: [laughs] I'm going to say that's a maybe?

Gross: If you want to get into the private equity game, this is a good deal: you take a company private at $2.8 billion at around 6-7 times earnings. You take $2 billion of dividends out of it while it's private, then you take it back public at a similar valuation, which is, however, now 40 times earnings, and you retain 69% of the stock. If you can get that, I say, get that.

But, as far as differentiating itself from the Costcos and the Sam's Clubs of the world, it really doesn't. It's a very similar business model, which actually is a good business model. The membership fees in this particular case amount to about 52% of the company's EBITDA. That's nice recurring revenue, nothing wrong with that.

But, it's quite small compared to the competitors. They have about five million numbers, vs. Costco, which has about 51 million members. They have about 215 clubs, where Costco has 750 clubs. So, maybe, the glass half-full, Jason over there, would say there's plenty of room for growth, but I think it's just a very competitive space.

Moser: It's very funny, the feelings that brands elicit. The only real experience I had with BJ's was back in 2005, 2006, when we were in Atlanta, and we were getting ready to go to Kazakhstan for a two-year post there. We had to bring diapers for two infants for basically two years. So, we made a week's worth of runs to BJ's Wholesale and would walk out with four boxes of diapers every day, until our garage was actually stacked to the ceiling with boxes of diapers. The neighbors were beside themselves, thinking we were running some kind of black market for diapers or something.

Honeywell International Inc. Has $29.83 Million Position in Apple Inc. (AAPL)

Honeywell International Inc. decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 54.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,800 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 214,800 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.7% of Honeywell International Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Honeywell International Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $29,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smart Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Oak Point Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $163,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 940.8% in the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 1,072 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $188,000. Finally, Delphi Private Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 8,292.9% in the fourth quarter. Delphi Private Advisors LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.07% of the company’s stock.

Get Apple alerts:

Apple stock opened at $183.92 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.41 and a fifty-two week high of $194.20. The stock has a market cap of $949.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $61.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.94 billion. Apple had a net margin of 21.55% and a return on equity of 39.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 11.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 20th. Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada set a $203.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 11th. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group set a $159.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Apple has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.20.

In other Apple news, SVP Daniel J. Riccio sold 17,372 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.64, for a total value of $3,259,682.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,644 shares in the company, valued at $8,189,360.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 15,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.94, for a total transaction of $2,988,783.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 147,819 shares in the company, valued at $28,224,559.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 192,208 shares of company stock worth $35,104,302. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets mobile communication and media devices, and personal computers to consumers, and small and mid-sized businesses; and education, enterprise, and government customers worldwide. The company also sells related software, services, accessories, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications.

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

Brokerages Set KLA-Tencor Corp (KLAC) Price Target at $131.69

Shares of KLA-Tencor Corp (NASDAQ:KLAC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $131.69.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Investment Research raised KLA-Tencor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 27th. BidaskClub lowered KLA-Tencor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on KLA-Tencor from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC lowered KLA-Tencor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 22nd. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on KLA-Tencor in a research note on Monday, May 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock.

Get KLA-Tencor alerts:

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in KLA-Tencor by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,322,056 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $138,902,000 after buying an additional 40,512 shares in the last quarter. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in KLA-Tencor by 52.3% during the fourth quarter. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,066 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 2,425 shares in the last quarter. MANA Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA-Tencor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $725,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in KLA-Tencor by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,184,792 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $229,185,000 after buying an additional 218,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in KLA-Tencor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

KLAC traded down $2.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $101.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 803,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,497,752. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 3.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. KLA-Tencor has a twelve month low of $87.93 and a twelve month high of $123.96. The firm has a market cap of $16.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.53.

KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 26th. The semiconductor company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. KLA-Tencor had a return on equity of 86.87% and a net margin of 18.17%. KLA-Tencor’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. equities research analysts forecast that KLA-Tencor will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

KLA-Tencor declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA-Tencor Company Profile

KLA-Tencor Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related nano-electronics industries worldwide. It offers chip manufacturing products, such as front-end defect inspection tools, defect review systems, advanced packaging process control systems, metrology solutions, in-situ process monitoring products, and lithography software; wafer manufacturing products comprising wafer manufacturing products comprising surface and defect inspection, wafer geometry and nanotopography metrology, and data management; and reticle manufacturing products, such as defect inspection and pattern placement metrology products.