Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Fed Gauges Show Factories Shift to Higher Gear After Soft April

The latest regional tallies on U.S. manufacturing so far this month should dispel any concern about industrial momentum in the wake of some soft April readings.

Factory gains were most pronounced for the Philadelphia and Kansas City Federal Reserve regions, while indexes for the mid-Atlantic, Texas and New York state showed more moderate expansion. By and large, producers reported improvements in orders growth, spurring labor-market indicators, and they also noted higher prices paid and received.

The latest figures show resilience in manufacturing even though the data suggested that respondents remained concerned about the adverse effects from U.S. tariffs on their business and on materials costs.

May Momentum

Manufacturing improved this month across five U.S. regions on firm orders

Source: Federal Reserve district banks

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The regional figures help provide economists with a basis for their estimates of the Institute for Supply Management’s closely followed manufacturing gauge, due Friday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey calls for an increase in May to 58.2 from an April reading of 57.3 that was the weakest since July of last year.

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Monday, May 28, 2018

PetIQ (PETQ) vs. Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS) Critical Review

Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE: NUS) and PetIQ (NASDAQ:PETQ) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

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This is a summary of current recommendations for Nu Skin Enterprises and PetIQ, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Nu Skin Enterprises 2 1 2 0 2.00
PetIQ 0 0 6 0 3.00

Nu Skin Enterprises presently has a consensus target price of $72.60, suggesting a potential downside of 9.34%. PetIQ has a consensus target price of $28.00, suggesting a potential upside of 34.87%. Given PetIQ’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe PetIQ is more favorable than Nu Skin Enterprises.

Profitability

This table compares Nu Skin Enterprises and PetIQ’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Nu Skin Enterprises 5.74% 25.36% 11.54%
PetIQ 0.17% 11.39% 6.69%

Dividends

Nu Skin Enterprises pays an annual dividend of $1.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. PetIQ does not pay a dividend. Nu Skin Enterprises pays out 45.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Nu Skin Enterprises has increased its dividend for 17 consecutive years.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

76.8% of Nu Skin Enterprises shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.0% of PetIQ shares are held by institutional investors. 5.2% of Nu Skin Enterprises shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 45.3% of PetIQ shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Nu Skin Enterprises and PetIQ’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio
Nu Skin Enterprises $2.28 billion 1.95 $129.43 million $3.23 24.79
PetIQ $266.69 million 1.91 -$3.49 million $0.39 53.23

Nu Skin Enterprises has higher revenue and earnings than PetIQ. Nu Skin Enterprises is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PetIQ, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Nu Skin Enterprises beats PetIQ on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

Nu Skin Enterprises Company Profile

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. develops and distributes anti-aging personal care products and nutritional supplements under the Nu Skin and Pharmanex category brands worldwide. It provides skin care systems and targeted treatment products, including ageLOC Me customized skin care systems, ageLOC Spa systems, and ageLOC LumiSpa skin treatment and cleansing devices; and Epoch products, as well as a range of other cosmetic, personal care, and hair care products. The company also offers ageLOC Youth nutritional supplements, ageLOC TR90 weight management and body shaping systems, and LifePak nutritional supplements, as well as other anti-aging nutritional solutions and weight management products. In addition, it is involved in the research and product development of skin care products and nutritional supplements. Further, the company operates walk-in centers and pick-up locations; and retail stores and service centers in Mainland China. The company sells its products directly, as well as through distributors and Website. Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Provo, Utah.

PetIQ Company Profile

PetIQ, Inc. develops, manufactures, and distributes pet medications, and health and wellness products for dogs and cats in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It offers pet prescription medications, including products for arthritis, thyroid, and diabetes and pain treatments, as well as heartworm preventatives, antibiotics, and other specialty medications; over-the-counter medications and supplies, such as flea and tick control products in various forms comprising spot on treatments, chewables, and collars; and health and wellness products consisting of specialty treats and other pet products, which include dental treats and nutritional supplements. The company provides its products primarily under the VetIQ, PetAction Plus, Advecta, PetLock Plus, and TruProfen brands. It sells its products through distributors as well as through retail stores, including approximately 40,000 retail pharmacy locations. PetIQ, Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Eagle, Idaho.

Friday, May 25, 2018

Gruss & Co Inc Buys iShares MSCI China ETF, CBS Corp, ProShares UltraShort Lehman 20 Year Treasury,

West Palm Beach, FL, based Investment company Gruss & Co Inc buys iShares MSCI China ETF, CBS Corp, ProShares UltraShort Lehman 20 Year Treasury, Walmart Inc, iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund, Vornado Realty Trust, Walt Disney Co, sells Facebook Inc, Biogen Inc, Schlumberger, Alphabet Inc, Alphabet Inc during the 3-months ended 2018-03-31, according to the most recent filings of the investment company, Gruss & Co Inc. As of 2018-03-31, Gruss & Co Inc owns 32 stocks with a total value of $92 million. These are the details of the buys and sells.

New Purchases: MCHI, CBS, TBT, WMT, EWJ, VNO, Added Positions: DXJ, DIS, FRBK, P, Reduced Positions: FB, AMZN, BIIB, SLB, GOOG, GOOGL, GOGL, BX, WPC, BXMT, Sold Out: TMUS, OSG, CELG, IP,

For the details of GRUSS & CO INC's stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=GRUSS+%26+CO+INC

These are the top 5 holdings of GRUSS & CO INCAmazon.com Inc (AMZN) - 11,300 shares, 17.71% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 14.07%Apple Inc (AAPL) - 42,250 shares, 7.68% of the total portfolio. SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) - 52,500 shares, 7.15% of the total portfolio. WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) - 117,500 shares, 7.13% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 17.50%Microsoft Corp (MSFT) - 70,500 shares, 6.97% of the total portfolio. New Purchase: iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI)

Gruss & Co Inc initiated holding in iShares MSCI China ETF. The purchase prices were between $65.39 and $76.72, with an estimated average price of $70.97. The stock is now traded at around $69.09. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 2.6%. The holding were 35,000 shares as of 2018-03-31.

New Purchase: CBS Corp (CBS)

Gruss & Co Inc initiated holding in CBS Corp. The purchase prices were between $49.27 and $60, with an estimated average price of $55.05. The stock is now traded at around $50.95. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 2.23%. The holding were 40,000 shares as of 2018-03-31.

New Purchase: ProShares UltraShort Lehman 20 Year Treasury (TBT)

Gruss & Co Inc initiated holding in ProShares UltraShort Lehman 20 Year Treasury. The purchase prices were between $34.19 and $39.68, with an estimated average price of $37.13. The stock is now traded at around $37.49. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 1.77%. The holding were 45,000 shares as of 2018-03-31.

New Purchase: Walmart Inc (WMT)

Gruss & Co Inc initiated holding in Walmart Inc. The purchase prices were between $85.42 and $109.55, with an estimated average price of $96.5. The stock is now traded at around $82.86. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 1.45%. The holding were 15,000 shares as of 2018-03-31.

New Purchase: iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (EWJ)

Gruss & Co Inc initiated holding in iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund. The purchase prices were between $58.28 and $64.67, with an estimated average price of $61.39. The stock is now traded at around $60.11. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 1.31%. The holding were 20,000 shares as of 2018-03-31.

New Purchase: Vornado Realty Trust (VNO)

Gruss & Co Inc initiated holding in Vornado Realty Trust. The purchase prices were between $65.15 and $77.32, with an estimated average price of $69.34. The stock is now traded at around $67.57. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.73%. The holding were 10,000 shares as of 2018-03-31.

Added: Walt Disney Co (DIS)

Gruss & Co Inc added to a holding in Walt Disney Co by 25.00%. The purchase prices were between $98.54 and $112.47, with an estimated average price of $106.26. The stock is now traded at around $102.02. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.33%. The holding were 15,000 shares as of 2018-03-31.

Sold Out: T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS)

Gruss & Co Inc sold out a holding in T-Mobile US Inc. The sale prices were between $57.69 and $65.6, with an estimated average price of $62.56.

Sold Out: Overseas Shipholding Group Inc (OSG)

Gruss & Co Inc sold out a holding in Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. The sale prices were between $1.7 and $2.93, with an estimated average price of $2.33.

Sold Out: Celgene Corp (CELG)

Gruss & Co Inc sold out a holding in Celgene Corp. The sale prices were between $84.98 and $109.14, with an estimated average price of $96.

Sold Out: International Paper Co (IP)

Gruss & Co Inc sold out a holding in International Paper Co. The sale prices were between $50.15 and $65.08, with an estimated average price of $58.67.



Here is the complete portfolio of GRUSS & CO INC. Also check out:

1. GRUSS & CO INC's Undervalued Stocks
2. GRUSS & CO INC's Top Growth Companies, and
3. GRUSS & CO INC's High Yield stocks
4. Stocks that GRUSS & CO INC keeps buying

Thursday, May 24, 2018

GDPR Is Great News For Google And Facebook, Really

&l;p&g;Politicians are trying to build walls around&a;nbsp;&l;strong&g;Alphabet (GOOGL)&l;/strong&g;&a;nbsp;and&a;nbsp;&l;strong&g;Facebook (FB)&l;/strong&g;. Bless their hearts.

In April, the&a;nbsp;&l;em&g;Wall Street Journal&l;/em&g;&a;nbsp;ran a big&a;nbsp;&l;a href=&q;https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-europes-new-privacy-rules-favor-google-and-facebook-1524536324&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;story&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;about Europe, privacy and the coming crackdown. The plot twist was positively Shakespearean. More regulation is likely to benefit current leaders.

It&a;rsquo;s a lesson in scale, network effects and unintended consequences.

&l;img class=&q;dam-image ap size-large wp-image-fd0fd4f722aa420eabc25ca32ab8daf6&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/fd0fd4f722aa420eabc25ca32ab8daf6/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; FILE- In this March 29, 2018, file photo the logo for Facebook appears on screens at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York&s;s Times Square. Many companies large and small are updating their privacy policies and service terms to comply with upcoming European Union rules governing data and privacy. In preparation for GDPR, Facebook in March updated its privacy controls in hopes of making them easier to find and understand. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

The General Data Protection Regulation will&a;nbsp;&l;a href=&q;https://www.eugdpr.org/&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;go into effect&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;throughout the European Union on May 25. After that date, businesses must get affirmative consent before collecting any personal data online.

This means every ad technology, online publisher, data broker and analytics firm that harvests personal data is going to need prior permission from consumers. That&a;rsquo;s not going to be a tough ask for Alphabet and Facebook.&a;nbsp;Consumers understand, and have come to depend on YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook. Plus, their friends are there.

For the hundreds of smaller firms with no name recognition, or large networks, it is going to be considerably more difficult.

That&a;rsquo;s the opportunity for investors.

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Regulators should have seen this coming. Last fall, V&a;#283;ra Jourov&a;aacute;, the EU justice commissioner, travelled to Silicon Valley to meet with representatives from Alphabet and Facebook. She expected them to be nervous. Instead, &a;ldquo;they were more relaxed, and I became more nervous,&a;rdquo; she told the&a;nbsp;Wall Street Journal.

Alphabet and Facebook managers must have thought they won the lottery.

Erecting barriers to entry helps the companies already on the inside. It&a;rsquo;s economics 101.&a;nbsp;Competitors are forced to grow larger, faster to climb the barriers.&a;nbsp;This usually involves more costs and a big change in business strategy. And if they get inside, it&a;rsquo;s harder to make profits because of the increased costs.

Alphabet sells seven digital products with more than 1 billion users.&a;nbsp;Facebook has 2.13 billion monthly users and a slew of popular mobile apps.&a;nbsp;Spreading fixed costs across so many users is a powerful competitive advantage.

Smaller companies will not get that luxury.&a;nbsp;They also will not get the benefit of entrenched brands and the network effects.&a;nbsp;It is tough to leave Facebook or YouTube when that&a;rsquo;s where your friends and family meet, and your favorite shows post content.

GDPR could be a death sentence for many smaller digital firms.

Companies that have always operated behind the scenes are being forced out into the open.&a;nbsp;Consumers will vote up or down, to trust them with personal data.&a;nbsp;Many at technology firms see the writing on the wall. They are&a;nbsp;&l;a href=&q;https://digiday.com/media/ad-tech-firms-quitting-europe-blaming-gdpr-often-scapegoat/&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;already leaving&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;Europe.

In 2017, eMarketer, a digital advertising research company, forecast&a;nbsp;&l;a href=&q;https://www.emarketer.com/Report/Worldwide-Ad-Spending-eMarketers-Updated-Estimates-Forecast-20162021/2002145&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;global digital ad spend&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;would climb 19.1% in 2017, to $228.4 billion. Alphabet and Facebook accounted for $151 billion in digital sales.&a;nbsp;&l;strong&g;Alibaba (BABA)&l;/strong&g;&a;nbsp;and&a;nbsp;&l;strong&g;Baidu (BIDU)&l;/strong&g;&a;nbsp;captured $35 billion.

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GDPR, and the possibility the underlying policy will spread across the globe, means the remaining digital ad market share is up for grabs.

eMarketer believes the total market will reach $375 billion by 2021.

I have been an full-throated Alphabet and Facebook bull.&a;nbsp;I have urged my members to buy every meaningful decline because these are dominant companies. And frankly, the critics are wrong. The prospect for regulation is not a negative.

So many cutting edge technologies are converging. There is so much opportunity for invention. Yet, scale and network effects have never been more important.

Investors need to be focused on companies that have built scale, dominant networks and remain on the cutting edge of what is possible.

One of my long-term favorites is&a;nbsp;&l;strong&g;Microsoft (MSFT)&l;/strong&g;. The Redmond software giant is often overlooked because it is not as flashy as the FANG stocks. However,&a;nbsp;Office&a;nbsp;is the dominant corporate productivity platform. In business, Word, Excel and Powerpoint are ubiquitous.

Microsoft has cleverly leveraged that franchise into a robust cloud computing business.

Last week, the company reported first quarter cloud&a;nbsp;&l;a href=&q;https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/technology/microsoft-cloud-quarterly-report.html&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;revenues surged&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;93%, versus a year ago.&a;nbsp;According to Synergy Research, its market share rallied 3%, to 13%.&a;nbsp;Although that is a long way behind Amazon Web Services, the industry leader at 34%, the trend is in the right direction.

Microsoft is growing market share in a segment&a;nbsp;&l;strong&g;Gartner (IT)&l;/strong&g;, a global IT research firm,&a;nbsp;&l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2017/10/18/cloud-computing-market-projected-to-reach-411b-by-2020/#1406cf1e78f2&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q;&g;expects to reach&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;$411 billion by 2020.

The bottom line is that investors should not be afraid of owning big companies; they have all the advantages, and can accept higher regulatory costs at a much scale than their smaller rivals.&l;/p&g;

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Elon Musk: The amped-up version of Tesla's Model 3 will cost $78,000

Elon Musk just laid out plans for the superfast version of the Tesla Model 3.

Musk said on Twitter over the weekend that the performance version of the Model 3 will sell for about $78,000.

That's more than double the price of the basic Model 3, which starts at $35,000.

Musk said the price is comparable to the BMW M3, a high-performance version of the BMW 3-series sedan. But the high-end Tesla Model 3 will be "15% quicker [and] with better handling," he said.

"Will beat anything in its class on the track," Musk tweeted.

(The M3 starts at $66,500, according to BMW's website.)

The amped-up Model 3 will be able to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds, and has a driving range of 310 miles, according to the initial specs.

Cost of all options, wheels, paint, etc is included (apart from Autopilot). Cost is $78k. About same as BMW M3, but 15% quicker & with better handling. Will beat anything in its class on the track.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2018

Only black and white interiors will be available initially because of a parts limitation, Musk said.

The car will feature a dual motor system, with one motor optimized for power and one for driving range.

There is currently a dual motor, all-wheel drive option for Model 3s for an extra $5,000. Musk said the performance model will accelerate more quickly and have a higher top speed than cars with the regular all-wheel drive option, however.

While a faster Model 3 sounds nice, the basic Model 3 has had enormous trouble just getting off the assembly line.

The production troubles have been so acute that Moody's downgraded Tesla debt deep into junk status earlier this year.

In February, Tesla said it had taken deposits and orders for more than 500,000 Model 3s in the last two years. But it had built only 12,500 through the end of March.

Recently production has increased to more than 2,200 cars a week. Tesla has said it plans to hit 5,000 Model 3s per week by the end of June.

Shortly before sharing the specs for the Tesla Model 3 performance version, Musk mentioned a service option called Tesla Ranger, in which a technician will come and "take care of your car" after just a few taps on a smartphone.

There's no need for paperwork or to bring the car in yourself, Musk said on Twitter.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Insider Selling: Pandora Media Inc. (P) Insider Sells 43,411 Shares of Stock

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE:P) insider Kristen Robinson sold 43,411 shares of Pandora Media stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.44, for a total value of $322,977.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 742,416 shares in the company, valued at $5,523,575.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

P stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $7.39. The company had a trading volume of 4,346,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,601,927. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.15, a current ratio of 3.62 and a quick ratio of 3.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.96 and a beta of -0.59. Pandora Media Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.09 and a fifty-two week high of $9.98.

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Pandora Media (NYSE:P) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The Internet radio service reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.38) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $319.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $304.43 million. Pandora Media had a negative return on equity of 198.06% and a negative net margin of 37.21%. Pandora Media’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. research analysts anticipate that Pandora Media Inc. will post -0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Several research analysts have commented on P shares. Zacks Investment Research raised Pandora Media from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. SunTrust Banks raised Pandora Media from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 4th. Wedbush set a $8.00 price objective on Pandora Media and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 30th. Vetr lowered Pandora Media from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5.06 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on Pandora Media from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.54.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Pandora Media in the 4th quarter valued at $106,000. EastBay Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pandora Media in the 4th quarter valued at $29,127,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Pandora Media by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 383,063 shares of the Internet radio service’s stock worth $1,846,000 after purchasing an additional 19,270 shares in the last quarter. Price Michael F boosted its stake in Pandora Media by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Price Michael F now owns 335,000 shares of the Internet radio service’s stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 135,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in Pandora Media by 83.5% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,256,191 shares of the Internet radio service’s stock worth $6,055,000 after purchasing an additional 571,500 shares in the last quarter.

Pandora Media Company Profile

Pandora Media, Inc provides music discovery platform services in the United States and internationally. The company offers streaming radio and on-demand music services, which enable the listeners to create personalized stations and playlists, as well as search and play songs and albums on-demand. It also provides Pandora?Ad-Supported Radio Service, an ad-supported service that allows listeners to access a catalog of music, comedy, livestreams, and podcasts through its personalized playlist generating system for free across its various delivery platforms, as well as Premium Access, a service to listeners to access on-demand listening experience; and Pandora Plus, a subscription radio service, which also includes replays, additional skipping of songs, offline listening, higher quality audio on supported devices, and longer timeout-free listening.

Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for Pandora Media (NYSE:P)