Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Invest In 2019

tags:UAN,OA,PGC,MTSL,DGI,

When Warren Buffett, a guru I emulate on Validea, purchased his first shares of GEICO back in 1951, there were no funny commercials or talking lizard mascots to entice him. It was Buffett's limitless curiosity about the company's then-chairman Benjamin Graham—one of Buffett's professors at Columbia University as well as his mentor and "hero"--that led Buffett to visit Washington DC on a cold Saturday morning to visit what was then the General Employees Insurance Company.

After spending several hours with GEICO executive Lorimer "Davy" Davidson, Buffett's interest peaked regarding the insurance industry and GEICO's predecessor in particular. In fact, the company was one of Buffett's earliest investments—he purchased 350 shares at a multiple of about 8 times earnings. Given the market PE at the time (around 15), that was a good deal, but a steal given the current market PE of 24.

Today's robust market includes few companies with low P/E ratios, but there are some. In fact, one of the stock screening models I created for Validea was inspired by the legendary investor John Neff, who managed Vanguard's Windsor Fund from 1964 to 1995. For Neff, the P/E ratio (a stock's per-share price divided by per-share earnings) was also a measure of what level of growth investors are expecting from a company in the future. The expectation factor was paramount for Neff, who found that high-flying growth stocks with high P/Es were very sensitive to any disappointment compared to expectations. Low P/E stocks, he found, had fewer expectations built into their pricing, so there was substantial upside if performance beat expectations but little downside if the opposite occurred—since Wall Street had already written them off. According to Neff, "If you buy stocks when they are out of favor and unloved, and sell them into strength when other investors recognize their merits, you'll often go home with handsome gains."

Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Invest In 2019: CVR Partners LP(UAN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on CVR Partners (UAN)

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

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on CVR Partners (UAN)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  CVR Partners (NYSE: UAN) and PotashCorp (NYSE:NTR) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Invest In 2019: Orbital ATK, Inc.(OA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Orbital ATK (NYSE:OA) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,000.

• [By Rich Smith]

  So who will get the loot? Believe it or not, more than half the House's increase in funding (a $459 million increase compared to fiscal 2018) is going to science programs -- $6.7 billion in total. And while the bill is short of specifics, this is money investors can probably expect will be going to satellite makers such as Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Northrop Grumman (NYSE:OA), and Maxar Technologies (NYSE:MAXR), also to satellite launchers such as SpaceX, and Boeing and Lockheed's United Launch Alliance.

• [By Rich Smith]

  For the past three years, space company Orbital ATK (NYSE:OA) has been working with the U.S. Air Force to develop a new heavy launch rocket. As USAF envisions it, Orbital's new rocket would work alongside existing Delta IV Heavies (operated by Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture United Launch Alliance) and soon, the Falcon Heavy rockets that SpaceX began launching in February, giving the Air Force the option of choosing among three competing launch systems for the best combination of price and reliability.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  Markets are cheering a major development in efforts to fix the ongoing trade conflict between the United States and China. According to Reuters, Chinese telecom giant ZTE has signed an agreement to get back into business with its American partners. The agreement will lift a ban by the U.S. Commerce Department that prevented China's No. 2 telecommunications equipment from buying from U.S. suppliers. This is a major development, and one that signals progress among trade officials from both nations. There are now more job openings in the United States than available workers. This is the first time that the Department of Labor has documented this phenomenon. There are 6.7 million openings compared to the 6.4 million workers available to fill those positions. As a result, U.S. companies have been forced to increase compensation in order to attract talent. All of the positive economic development could come to a screeching halt should the U.S. experience the largest labor strike in a decade. Reports indicate that the Teamsters and the United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) are on a collision course that could result in a general strike. The union has announced that 260,000 UPS employees have authorized a strike should both sides fail to reach a labor deal by August 1. UPS is responsible for the transport of 6% of the nation's gross domestic product. Three Stocks to Watch Today: TSLA, NOG, WFC Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) investors remain committed to giving Chairman Elon Musk more of their money. On Tuesday, shareholders struck down proposals that would have removed Musk from the chairman role and shaken up the board of directors. Both proposals failed. At the same shareholder event, Musk announced plans for Tesla to open a production facility in Shanghai and projected that his firm will likely produce 5,000 Model 3 vehicles per week by the end of June. In deal news, defense contractor Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOG) has won U.S. antitrust approval to purchase rocket moto
• [By Max Byerly]

  Orbital ATK (NYSE:OA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $129.50.

Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Invest In 2019: Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation(PGC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Plato Gold Corp (CVE:PGC) insider Greg Ka Wai Wong acquired 1,125,000 shares of Plato Gold stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$0.06 per share, with a total value of C$67,500.00.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son (NYSE: NTB) and Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. Common Stock (NASDAQ:PGC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. Common Stock (PGC)

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

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. Common Stock (NASDAQ:PGC) by 16.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,789 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.26% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. Common Stock worth $1,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Invest In 2019: MER Telemanagement Solutions Ltd.(MTSL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alexander Bird]

  Here are the top performers from last week…

  Penny Stock Current Share Price Last Week's Gain Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: STAF) $2.58 96.35% IZEA Inc. (Nasdaq: IZEA) $1.65 85.19% ShiftPixy Inc. (Nasdaq: PIXY) $3.35 78.38% MER Telemanagement Solutions Ltd. (Nasdaq: MTSL) $3.31 41.07% IsoRay Inc. (NYSE: ISR) $0.60 38.64% TransGlobe Energy Corp. (Nasdaq: TGA) $3.74 37.76% Actinium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OTCMKTS: ATNM) $0.27 26.31% Blonder Tongue Labs Inc. (NYSE: BDR) $1.56 24.58% Bridgeline Digital Inc. (Nasdaq: BLIN) $1.51 24.51% Cel-Sci Corp. (NYSE: CVM) $0.91 24.03%

  While these penny stocks generated strong returns last week, they're unlikely to produce the same level of profit again anytime soon.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  News stories about MER Telemanagement Solutions (NASDAQ:MTSL) have trended somewhat positive on Sunday, according to Accern. The research group identifies negative and positive news coverage by reviewing more than 20 million news and blog 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. MER Telemanagement Solutions earned a media sentiment score of 0.12 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news articles about the technology company an impact score of 45.5243579518781 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.

Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Invest In 2019: DigitalGlobe, Inc(DGI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  COPYRIGHT VIOLATION WARNING: “DigitalGlobe (DGI) Earning Somewhat Positive Press Coverage, Report Shows” was published by Ticker Report and is owned by of Ticker Report. If you are accessing this piece on another domain, it was stolen and republished in violation of US & international copyright & trademark laws. The original version of this piece can be read at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/3360325/digitalglobe-dgi-earning-somewhat-positive-press-coverage-report-shows.html.

The Federal Legalization of Marijuana Could Happen in 2020

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While some investors believe the federal legalization of marijuana is still a long way off, one of our experts makes the case that this could happen by 2020.

Money Morning Special Situation Strategist Tim Melvin has laid out the reasons why the federal legalization of weed is likely to happen by next year.

Now that the campaigns for the next presidential election are beginning to take shape, there will be a number of issues that will take center stage.

While it may seem that legalizing pot nationwide will be part of the Democratic platform, Melvin makes the case that U.S. President Donald Trump will be the one who will make this revolutionary change.

Here's why and how you can turn it into a profit windfall…

Marijuana Reform Will Be a Political Hot-Button Issue This Year

According to Melvin, it would be silly to keep marijuana as a Schedule I drug alongside substances like cocaine and heroin. There's simply no comparison.

Not only is pot on par with alcohol in many respects, but it also has fewer health side effects than a lifetime of heavy drinking.

And with 10 states already legalizing recreational marijuana, the federal prohibition is simply untenable.

LEGAL WAVE: Barriers to marijuana could be tumbling in Mexico and Thailand, but it's here in the U.S. where legalization could spark a "Green Rush" in certain stocks. Click here to learn about three of them…

While the major Democratic contenders all favor some form of ending the federal pot prohibition, its biggest champion may be its most unlikely. Melvin argues Trump will push for the full legalization of pot once the election heats up next year.

We're coming up on an election year again, and an overwhelming majority (60%) of Americans favor marijuana legalization. With the likely Democratic nominee favoring legalizing marijuana nationally, President Trump might be tempted to cut their support off and end federal restrictions against the plant.

Like him or not, Trump is a master at getting votes when it counts and will be able to rally the millions of voters that want full legalization in the coming year.

In fact, cannabis reform is one of the few issues that now has some bipartisan support. Several bills have already been introduced with support from both sides of the aisle.

It was Republicans that took the lead in adding hemp to the 2018 Farm Bill, which created a massive overnight market for CBD products. This is a sector currently worth roughly $2 billion, but one that is expected to double in just a few years.

That makes right now the perfect time to jump into the industry to catch some of the biggest gains…

It's Impossible to Ignore the Financial Potential of Cannabis

Melvin points out that this country has some specific needs that can be fulfilled by a windfall of new cannabis tax revenue once this approval goes through. This includes a crisis with pensions, exploding populations, and crumbling infrastructure.

States that have already legalized marijuana have been enjoying the financial benefits of these choices to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars in annual tax revenue. For example, California reported $350 million in taxes collected in its first full year of both medical and recreational legalization.

Once pot is legal on the federal level, prices are going to drop to the point where the black market for marijuana is going to fall apart and disappear. This will certainly help cut down on the criminal element in communities across the United States.

Just as it has in Colorado and California, revenue will skyrocket across the U.S., which will also allow the government to collect more tax dollars.

Anyone can debate the moral side of using cannabis as well as legal sports gaming to balance budgets, but legalization is coming. It's only a matter of when and not if.

And that could mean a massive financial windfall for savvy investors who get in early…

These 3 Stocks Are the Key to 2019's Greatest Profits

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

Humana turns to game theory for new Medicare pricing as insurers juggle Trump rebate uncertainty

Humana executives say they are modeling a number of scenarios to try to figure out how they'll price their Medicare drug plans for 2020 as the health insurance industry awaits new pharmacy benefit rebate regulations expected this spring from the Trump administration.

"We're spending a lot of time at Humana doing some game theory, a variety of different ways to try to understand what different options we have here, depending on the rule -- the specifications of the rules," Alan Wheatley, president of Humana's Medicare, Medicaid and specialty health plans division, said earlier this week at the company's investor day.

Wheatley told investors Tuesday that the Trump proposal to force Medicare plans to pass on negotiated drug discounts to consumers at the pharmacy counter would result in lower prices for its members using brand names drugs, but there will be trade-offs.

Standard prescription drug plans will likely adjust the scope of the drugs they cover, known as the formulary, or increase premiums, or some combination of the two, executives said.

The game theory comes in with the timing of when new rules might be adopted. Executives note the deadline for filing 2020 plans is in early June.

"To the extent that the rebate proposal doesn't go through, we also have to be mindful about how manufacturers are going to behave as we bid for 2020 and so we're very focused on that," said Brian Kane, Humana CFO.

The company's central focus this year is on developing its technology and data analytics, with some executives directly comparing the company's efforts to that of Amazon, in trying to build a platform where others can plug in to offer digital health services that will help coordinate care for members.

"We see customer preferences changing and being more demanding … 'make it simple for me, make it easier … know me, personalize the interaction," said CEO Bruce Broussard.

The company is building out a new digital health hub in Boston, dubbed Studio H. Despite a competitive environment for talent, executives claim they are having no trouble filling technology positions.

"We're finding we have more demand than we have open jobs right now which is a great problem, we don't even have to advertise," said Heather Cox, chief digital health and analytics officer.

The company maintained its earnings outlook of $17 to $17.50 per share for 2019. Humana shares are down 4.5 percent so far this year.

Humana turns to game theory for new Medicare pricing as insurers juggle Trump rebate uncertainty

Humana executives say they are modeling a number of scenarios to try to figure out how they'll price their Medicare drug plans for 2020 as the health insurance industry awaits new pharmacy benefit rebate regulations expected this spring from the Trump administration.

"We're spending a lot of time at Humana doing some game theory, a variety of different ways to try to understand what different options we have here, depending on the rule -- the specifications of the rules," Alan Wheatley, president of Humana's Medicare, Medicaid and specialty health plans division, said earlier this week at the company's investor day.

Wheatley told investors Tuesday that the Trump proposal to force Medicare plans to pass on negotiated drug discounts to consumers at the pharmacy counter would result in lower prices for its members using brand names drugs, but there will be trade-offs.

Standard prescription drug plans will likely adjust the scope of the drugs they cover, known as the formulary, or increase premiums, or some combination of the two, executives said.

The game theory comes in with the timing of when new rules might be adopted. Executives note the deadline for filing 2020 plans is in early June.

"To the extent that the rebate proposal doesn't go through, we also have to be mindful about how manufacturers are going to behave as we bid for 2020 and so we're very focused on that," said Brian Kane, Humana CFO.

The company's central focus this year is on developing its technology and data analytics, with some executives directly comparing the company's efforts to that of Amazon, in trying to build a platform where others can plug in to offer digital health services that will help coordinate care for members.

"We see customer preferences changing and being more demanding … 'make it simple for me, make it easier … know me, personalize the interaction," said CEO Bruce Broussard.

The company is building out a new digital health hub in Boston, dubbed Studio H. Despite a competitive environment for talent, executives claim they are having no trouble filling technology positions.

"We're finding we have more demand than we have open jobs right now which is a great problem, we don't even have to advertise," said Heather Cox, chief digital health and analytics officer.

The company maintained its earnings outlook of $17 to $17.50 per share for 2019. Humana shares are down 4.5 percent so far this year.

This Small-Cap Alternative Energy Stock Is a “No-Brainer”

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Don't look now, but the alternative energy market has changed dramatically.

Not too long ago, the success of alternative energy was entirely dependent on staggeringly steep crude oil prices.

That and tax credits made alternative energy competitive to fossil fuels.

The higher crude prices went, the better alternative energy looked by comparison.

This dynamic played out perfectly on Wall Street, where solar stocks would track crude oil prices almost in lock step.

In early 2016, oil prices collapsed. It didn't take long for solar stocks to follow suit.

For example, First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) traded for $70 per share in January of 2016. By the end of the year, First Solar was priced at $30 per share.

As crude recovered from those lows and peaked in the fall of 2018, shares of First Solar fought back to that $70 level.

In Q4 2018, amidst a rate hike cycle at the Federal Reserve and a strong dollar, crude prices fell below $50.

Free Book: Discover 61 ways to potentially triple or quadruple your monthly income. To learn how to claim your copy of "The Book of Crazy Big Income" at no cost, click here now…

Once again, down went First Solar.

By the end of the year, the stock had fallen approximately 40%.

But thankfully, we're finally in a place where solar stocks aren't completely dependent on the price of oil. The solar industry has matured in a way where the price of oil simply doesn't matter going forward.

In fact, as solar becomes more prevalent, demand for crude will conceivably fall. Of course, that would pressure oil prices.

The cost of producing solar energy has dropped dramatically too.

As volumes of solar energy increase, the pressure on crude will be immense.

This chart shows how solar prices have dropped dramatically in recent years, along with increased demand…

It may not matter much, but the U.S. Federal Reserve is also providing a huge tailwind to solar as well.

A dovish central bank takes the air out of the dollar. It also increases asset prices like oil.

The same cannot be said of solar.

In fact, if oil prices continue to move higher from here, the price of solar will further decline as demand for alternative energy increases.

And what happens to alternative energy stocks in that environment?

They skyrocket…

The Money Morning Stock VQScore system is well aware of this.

In fact, an alternative energy small-cap stock just received our highest rating, meaning it's poised for massive gains…

This Is the Best Alternative Energy Stock to Buy Today

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

Here are the biggest analyst calls of the day: Domino's, Yum Brands, Booking Holdings, & more

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Tuesday:

J.P. Morgan downgrading Yum Brands to 'neutral' from 'overweight'

J.P. Morgan believes the recent run-up in Yum shares leaves little upside to their estimates.

"While we do believe in YUM's long-term earnings algorithm of mid- to high-single-digit system-wide sales growth driven by ~4% unit growth and 2-3% worldwide comps, the 9% YTD run in the share price—and the corresponding multiple increase to 23.3x C20E P/E—leaves little upside to our estimates...":

J.P. Morgan upgrading Domino's Pizza to 'overweight' from 'neutral'

J.P. Morgan is bullish on Domino's sales growth.

"We believe DPZ's algorithm to achieve 8-12% system-wide sales growth remains intact... We are focused on its lowest-cost delivery platform and believe recent multiple compression to slower growing peers presents an opportunity...Our DPZ price target remains $270, or 25x C20E EPS, while our YUM price target is $94 or 21.7x C20E EPS with DPZ implying a 3.6% FCF yield at this multiple and YUM a 4.5% yield... We agree with company guidance that DPZ is an 8-12% system-wide sales growth company driven by 6-8% unit growth, 3-6% US comps, and 3-6% international comps... Dunkin', McDonalds, and Wendy's growth metrics are much lower, but DPZ offers the best comparison to YUM in our coverage today..."

Telsey downgrading Booking Holdings to 'market perform' from 'outperform'

Telsey believes Europe and growing competition provide challenges for Booking Holdings.

"With 4Q earnings season over, we have re-evaluated our outlook on the OTA sector and for BKNG in particular... We are lowering our PT to $1,800 and downgrading the stock to MP due to: (1) a weaker European economic outlook; and (2) growing threats from Airbnb and Google, which are now encroaching on BKNG's core hotel offering... While BKNG's valuation is not overly stretched, we believe these incremental challenges warrant a move to the sidelines..."

Argus downgrading Boeing to 'hold' from 'buy'

Argus is bullish long-term on Boeing but believes management needs to be more pro-active in its response to 737 Max groundings.

"We have been long-time bulls on the BA shares, raising our rating to BUY in May 2012, when the share price was $69... Since our upgrade, the shares have appreciated almost 540%, not including dividends... However, the shares have fallen almost 17% from their highs in the wake of the second fatal crash of a Boeing airplane.... We think the long-term outlook for Boeing is bright and are maintaining our five-year BUY rating... If the cause of the crashes turns out to be a mechanical or an engineering issue, Boeing can correct the problem and the industry, which is heavily dependent on the plane, the 737 Max jet, can move on...."

Read more about this here,

Sandler O'Neill & Partners downgrading MetLife to 'hold' from 'buy'

Sandler O'Neill believes management changes create uncertainty for MetLife.

"1) The company will have a new chief executive officer beginning with 1Q19 earnings... We believe this increases the possibility of execution risk after replacing a long-time, well-known executive at the company... 2) With a new CEO coming in along with the company increasingly talking about building up a sizeable asset management operation in recent years, we believe this increases the potential for an asset management acquisition the investment community does not greet with enthusiasm.... 3) We believe shares are currently appropriately valued trading at 7.7x 2020 and 92% book value ex-AOCI as compared to the peer group average of 7.6x and 124% considering we anticipate MET's operating ROE ex- AOCI in 2020 of 10.7% to be well below the peer group average of 14.6% and median of 12.8%... And especially so given our expectation for earnings to grow in 2019 vs. 2018 by 0.2%... 4) More specifically, we believe shares of PRU at 7.1x 2020 and 111% book value ex-AOCI with an operating ROE ex-AOCI of 13.7% are currently more attractively valued than MET..."

Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. (KNDI) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Kandi Technologies Group, Inc.  (NASDAQ:KNDI)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallMarch 15, 2019, 8:00 a.m. ET

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

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Kandi Technologies Full-Year 2018 Financial Results Call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Kewa Luo, IR Manager. Please go ahead.

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone, and welcome to Kandi Technologies Group Inc's full-year 2018 earnings conference call. The company distributed its earnings press release earlier today, and you can find a copy on Kandi's website at www.kandivehicle.com. With us today are Kandi's Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Hu Xiaoming; and Interim Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Zhu Xiaoying. Mr. Hu and Ms. Zhu will deliver prepared remarks, followed by a question-and-answer session.

Before we get started, I'm going to review the Safe Harbor statement regarding today's conference call. Please note that discussions today will contain forward-looking statements made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. As such, the Company's results may differ materially from the views expressed today.

Further information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties are included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31st 2018, and in other documents filed with US Securities Exchange Commission. Kandi does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable law.

As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. In addition, a audio webcast of this conference will be available on Kandi's Investor Relations website.

I will now turn the call over to Kandi's Founder, Chairman and CEO, Mr. Hu Xiaoming.

Hu Xiaoming -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Hello, ladies and gentlemen and all friends, thank you for joining our full-year 2018 earnings conference call.

Hu Xiaoming -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Kandi has experienced challenges over the past few years due to the confusion surrounding the reusable battery exchange model. However, Kandi has been working diligently to overcome the downturn and obstacles to resolve these issues. Early on in 2018, we prepared a three-year plan for 2018 through 2020 based on our company's and the industry's situation. 2018 was to be the year of survival, 2019 of revival, and 2020 will be the year of prosperity. Through our hard work in 2018, we rebuilt and refined our practices, and as a result, we are very pleased with our financial performance. In 2018, our total revenue was up 9.4% to $112 million; while pre-tax income was $2.1 million compared to a loss of $31.6 million in 2017. In 2019, we plan to continue this upwards momentum, and further refine our business model and execution plan to forge new opportunities moving forward in the following ways.

Hu Xiaoming -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

(Foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

First, the management team hopes the JV Company to achieve its projected goals of producing and selling 20,000 EVs in 2019. Second, the Company is expecting to obtain the approval of its application for a manufacturing license from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to become an official EV manufacturing enterprise with "dual production licenses." Third, following the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's approval of certain Kandi EV models for importation and registration in the US, Kandi EV models are now eligible for up to $7,500 in federal tax credits in 2019 and 2020. To capitalize on the opportunity presented by the NHTSA's approval, we are in the process of preparing a strategic sales plan for the debut of Kandi EV models in the American market later this year. Fourth, the car share program (or Micro Public Transportation) has been upgraded to an online ride-hailing business model in China, which is expected to open up a broader market for Kandi electric vehicles. Finally, the Company is evaluating for the optimal time to restructure the JV Company's equity in order to unlock the shareholder value of the JV Company. We are dedicated in taking full advantage of the milestones we have reached thus far, achieving stronger business results in 2019, as well as maximizing our long-term shareholders' investments.

Hu Xiaoming -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Now I will turn the call to our Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Zhu Xiaoying, to give you more details on our financial highlights. After that, I will take the questions. Thank you.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Hello, everyone, my name is Zhu Xiaoying. Now, I would like to provide a brief overview of our financial results for the full-year 2018. Please note that all numbers I will discuss today are in US dollars, unless otherwise noted.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

First, let me walk you through the full year financial results in 2018.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Total net revenues in 2018 were $112.4 million, a increase of $9.6 million or 9.4% from $102.8 million in 2017. The increase in revenues was mainly due to a increase in sales of off-road vehicles during 2018.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

EV parts sales were approximately $99.1 million in 2018, accounting for 88.1% of our total net revenues, a increase of $1.7 million or 1.8% from $97.4 million compared to 2017.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Revenue from sales of off-road vehicles was $13.2 million in 2018, a increase of $7.9 million or 144.8% compared with $5.4 million in 2017. The increase in revenue from off-road vehicles was largely due to the additional sales from SC Autosports, which became our wholly owned subsidiary in the US in July 2018.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Our cost of goods sold in 2018 was $92.2 million, a increase of $3.7 million or 4.2% from $88.5 million in 2017. The change was primarily due to the corresponding increase in sales from 2018.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Gross profit in 2018 was $20.2 million, a increase of $5.9 million or 41.2% from $14.3 million in 2017. Gross margin in 2018 increased to 18% from 14% in 2017. The increase of gross margin was due to the higher gross margin from off-road vehicles sales of SC Autosports as well as increased gross margin from sales of battery packs.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Total operating expenses in 2018 were $21.9 million, a decrease of 45.9% from $40.4 million during 2017. The decrease in total operating expenses was due to the largely decreased research and development expenses in 2018.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

GAAP net loss in 2018 was $5.7 million or $0.11 loss per fully diluted share compared with GAAP net loss of $28.3 million or $0.59 loss per fully diluted share in 2017. The decreased in net loss was primarily attributable to the increased gross profit, the decrease in R&D expenses, and the increased government grants the Company received this year.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Income before income tax in 2018 was $2.1 million compared to loss of before income tax of $31.6 million in 2017. The increased income tax expense is many due to the $6.0 million valuation allowance of Hainan facility's deferred tax assets, because of three-year accumulated loss in its construction period. After other income tax adjustments, the income tax expense in 2018 was $7.8 million.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Non-GAAP net loss in 2018 was $8.8 million compared with non-GAAP net loss of $23.2 million in 2017. Non-GAAP loss per share was approximately $0.17 per fully diluted share for the full year of 2018 compared with non-GAAP adjusted loss per share of $0.48 per fully diluted share for the full year of 2017.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Let me touch on the JV's financials now.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

For the full-year 2018, the JV Company's net sales were $122.5 million, gross loss was $17.7 million and net loss was $36.3 million.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

During 2018, the JV Company sold a total of 10,259 units of EV products, as compared to a total of 11,437 units sold in 2017.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Kandi's investments in the JV Company are accounted for under the equity method of accounting, as Kandi has a 50% ownership interest in the JV Company. As a result, Kandi recorded 50% of the JV Company's loss for $18.2 million for the full-year 2018. After eliminating intra-entity profits and losses, Kandi's share of the after tax loss of the JV Company was $17.9 million for the full-year 2018.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Next, I will review the company's cash flow.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

In 2018, cash provided in operating activities was $13.6 million, as compared to cash used in operating activities of $3.2 million in 2017. The major operating activities that provided cash for 2018 are increase of accounts payable and increase of other payables and accrued liabilities. The major operating activities that used the cash for 2018 was a increase in receivables from the JV Company and a increase of accounts receivables.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Cash used in investing activities for 2018 was $0.95 million, as compared to cash derived from investing activities of $2.71 million for 2017. During the year of 2018, the major investing activity that used cash was the acquisition of Jinhua An Kao net of cash received in the amount of $3.56 million.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Cash used in financing activities for 2018 was $5.3 million as compared to cash used in financing activities of $9.81 million in 2017. The major financing activities that provided cash for 2018 were proceeds from notes payable of $54.35 million and proceeds from short-term bank loans of $32.50 million. The major financing activities that used cash for 2018 were $58.59 million of repayments of note payables and $33.26 million of repayments of short-term bank loans.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Hu Xiaoming -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

(foreign language)

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Hu Xiaoming -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Operator, we are ready to take some questions.

Questions and Answers:

Operator

Thank you. (Operator Instructions). We will now take our first question from Ted Schwartz. Please go ahead.

Ted Schwartz -- TAS Associates -- Analyst

I notice that you're having an income tax expense of $7.7 million, whereas both the Joint Venture and Kandi itself showed a loss. I don't understand where that $7.7 million income tax expense came in. Could you explain that?

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

I'm sorry, can you just repeat one more time, your phone is a little skipping.

Ted Schwartz -- TAS Associates -- Analyst

Pardon me.

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Hello, would you please repeat your question one more time. Your phone is little skipping.

Ted Schwartz -- TAS Associates -- Analyst

I don't understand how there could be a $7.7 million income tax expense when both the Joint Venture and Kandi showed a loss.

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Hu Xiaoming -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

(foreign language)

Zhu Xiaoying -- Interim Chief Financial Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Okay. This actually is not the income tax that we paid, but however, has to be accounted as expense in our financial statements. But most of the part is due to the $6 million valuation allowance of Hainan facility deferred tax asset because the Hainan facility's bringing accumulated loss in its construction period and the rest of $1.7 million is from other subsidiaries who is profitable, altogether $7.7 million was accounted for the income tax expenses.

Ted Schwartz -- TAS Associates -- Analyst

What models of cars are there presently -- are presently in production (multiple speakers) the 22s, the 27, the EX3, and what about the K23 in Hainan?

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

(foreign language)

Hu Xiaoming -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

(foreign language) Okay, right now, there are K23, K22 and EX3 are presently in production and in March, we have plans of 300 K23 stacked up EV parts for the production in Hainan facility.

Ted Schwartz -- TAS Associates -- Analyst

Would you be producing and selling in Hainan in March?

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

(foreign language)

Hu Xiaoming -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Right now, since we still rely on Geely 's manufacturing license, so it's going to be sales of the EV part sets.

Hu Xiaoming -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

(foreign language)

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

So if we plan to have these 300 sets of EV parts produced this month, so the sales probably will happen next month.

Ted Schwartz -- TAS Associates -- Analyst

All right, thank you very much. Not sure I understand it, but Kewa, thank you, take the next question.

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Thank you. Operator, we can take next question.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from Frank Vladermann. Please go ahead.

Frank Vladermann -- -- Analyst

Yes, and good morning. Can you hear me OK?

Kewa Luo -- Investor Relations Manager

Yes, go ahead.

Frank Vladermann -- -- Analyst

Okay. I have a question involving carbon credits trading. I believe that carbon credit trading maybe an important source of revenue for t

Pigeoncoin (PGN) Price Up 139.6% This Week

Pigeoncoin (CURRENCY:PGN) traded 7.1% lower against the dollar during the one day period ending at 17:00 PM ET on March 14th. One Pigeoncoin coin can currently be bought for $0.0002 or 0.00000004 BTC on major exchanges including CryptoBridge and QBTC. Over the last seven days, Pigeoncoin has traded up 139.6% against the dollar. Pigeoncoin has a total market cap of $357,427.00 and approximately $11,324.00 worth of Pigeoncoin was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

Here is how other cryptocurrencies have performed over the last 24 hours:

Get Pigeoncoin alerts: MOAC (MOAC) traded 9.5% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.73 or 0.00018555 BTC. APIS (APIS) traded 43.1% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0028 or 0.00000071 BTC. Grin (GRIN) traded down 3.2% against the dollar and now trades at $2.69 or 0.00068509 BTC. Ripio Credit Network (RCN) traded 4.5% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0236 or 0.00000602 BTC. Elastic (XEL) traded down 2.1% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0793 or 0.00001240 BTC. MARK.SPACE (MRK) traded 3.3% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0052 or 0.00000132 BTC. Bismuth (BIS) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $0.21 or 0.00005760 BTC. XEL (XEL) traded down 1.9% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0301 or 0.00000768 BTC. MIB Coin (MIB) traded 3.2% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0256 or 0.00000654 BTC. Golos (GOLOS) traded up 0.9% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0091 or 0.00000233 BTC.

Pigeoncoin Profile

Pigeoncoin (PGN) uses the hashing algorithm. It was first traded on March 27th, 2018. Pigeoncoin’s total supply is 2,149,357,000 coins. The Reddit community for Pigeoncoin is /r/Pigeoncoin and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here. Pigeoncoin’s official message board is medium.com/@pigeoncoin. Pigeoncoin’s official Twitter account is @Pigeoncoin. Pigeoncoin’s official website is pigeoncoin.org.

Pigeoncoin Coin Trading

Pigeoncoin can be purchased on these cryptocurrency exchanges: CryptoBridge and QBTC. It is usually not currently possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as Pigeoncoin directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to acquire Pigeoncoin should first purchase Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as GDAX, Coinbase or Changelly. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to purchase Pigeoncoin using one of the aforementioned exchanges.

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Now Is One of the Best Opportunities to Buy Home Depot Stock

After reporting a less-than-stellar quarter on Feb. 26, investors began selling shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD). It hasn’t been catastrophic for Home Depot stock, but shares have been under pressure since the report.

Source: Shutterstock

The numbers of Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) are likely having an effect too. After initially rallying on the report, the stock fell for seven straight sessions. That’s caused a lot of investors to ask whether these stocks are worth owning at this point.

Spring Season

Investors are seemingly overlooking the spring season. When the holidays roll around, of course Home Depot, Lowe’s and others do well in sales. Every family’s handyman or DIY member is eligible for a home improvement gift, right? Right.

But that hardly compares to the numbers that HD stock will put up in the second quarter as homeowners and contractors get to work fixing up houses, cleaning up yards and renovating kitchens and bathrooms. As such, Home Depot will bring on 80,000 new workers to account for the increase in demand.

The downside to all this? These results show up in Q2, not Q1, which HD is in right now. That said, the silver lining here is that investors have an opportunity to buy or accumulate Home Depot stock while it’s under pressure. That’s better than buying a stock red-hot into its best numbers.

Valuing Home Depot Stock

Home Depot is a high-quality company, but it’s seen better years when it comes to growth. For the current year, estimates call for earnings growth of just 2.2%, despite expectations for 3.2% revenue growth.

Estimates for next year improve, where analysts expect 9.3% earnings growth on 4.6% sales growth. Although, it’s hard to put too much weight into next fiscal year when we’ve only just begun this one.

So where does that leave HD stock? Shares trade at about 18 times this year’s earnings, which isn’t necessarily cheap but is also far from expensive. Investors also need to consider the Home Depot’s 3% dividend yield down near these levels.

Over the last six years, Home Depot has traded with a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 20 on the low end and 25 on the high end. So below this mark now, it’s technically undervalued vs. its recent five-year history.

Further, assuming one overlooks the December selloff, they’d have to go all the way back to 2011 to find HD stock paying out a higher dividend yield. That’s following the company’s 32% boost last month.

Home Depot is making the investments necessary to makes its online game stand tall against companies like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), has a below-average valuation vs. its historical range and is paying out a 3% dividend yield. I’ll admit that the growth is somewhat stagnant for the year, but there’s a lot to like about HD stock for the patient investor.

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Trading HD Stock

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Home Depot has fallen about $10 from its pre-earnings levels, but that ~5% loss isn’t too hard for most investors to stomach. For now, the 50-day moving average is propping up HD, while the 61.8% and 38.2% Fibonacci retracements are keeping it range bound.

A break of either one of those Fib levels will likely send that stock in the continued direction. Meaning, a break below the 38.2% Fib will likely send HD stock lower and a breakout over the 61.8% Fib will likely send Home Depot higher.

At this point though, with the lack of a real catalyst, the risk is to the downside. Should Home Depot stock lose the 50-day and subsequently Fib support, the stock could see $170 again.

In that sense, investors who want to trade HD stock can go long near current levels, with a stop-loss on a close below this key area. Long-term investors though may consider this an advantageous spot to add to their position.

Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Ken

Top 5 Financial Stocks For 2019

tags:GLRE,WFC,CS,GOOD,MGYR,

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its position in shares of Plains All American Pipeline (NYSE:PAA) by 13.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 2,228 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Plains All American Pipeline were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PAA. American Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plains All American Pipeline during the 4th quarter valued at about $103,000. FTB Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Plains All American Pipeline by 97.8% during the 1st quarter. FTB Advisors Inc. now owns 5,695 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 2,816 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plains All American Pipeline during the 4th quarter valued at about $134,000. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Plains All American Pipeline during the 4th quarter valued at about $158,000. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plains All American Pipeline during the 4th quarter valued at about $166,000. 43.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Top 5 Financial Stocks For 2019: Greenlight Capital Re Ltd.(GLRE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Greenlight Capital Re (NASDAQ:GLRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported ($3.85) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($4.43) by $0.58. Greenlight Capital Re had a negative return on equity of 23.81% and a negative net margin of 40.65%. The firm had revenue of $0.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.20 million. sell-side analysts forecast that Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. will post -4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Greenlight Capital Re (GLRE)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  Shares of Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $14.05 and last traded at $14.15, with a volume of 249308 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.65.

Top 5 Financial Stocks For 2019: Wells Fargo & Company(WFC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  Shares of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) are in focus after the company reported earnings before the bell. GE stock popped 5.6% after the firm topped earnings per share (EPS) estimates by $0.05 and backed its 2018 outlook. The firm reported EPS of $0.16 on top of $28.66 billion in revenue. GE stock had been off nearly 18% from its last earnings report on January 24 due to ongoing financial and legal problems. Crude oil prices dipped Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at OPEC. Trump accused the cartel of keeping oil prices "artificially high" despite "record amounts of oil all over the place." Brent crude and WTI crude oil both hit three-year highs this week after Saudi Arabia suggested that it was working to press oil prices back above $100 per barrel. Three Stocks to Watch Today: PM, MO, WFC Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) fell this morning after the firm experienced its worst trading day since its spin-off from Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO). Shares of PM fell as much as 16% after the firm fell short of revenue expectations after the bell. MO stock fell roughly 6% on the day. Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) are under pressure after The New York Times reported that the firm may be facing a $1 billion fine. The fines would cover a variety of "alleged" misdeeds that include the firm's push on customers to purchase auto insurance they didn't need and charging mortgage customers fees for services that they were not using. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will most likely announce the fine today. Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani weighed in on the topic this week, and he offers a scorching indictment. Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) is on the move today after the semiconductor giant announced plans to lay off 1,500 employees. The cuts are expected to hit employees in California and cities around the globe. The cuts are part of the fi
• [By Matthew Frankel]

  A great recent example of this can be seen in the 2017 annual report of major Berkshire Hathaway stock holding Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC). Instead of glossing over the company's infamous fake-accounts and other scandals and simply focusing on the good parts of the business, CEO Tim Sloan made the company's problems and detailed discussions of the planned and implemented solutions the central focus of his letter. And, Sloan acknowledged that "we still have work to do."

• [By ]

  Citigroup Inc. (C)  , a rival Wall Street bank, said in a separate report Friday that first-quarter profit jumped 13%, also fueled by growth in trading revenue. Meanwhile, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) , struggling to recover from a series of regulatory penalties over allegedly aggressive sales practices, posted a 5.5% profit increase on a preliminary basis, noting that legal costs might have to be revised higher pending discussions with regulators over as much as $1 billion of new penalties related to auto insurance and mortgage-related violations. Bank of America Corp. (BAC) , Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) are all scheduled to post results next week.

• [By Matthew Frankel]

  As far as positive surprises go, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) was probably the biggest positive surprise. I probably don't have to tell most listeners, Wells Fargo hasn't had the best couple of years, when it comes to their fake accounts scandal, the fallout from that, the other mini scandals along the way, and just recently, their punishment by the same Federal Reserve that says they're not allowed to grow until they improve. They actually got the approval to buy back more than twice the amount of stock that they did last year. One, that says a lot about how well-capitalized they are. Two, it also says a lot that their management's willing to do that, that they think that their stock is at such a compelling bargain right now that they're willing to spend over $25 billion on buybacks alone.

• [By ]

  Here's a lesson Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) CEO Tim Sloan appears to have learned: Be nice to your customers.

  The San-Francisco bank has paid about $2 billion in fines and extra legal costs to resolve allegations that it used overly aggressive sales practices over the past decade, including opening millions of accounts without customers' knowledge and charging auto borrowers for insurance they didn't need.

• [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  Earnings reports could drive extra volatility for shareholders of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST), Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA), and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) over the next few trading days. Here are a few trends to watch for in these reports. 

Top 5 Financial Stocks For 2019: Credit Suisse Group(CS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Shares of Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.00.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  FAANG stocks are attempting to rebound today after a brutal sell-off hit the Nasdaq components Tuesday. The social media giant Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) will report earnings after the bell, but it's likely that analysts are more interested in the company's ongoing response to a data scandal that rocked investor sentiment and spurred privacy fears during the first quarter. Wall Street forecasts EPS of $1.36 on top of $11.45 billion in revenue. Right now, the 10-year interest rate is sitting on the border of 3%. And this news has many investors jittery about the impact on the stock market and the broader economy. Of course, many people forget that interest rates remain historically low for this stage of an economic expansion. And inflation targets remain stubbornly elusive for members of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The truth is that investors have little to worry about regarding interest rates. Instead, they should listen to Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald, who offered his insight to Fox Business Network earlier this week. Here's what Keith had to say. Three Stocks to Watch Today: TWTR, CS, GE General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is under pressure to fire its auditor of 109 years, KPMG (for perspective, GE began its longtime relationship with KPMG a year after the first Model-T was built). Shareholder rights firms Glass-Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services are spearheading the change and will push for adjustments during the firm's annual shareholder meeting. The move comes after a calamitous year for GE, which saw the company become the worst-performing Dow component of 2017. Twitter Inc. (NYSE TWTR) will lead a very busy day of earnings reports. The social media giant is expected to report EPS of $0.12 on top of $609.8 million in revenue. Shares in Credit Suisse (ADR) (NYSE: CS) rallied more than 4% today after the Swiss financial giant beat earnings expectations before the bell. This was a significant milestone for Cr
• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Credits (CS) is a distributed proof-of-stake (dPOS) token that uses the DPoS hashing algorithm. It was first traded on February 28th, 2015. Credits’ total supply is 249,471,071 tokens and its circulating supply is 137,958,656 tokens. Credits’ official message board is medium.com/@credits. The official website for Credits is credits.com/en. Credits’ official Twitter account is @creditscom and its Facebook page is accessible here. The Reddit community for Credits is /r/CreditsOfficial and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Credits (CS) is a distributed proof-of-stake (dPOS) token that uses the DPoS hashing algorithm. Its launch date was February 28th, 2015. Credits’ total supply is 249,471,071 tokens and its circulating supply is 139,159,871 tokens. Credits’ official message board is medium.com/@credits. The Reddit community for Credits is /r/CreditsOfficial and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here. The official website for Credits is credits.com/en. Credits’ official Twitter account is @creditscom and its Facebook page is accessible here.

Top 5 Financial Stocks For 2019: Gladstone Commercial Corporation(GOOD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Goodomy (GOOD) is a PoW/PoS token that uses the Scrypt hashing algorithm. Its launch date was June 21st, 2017. Goodomy’s total supply is 888,000,000 tokens and its circulating supply is 620,508,777 tokens. Goodomy’s official Twitter account is @GoodKarmaCoin and its Facebook page is accessible here. Goodomy’s official website is goodomy.com.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Good Energy Group (LON:GOOD) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported GBX 10.80 ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, Bloomberg Earnings reports. Good Energy Group had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 7.08%.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Goodomy (CURRENCY:GOOD) traded 7.9% lower against the dollar during the twenty-four hour period ending at 15:00 PM ET on September 25th. Goodomy has a total market cap of $909,583.00 and $32.00 worth of Goodomy was traded on exchanges in the last day. One Goodomy token can now be purchased for $0.0015 or 0.00000023 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges. Over the last seven days, Goodomy has traded down 2.7% against the dollar.

Top 5 Financial Stocks For 2019: Magyar Bancorp Inc.(MGYR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Media headlines about Magyar Bancorp (NASDAQ:MGYR) have been trending somewhat positive on Friday, according to Accern. Accern rates the sentiment of news coverage by analyzing more than 20 million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Magyar Bancorp earned a media sentiment score of 0.16 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media headlines about the bank an impact score of 48.0770691063571 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.

Trump's Policy "Magic Wand" Boosts Manufacturing Jobs 399% In First 26 Months Over Obama's Last 26

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image ap size-large wp-image-4dd034a7e2a241a292190fc7c2fb2e79&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/4dd034a7e2a241a292190fc7c2fb2e79/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a meeting with American manufacturers in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, in Washington. At far right is Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, next to Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump consistently promised to revive America&a;rsquo;s manufacturing economy.

Trump&a;rsquo;s focus on manufacturing brought out high-profile critics who scoffed at the notion. President Obama notably said in June 2016 that manufacturing jobs &a;ldquo;&l;span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKpso3vhZtw&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;are just not going to come back&l;/a&g;&l;/span&g;.&a;rdquo; He said this at a time when manufacturing job growth had flatlined, falling by 31,000 from January of 2016 to when he delivered his pessimistic comments in June of that year.

While President Obama&a;rsquo;s time in office did see job gains, even in manufacturing, it&a;rsquo;s important to note that jobs always come back in a post-recession recovery. But comparing the nation&a;rsquo;s most-recent economic recovery from the trough in June 2009, the pace of job growth was slower in Obama&a;rsquo;s tenure than in any past recovery&a;mdash;except for the rebound from the mild eight-month recession in 2001, following the deflation of the dot-com bubble.

Much of the blame for the weak economy can be set at the feet of two failed economic policies: monetary and fiscal. From the reliance on the Federal Reserve&a;rsquo;s easy money&a;mdash;$4.5 trillion of &a;ldquo;quantitative easing&q;&a;mdash;to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) started under President Bush to Obama&a;rsquo;s Cash For Clunkers program, the post-2009 recovery was marked by government intervention at levels not seen since the Great Depression 70 years earlier.

Furthermore, with federal regulatory activity at historic highs under President Obama, investors were scared off from making long-term commitments. As a result, much of the Federal Reserve&a;rsquo;s easy money sat safely on the sidelines.

As the shock was settling in less than three weeks after Trump&a;rsquo;s election, Paul Krugman, a &l;em&g;New York Times&a;nbsp;&l;/em&g;columnist and economist, said of President-elect Trump&a;rsquo;s manufacturing jobs promises,&a;nbsp;&l;span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/802164997128392704&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&a;ldquo;Nothing policy can do will bring back those lost jobs. The service sector is the future of work; but nobody wants to hear it.&l;/a&g;&l;/span&g;&a;rdquo;

Yet last Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its &l;span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;February jobs report&l;/a&g;&l;/span&g;. Comparing the Trump administration&a;rsquo;s first 26 months of employment data with the last 26 months under Obama is insightful.

Both periods are considered by most economists to be in the mature stage of the business cycle. In Obama&a;rsquo;s case, slow economic growth, especially regarding sluggish manufacturing employment, was considered the &a;ldquo;&l;span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Normal_(business)&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;new normal&l;/a&g;&l;/span&g;.&a;rdquo; The national economy grew by 1.6% in 2016, Obama&a;rsquo;s last year.

From October 2014 to December 2016, private sector employment grew by 4.2% as the unemployment rate dipped to 4.7%. In the past 26 months, private employers have grown their payrolls by 4.0% as the job market has tightened considerably, with official unemployment dropping to 3.8%.

While overall employment numbers are comparable, the difference in manufacturing is profound. In the last 26 months of Obama&a;rsquo;s presidency, manufacturing employment grew by 96,000 or 0.8%. In Trump&a;rsquo;s first 26 months, manufacturers added 479,000 jobs, or 3.9%, 399% more jobs than Obama&a;rsquo;s record.

Is it any wonder that President Obama derided then-candidate Trump for needing a &a;ldquo;&l;span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/281936-obama-to-trump-what-magic-wand-do-you-have&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;magic wand&l;/a&g;&l;/span&g;&a;rdquo; to deliver on his manufacturing jobs promise?

On the other hand, federal, state and local government jobs, many of them creators of job-stifling red tape, grew by 1.7% in Obama&a;rsquo;s last 26 months compared to 0.8% under Trump.

In fact, over the past 26 months, there were 168% more jobs in manufacturing created than in government, while during Obama&a;rsquo;s last 26 months, there were 303% more government jobs created than in manufacturing. This was not sustainable. Government jobs don&a;rsquo;t pay for themselves.

And here&a;rsquo;s where President Trump&a;rsquo;s pro-growth policies come into play.

The current stretch in increased manufacturing employment started in November, 2016&a;mdash;the month of Trump&a;rsquo;s election. Employers, especially those faced with making long-term investments in physical plants and equipment, anticipated regulatory relief under Trump.

They got the relief they hoped for.

By October 2018, the Trump Administration cut 2.7 major regulations for every one added, greatly reducing regulatory cost and risk.

In addition, the tax cuts signed into law in December 2017 not only reduced corporate tax rates, encouraging investment, they also incentivized U.S.-based multinational corporations to bring home profits held overseas.

In the first nine months of 2019, these firms repatriated $571.3 billion&a;mdash;money needed for job-creating investment at home, but had been held in foreign countries because America had the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world.

&l;p class=&q;tweet_line&q;&g;Trump&a;rsquo;s pro-growth policies appear to be all the magic the manufacturing sector needed .&l;/p&g;

Wave Life Sciences (WVE) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

According to Zacks, “WAVE Life Sciences Pte. Ltd. is a preclinical biopharmaceutical company. It designs, develops and commercializes nucleic acid therapeutic candidates for Huntington’s disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and inflammatory bowel disease. Huntington’s disease, the Company has programs targeting HTT SNP-1 and HTT SNP-2; DMD, targeting Exon 51 and in IBD, it is targeting SMAD7. The Company has late-stage discovery programs in epidermolysis bullosa simplex, in which it is targeting KRT14 SNP-1 and KRT14 SNP-2 and in DMD, it is focused on an additional DMD target, Activin Receptor type IIb. WAVE Life Sciences Pte. Ltd. is based in Singapore. “

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A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WVE. BidaskClub raised shares of Wave Life Sciences from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, December 4th. Mizuho set a $65.00 target price on shares of Wave Life Sciences and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, December 6th. HC Wainwright set a $49.00 target price on shares of Wave Life Sciences and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, December 10th. ValuEngine raised shares of Wave Life Sciences from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Leerink Swann assumed coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, November 27th. They issued an outperform rating and a $61.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Wave Life Sciences currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $57.75.

Shares of NASDAQ:WVE opened at $47.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.47 and a beta of 0.82. Wave Life Sciences has a 1-year low of $32.25 and a 1-year high of $56.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 1.85.

In related news, insider Michael A. Panzara sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $336,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ra Capital Management, Llc acquired 263,158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.00 per share, for a total transaction of $10,000,004.00. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 44.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 193,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,138,000 after buying an additional 15,664 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in Wave Life Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $430,000. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 125,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,268,000 after buying an additional 16,177 shares during the period. 82.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wave Life Sciences Company Profile

Wave Life Sciences Ltd., a biotechnology company, designs, develops, and commercializes nucleic acid therapeutic candidates for genetically defined diseases by utilizing proprietary synthetic chemistry drug development platform. The company is primarily developing oligonucleotides that target genetic defects to either reduce the expression of disease-promoting proteins or transform the production of dysfunctional mutant proteins into the production of functional proteins.

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Sangamo Therapeutics Inc (SGMO) Expected to Post FY2019 Earnings of ($1.35) Per Share

Sangamo Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SGMO) – Equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group dropped their FY2019 earnings per share estimates for shares of Sangamo Therapeutics in a research note issued on Monday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst M. Raycroft now forecasts that the biopharmaceutical company will post earnings of ($1.35) per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of ($0.72). Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Sangamo Therapeutics’ FY2020 earnings at ($0.19) EPS, FY2021 earnings at ($1.53) EPS and FY2022 earnings at ($0.38) EPS.

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Several other equities research analysts have also commented on SGMO. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Sangamo Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Sangamo Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 13th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Sangamo Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 18th. Wedbush set a $11.00 target price on shares of Sangamo Therapeutics and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Sangamo Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $35.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.60.

NASDAQ:SGMO opened at $9.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.32, a current ratio of 6.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $901.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.86 and a beta of 2.84. Sangamo Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $6.26 and a 52 week high of $26.90.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Sangamo Therapeutics by 305.3% in the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,187 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 15,960 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Sangamo Therapeutics by 194.9% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 105,894 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,795,000 after purchasing an additional 69,984 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Sangamo Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $245,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in Sangamo Therapeutics by 12.7% in the third quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 890,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $15,089,000 after purchasing an additional 100,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Sangamo Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $182,000. 62.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

In other news, VP Edward R. Conner sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.33, for a total transaction of $61,650.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $224,050 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Sangamo Therapeutics Company Profile

Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc focuses on translating science into genomic therapies that transform patients' lives using platform technologies in genome editing, gene therapy, gene regulation, and cell therapy. The company's zinc finger DNA-binding protein (ZFP) technology enables specific genome editing and gene regulation.

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SoftBank CEO: AI will completely change the way humans live within 30 years

People should brace themselves for the proliferation of artificial intelligence as it will change the way we live within three decades, according to SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son.

"Within 30 years, definitely, things will be flying," Son, who goes by the nickname "Masa," told CNBC's David Faber in an interview that aired Friday. "Things will be running much faster without accident. We will be living much longer, much healthier. The diseases that we could not solve in the past will be cured."

Son has long championed the benefits of artificial intelligence, investing billions of dollars in companies he believes can capitalize on it. Some of these companies, according to him, include Uber Technologies and WeWork. He said all the 70 or so investments of his Vision Fund have been focused on AI.

"That's the only one thing" he's focused on, Son said. " We are investing $100 billion in just one thing, AI."

Uber is an example of a company that will transform the way humans move around, he said. "Today we are driving ourselves," he said. "That would no longer be the case. "AI would make the transportation to cause zero accidents."

However, some have cautioned against the proliferation of AI.

Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking said before his death last year that the emergence of AI could be "worst event in the history of our civilization," noting it could lead to the creation of autonomous weapons. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, meanwhile, said in 2017 that AI could bring about the third World War.

Others argue that greater artificial intelligence could lead to job losses. But Son is not too worried.

"I'm [an] optimist, OK. There will be always be an issue… but mankind is smart enough. We always try to adapt to the new situation."

show chapters What is Softbank?    7:00 AM ET Tue, 19 Feb 2019 | 03:51

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Martingale Asset Management L P Has $2.50 Million Holdings in 1-800-Flowers.Com Inc (FLWS)

Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in 1-800-Flowers.Com Inc (NASDAQ:FLWS) by 29.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 204,586 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,027 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P owned approximately 0.32% of 1-800-Flowers.Com worth $2,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its position in shares of 1-800-Flowers.Com by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 253,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 1-800-Flowers.Com by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,281 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,951 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 1-800-Flowers.Com by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 132,281 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after acquiring an additional 5,334 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 1-800-Flowers.Com by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 19,738 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 6,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stone Ridge Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 1-800-Flowers.Com by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stone Ridge Asset Management LLC now owns 79,671 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 7,972 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.99% of the company’s stock.

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Shares of NASDAQ FLWS opened at $17.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.92. 1-800-Flowers.Com Inc has a 1-year low of $10.01 and a 1-year high of $18.38.

1-800-Flowers.Com (NASDAQ:FLWS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 31st. The specialty retailer reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $571.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $554.50 million. 1-800-Flowers.Com had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 2.86%. As a group, equities analysts expect that 1-800-Flowers.Com Inc will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

FLWS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research upgraded 1-800-Flowers.Com from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, February 4th. BidaskClub upgraded 1-800-Flowers.Com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 12th. Sidoti downgraded 1-800-Flowers.Com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on 1-800-Flowers.Com to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 1st. Finally, Noble Financial upgraded 1-800-Flowers.Com from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. 1-800-Flowers.Com presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $18.00.

In other 1-800-Flowers.Com news, CEO Christopher G. Mccann sold 12,500 shares of 1-800-Flowers.Com stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.79, for a total value of $159,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 943,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,065,165.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher G. Mccann sold 25,000 shares of 1-800-Flowers.Com stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.51, for a total value of $312,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 943,328 shares in the company, valued at $11,801,033.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 157,000 shares of company stock worth $2,269,435. 64.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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1-800-Flowers.Com Company Profile

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides gourmet food and floral gifts for various occasions in the United States. It operates in three segments: Consumer Floral; Gourmet Foods & Gift Baskets; and BloomNet Wire Service. The company offers a range of products, including fresh-cut flowers, floral and fruit arrangements and plants, gifts, popcorn, gourmet foods and gift baskets, cookies, chocolates, candies, wine, and gift-quality fruits, as well as balloons, candles, keepsake gifts, jewelry, and plush stuffed animals.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FLWS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for 1-800-Flowers.Com Inc (NASDAQ:FLWS).