What Happened in the Stock Market Today

Stocks opened lower Thursday but drifted higher during the session. The�Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES:^DJI)�finished a small loss and the�S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC)�closed higher.

Today's stock market Index Percentage Change Point Change

Dow	(0.03%)	(7.66)
S&P 500	0.49%	13.86

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

Technology stocks led the market, with Apple�making history by being the first U.S. company to break through $1 trillion in market capitalization. The�Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLK) gained 1.3%. The materials sector lagged; the�iShares US Basic Materials ETF (NYSEMKT:IYM) fell 1%.

As for individual stocks, Sonos (UNKNOWN:UNKNOWN) rose on its first day of public trading, and Blue Apron (NYSE:APRN) tumbled following a disappointing quarterly report.

Image source: Getty Images.

Sonos soars in trading debut

Sonos, maker of high-end speakers for the home audio market, traded publicly for the first time today, and shares soared 32.7% above the initial public offering price of $15. Sonos had lowered the offering price below the $17-$19 target range that was given in the registration statement�it filed last week.

Sonos offered 5.6 million shares and current shareholders offered 8.3 million shares in the offering. Options on another 2.1 million shares are available to the underwriters from the company and existing shareholders. After the offering, there are a total of 98.4 million shares outstanding, giving the company a market capitalization of $2 billion. About 86% of the shares outstanding are held by current shareholders under a lock-up period for 180 days.�Options for about 50 million additional shares have been issued by the company as part of its incentive plan.

The company has had success selling wireless, multiroom speaker systems known for their audio quality, and has expanded into home theater and voice-activated speakers. Revenue in 2017 was $992.5 million, a 10.1% increase from the year before, but sales appear to be accelerating, with revenue in the first two quarters of the 2018 fiscal year up 18% over the first half last year. The company is not yet profitable, with a loss of $0.25 per share last year, an improvement on a $0.71-per-share loss in 2016.

Sonos is facing some stiff competition in the speaker market from players with deep pockets, such as Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet, as well as from new entrants like Roku. Investors were ready to buy into the company's risky proposition today, though.

Blue Apron tumbles as customer numbers shrink

Shares of meal-kit company Blue Apron got hammered today, plummeting 24.4% after the company failed to meet already-low sales expectations for the second quarter and reported that it's losing customers at a rapid pace. Net revenue fell 25% to $180 million, compared with analyst expectations for a 21% decline. Net loss per share was $0.17, $0.01 less than the analyst consensus. The number of customers decreased 24% from the period a year earlier, and fell 9% from last quarter.

There was a little good news in the quarter, with the average orders per customer holding steady from last quarter at 4.4, and the average order value ticking up from $56.58 in Q1 to $57.34 in Q2. The cost of goods sold improved to 64.7% compared with 68.7% in Q2 last year and 65.8% in Q1 as the company made efficiency improvements. But Blue Apron had reported a sequential increase in customers last quarter, expressing optimism that momentum would continue, and that didn't happen, with the company clearly having trouble attracting new subscribers.

Blue Apron shares had rebounded since last quarter's report, and recently jumped on takeover rumors. But today's news caused the stock to fall to less than a fifth of the IPO price, nearing all-time lows.

Tennant Company Raises Its 2018 Outlook Again

Tennant's (NYSE:TNC) business is on the upswing. The cleaning machine specialist this week announced broad-based sales growth and upgraded its outlook for the second time in fiscal 2018.

More on that brightening operating forecast in a moment. First, here's how the second-quarter headline figures compared to the prior year:

�Metric

Q2 2018

Q2 2017

Year-Over-Year Change

Revenue	$292 million	$271 million	8%
Net income	$12.7 million	($2.6 million)	N/A
EPS	$0.69	($0.15)	N/A

Data source: Tennant. EPS = earnings per share.

What happened this quarter?

Tennant's sales gains beat management's expectations, while its profitability held steady despite rising costs. These wins put the company on track to post significant operating improvements this year compared to 2017.

Image source: Getty Images.

Here are the key highlights of the quarter:

Organic sales grew 5.2% to mark just a slight slowdown from the prior quarter's 6.5%. Demand increased in each of Tennant's geographic regions, but the U.S. market was a standout performer as the company's focus on larger customers paid off and that group delivered robust revenue gains. Reported gross profit margin improved by 2 full percentage points. However, after stripping out a one-time charge in the prior-year period, gross margin actually held steady at 41% of sales. The lack of growth here was pinned on the combination of a shift toward high-volume accounts and rising costs. Research and development spending stayed below management's full-year target due to the timing of new-product releases. That fact, plus a slight drop in reported selling expenses, led to a significant expansion of profitability as operating margin jumped to 6.5% of sales from 3.4% a year ago. What management had to say

"We posted organic revenue growth in every geographic region for the third consecutive quarter," CEO Chris Killingstad said in a press release. "We had revenue growth across all of our channels," he continued, "with particular strength in our strategic [large-volume] accounts."

While noting challenges with respect to labor shortages and rising material costs, the CEO highlighted the company's financial successes during the quarter. "We also made efficient use of our expense structure and substantially improved our cash flow," Killingstad said. Overall, he said executives are "pleased with our progress to date and are confident in the underlying performance of the business."

Looking forward

Citing the "significant momentum" that management sees in its operating results, Tennant boosted its 2018 outlook on both the top and bottom lines. The company now sees organic growth coming in at between 4% and 4.5%. That range stood at 3% to 3.5% in late April.

The target for adjusted earnings rose despite expectations for elevated costs ahead. That goal is now between $117 million and $121 million, up from the prior range of $113 million to $118 million.

Tennant still believes gross profit margin will inch up to 41% of sales, which is higher than last year's 40% but lower than the 43% rate it had reached in previous fiscal years. Its research and development spending, meanwhile, will remain a key priority as the company prepares to innovate around new products like the global rollout of its T7 robotic floor scrubber.

Sirius XM and Netflix Team Up to Deliver a Joke

Two of the hottest media distributor stocks in recent years are joining forces for a comedy radio channel. Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI)�announced on Wednesday that it will be teaming up with Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) for an exclusive satellite radio channel that will feature content from the streaming video service's growing catalog of stand-up comedy.�

The new channel will also feature comedy talk shows from Netflix as well as additional original programming. There is no launch date for the new channel -- The Wall Street Journal points to January as a tentative rollout -- but Sirius XM's blog entry points out how this is the first time that Netflix is bringing its catalog to an audio service. It's a win-win partnership, as Sirius nabs Netflix's critically acclaimed stand-up content and Netflix gets to test the waters of a premium radio platform.��

Image source: Netflix.

Around the dial

Netflix and Sirius XM have been champs of premium subscription services. Sirius XM had 33.1 million members by the end of March. Netflix is now up to 57.4 million streaming accounts domestically, and another 72.8 million subs internationally.�

Climbing the wall of worry has paid off for Netflix and Sirius XM -- and for their investors. Sirius XM has been a scintillating 140-bagger since bottoming out in early 2009. Netflix has been the best performer in the S&P 500 over the past five years.�

The partnership is a perfect match, and not just because they are two content distributors that have beaten the odds to dominate their markets. There is likely a fair amount of subscriber overlap when it comes to the two services, though Sirius XM guns for driving commuters while Netflix's sweet spot is entertainment-seeking homebodies. When it comes to folks who are already members of both services, it will give them a new way to take in Netflix's popular stand-up comics. Netflix will also gain a new branding outlet. The satellite radio monopoly already has a couple of Sirius and XM channels that feature clips of stand-up routines, but now it will be adding one that validates Netflix as a comedy hub.

There's little downside for either party here. Netflix subscribers won't cancel because audio clips are now broadcasting on Sirius XM. One can argue that this could be a threat to Sirius XM if Netflix should add a radio component to its streaming service, but any potential offering is as unlikely as it is far away from launching. Netflix and Sirius XM pairing up make sense here, and they should both be laughing all the way to the bank when the new channel launches early next year.

Why Resources Connection Stock Just Dropped 12%

What happened

Shares of consulting firm Resources Connection (NASDAQ:RECN) are down 12.2% as of 12:30 p.m. EDT after the company reported fourth-quarter 2018 earnings this morning -- and that's the good news. The bad news is that earlier today this stock was down as much as 23%!

And yet, Resources Connection didn't report a loss for the quarter, but a 0.12-per-share profit, and says it would have earned even more -- $0.27 -- if not for a series of one-time charges that depressed results.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

So how is that bad news? Well for one thing, Wall Street analysts had apparently told investors to expect pro forma earnings of $0.28, meaning that Resources Connection "missed by a penny" last quarter. Hurting the earnings result was an 80-basis-point decline in gross margin to 38.3%, and a very high income tax rate of 55%.

Granted, Resources Connection did report very strong revenue in the quarter -- $183.8 million, or about 24% more than it recorded in Q4 2017. But it failed to reap any improvement in profits whatsoever from the sales growth. In fact, earnings per share (the real one -- not the�pro forma�number) declined 20% year over year. As a result, full-year earnings growth was cut to a mere 7% -- $0.60 per share -- below the company's 12% rate of full-year sales growth.

Now what

All of this explains why Resources Connection dropped so much early on -- but why were its losses later pared? Well for one thing, fiscal 2019 is looking like it could be a lot better than fiscal 2018 was. According to data from Yahoo! Finance, analysts think Resources Connection could grow its earnings as much as 63% off of 2018's depressed number to $0.98 per share, even if sales grow only 8% to $706 million.

At a forward earnings multiple not much bigger than 15 times, that gives investors hope that Resources Connection stock, down so much today, could soon bounce back.

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:DWCH,DOV,ARCW,CSLT,EQIX,LOOK,NUAN,QSII,IIJI,SKM,

While U.S. equities continue their sideways skid just below the Dow 20,000 threshold — a level that has provided intractable for the last five weeks — buyers aren’t sitting still. Since the New Year, vigorous new interest has been seen in biotech stocks as hopes build for president-elect Donald Trump’s plans to repeal and replace Obamacare, potentially improving both cost and coverage.

Source: Pixelbay (Modified)

If successful, that will mean millions of new patients paying for drug treatments and medical devices — just the thing to boost profits in the medical sector.

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Datawatch Corporation(DWCH)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  On Thursday, the information technology shares surged 0.29 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS), up 12 percent, and Datawatch Corporation (NASDAQ: DWCH) up 6 percent.

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Dover Corporation(DOV)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,971 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,567 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Dover were worth $2,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Neha Chamaria]

  In terms of dividend growth, only four of the above stocks -- 3M, Colgate-Palmolive, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble -- feature among the 10 fastest dividend-growth kings. In other words, there are six other stocks from the dividend kings list that have grown their dividends at a faster pace than most stocks in the above table in the past decade, some even at double-digits.��

  Six top dividend kings by dividend growth Dividend King 10-Year Dividend CAGR Current Dividend Yield Payout Ratio (TTM) Lowe's Companies� 18.5% 2% 34.5% Hormel Foods� 16.3% 2.1% 39.2% Parker-Hannifin Corp�(NYSE:PH) 14% 1.7% 35.2% Nordson Corporation� 12.2% 0.9% 13.3% Dover Corp (NYSE:DOV) 9% 2% 37.4% American States Water�(NYSE:AWR) 7.6% 1.9% 54.8%

  TTM: Trailing 12 months. Data sources: YCharts and Yahoo! Finance. Table by author.

• [By Neha Chamaria]

  The first list of Dividend Aristocrats published in 1989 comprised 26 stocks. Remarkably, nine of the 26 stocks are still part of the Dividend Aristocrat group.

  Dividend Aristocrat No. of Years of Consecutive Dividend Increases Payout Ratio (Last 12 Months) Current Dividend Yield Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) 55 67.6% 2.7% Dover Corp. (NYSE: DOV) 62 37.4% 2% Emerson Electric�(NYSE: EMR) 60 69% 2.62% Genuine Parts Company�(NYSE: GPC) 62 62.7% 3.12% Johnson & Johnson�(NYSE: JNJ) 55 724.9% 2.57% Coca-Cola�(NYSE: KO) 55 440.7% 3.5% Lowe's Companies�(NYSE: LOW) 55 37.4% 1.97% 3M Company�(NYSE: MMM) 60 70.4% 2.65% Procter & Gamble�(NYSE: PG) 62 72.2% 3.94%

  Data source: S&P Global Market Intelligence, company financials, Yahoo Finance. Table by author.�

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) by 148.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 24,766 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Dover were worth $4,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Arc Wireless Solutions Inc.(ARCW)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  CIRCOR International (NYSE: CIR) and ARC Group WorldWide (NASDAQ:ARCW) are both small-cap industrial products companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Watts Water Technologies (NYSE: WTS) and ARC Group WorldWide (NASDAQ:ARCW) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Barnes Group (NYSE: B) and ARC Group WorldWide (NASDAQ:ARCW) are both industrial products companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and profitability.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  News articles about ARC Group WorldWide (NASDAQ:ARCW) have been trending somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. Accern identifies negative and positive media coverage by analyzing more than 20 million news and blog sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. ARC Group WorldWide earned a news sentiment score of 0.08 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media coverage about the technology company an impact score of 45.8235732272447 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near term.

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Castlight Health, inc.(CSLT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Castlight Health (CSLT)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  Zendesk (NYSE: ZEN) and Castlight Health (NYSE:CSLT) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Equinix Inc.(EQIX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Equinix (EQIX)

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

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Princeton Portfolio Strategies Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinix Inc (NASDAQ:EQIX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,000.

• [By Matthew Frankel]

  Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) is the largest operator of data centers in the world, with more than 9,800 companies utilizing its properties. The company provides the facility, power, security, and cooling equipment for its customers, and they supply their own servers and networking equipment.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Front Row Advisors LLC increased its position in Equinix Inc (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equinix were worth $909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  This is one of the larger capitalization companies in the data center industry. Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX)�provides data center services to protect and connect the information assets for the enterprises, financial services companies, and content and network providers primarily in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Here are some of the media stories that may have impacted Accern Sentiment Analysis’s rankings:

  Get Equinix alerts: Equinix Inc (EQIX) Insider Charles J. Meyers Sells 400 Shares (americanbankingnews.com) Equinix Selects AT&T as 2018 Americas Partner of the Year (finance.yahoo.com) Equinix Inc (EQIX) Expected to Post Quarterly Sales of $1.26 Billion (americanbankingnews.com) Zacks: Analysts Anticipate Equinix Inc (EQIX) Will Announce Earnings of $5.10 Per Share (americanbankingnews.com) NetActuate Deployment to Equinix SP3 IBX庐 Data Center in Brazil Brings Faster Connections and New Services in … (benzinga.com)

  Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Equinix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 8th. Credit Suisse Group set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Equinix and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 31st. Deutsche Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Equinix from $550.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 31st. ValuEngine downgraded shares of Equinix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 3rd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Equinix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $504.29.

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Watch For 2019: LookSmart Ltd.(LOOK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Peel Hunt reissued their buy rating on shares of Lookers (LON:LOOK) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

  A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Numis Securities reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a GBX 130 ($1.76) price target on shares of Lookers in a research note on Wednesday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase upped their price target on shares of Lookers from GBX 109 ($1.48) to GBX 130 ($1.76) and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 8th. Liberum Capital reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a GBX 145 ($1.97) price target on shares of Lookers in a research note on Wednesday, March 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a GBX 146 ($1.98) price target on shares of Lookers in a research note on Monday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Lookers has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of GBX 137.71 ($1.87).

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Nuance Communications Inc.(NUAN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

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

  Nuance Communications (NASDAQ:NUAN) had its price objective cut by Stifel Nicolaus from $18.00 to $15.00 in a report issued on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the software maker’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price indicates a potential upside of 15.03% from the company’s current price.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) dropped about 20% Thursday to post a new 52-week low of $12.19. Shares closed at $15.28 on Wednesday and the stock’s 52-week high is $19.49. Volume of around 19 million shares was about nine times the daily average. The company reported indifferent results Wednesday night but cut its outlook for revenue growth.

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Quality Systems, Inc.(QSII)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Shares of Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) got a boost, shooting up 14 percent to $17.12 after the company posted better-than-expected FQ4 results.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Shares of Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) got a boost, shooting up 14 percent to $17.08 after the company posted better-than-expected FQ4 results.

• [By Lisa Levin]

   

  Companies Reporting After The Bell Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $1.07 per share on revenue of $3.54 billion. Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.03 per share on revenue of $557.65 million. Gap, Inc. (NYSE: GPS) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.46 per share on revenue of $3.60 billion. Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.13 per share on revenue of $131.95 million. Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) is expected to post quarterly loss at $0.09 per share on revenue of $297.67 million. Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCVL) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.71 per share on revenue of $262.02 million. Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE: DECK) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.19 per share on revenue of $375.41 million. Zoe's Kitchen, Inc. (NYSE: ZOES) is estimated to post quarterly loss at $0.01 per share on revenue of $105.30 million. DXC Technology Company (NYSE: DXC) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $2.23 per share on revenue of $6.12 billion. 8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) is estimated to post quarterly loss at $0.05 per share on revenue of $76.93 million. Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT) is projected to post quarterly loss at $0.45 per share on revenue of $424.46 million. ePlus inc. (NASDAQ: PLUS) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $1.01 per share on revenue of $1.60 billion. Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF.A) is expected to post quarterly loss at $0.04 per share on revenue of $1.04 billion. Agilysys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AGYS) is estimated to post quarterly loss at $0.08 per share on revenue of $32.58 million. Nutanix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTNX) is estimated to post quarterly loss at $0.19 per share on revenue of $278.98 million. Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE: VEEV) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.31 per share on revenue
• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The stock market finished the week on a quiet note, with most major benchmarks closing slightly lower on the day. Investors went into the weekend trying to navigate a series of geopolitical and macroeconomic issues, but many market participants focused on the big plunge in the oil market, where crude prices dropped $3 per barrel to fall below the $68-per-barrel mark. Even with trading activity slow preceding the holiday weekend, good news sent shares of some companies higher. Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU), Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL), and Quality Systems (NASDAQ:QSII) were among the best performers on the day. Here's why they did so well.

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Internet Initiative Japan Inc.(IIJI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Internet Initiative Japan (IIJI)

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

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Watch For 2019: SK Telecom Corporation Ltd.(SKM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Skrumble Network (CURRENCY:SKM) traded 1.3% lower against the U.S. dollar during the twenty-four hour period ending at 8:00 AM Eastern on June 15th. One Skrumble Network token can currently be purchased for about $0.0301 or 0.00000461 BTC on exchanges including IDEX, EtherDelta (ForkDelta), Hotbit and DDEX. During the last week, Skrumble Network has traded 49.9% lower against the U.S. dollar. Skrumble Network has a total market capitalization of $0.00 and $8.48 million worth of Skrumble Network was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Skrumble Network (CURRENCY:SKM) traded 0.8% higher against the US dollar during the 1 day period ending at 20:00 PM Eastern on June 23rd. In the last week, Skrumble Network has traded down 14.6% against the US dollar. One Skrumble Network token can currently be bought for about $0.0259 or 0.00000419 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges including EtherDelta (ForkDelta), Hotbit, DDEX and Gate.io. Skrumble Network has a market capitalization of $0.00 and approximately $6.34 million worth of Skrumble Network was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  VEON (NASDAQ: VEON) and SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) was downgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a hold rating to a sell rating.

  SUMMIT THERAPEU/S (NASDAQ:SMMT) was downgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a buy rating to a hold rating.

PROUD Money Reaches Market Cap of $0.00 (PROUD)

PROUD Money (CURRENCY:PROUD) traded 1.1% lower against the dollar during the twenty-four hour period ending at 17:00 PM Eastern on July 9th. PROUD Money has a total market cap of $0.00 and approximately $2.00 worth of PROUD Money was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. In the last week, PROUD Money has traded up 20.9% against the dollar. One PROUD Money coin can currently be purchased for approximately $0.0199 or 0.00000297 BTC on major exchanges including Cryptopia and Crex24.

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

Get PROUD Money alerts: Dash (DASH) traded 4.3% lower against the dollar and now trades at $235.45 or 0.03515100 BTC. Enigma (ENG) traded down 7.1% against the dollar and now trades at $1.35 or 0.00020211 BTC. CPChain (CPC) traded 4.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0679 or 0.00001014 BTC. I/O Coin (IOC) traded 7.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.48 or 0.00007201 BTC. ATMChain (ATM) traded down 8.7% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0013 or 0.00000020 BTC. PinkCoin (PINK) traded 28.6% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0158 or 0.00000236 BTC. BitSend (BSD) traded down 2.7% against the dollar and now trades at $0.28 or 0.00004112 BTC. EuropeCoin (ERC) traded down 0.8% against the dollar and now trades at $0.29 or 0.00004300 BTC. Memetic / PepeCoin (MEME) traded 0.6% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0931 or 0.00001390 BTC. B3Coin (KB3) traded down 3.8% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0028 or 0.00000042 BTC.

About PROUD Money

PROUD Money (PROUD) is a PoW/PoS coin that uses the X11 hashing algorithm. It launched on September 14th, 2016. PROUD Money’s total supply is 5,711,511,682 coins. The official website for PROUD Money is www.proud.money. PROUD Money’s official Twitter account is @PROUDmoneyWorld.

PROUD Money Coin Trading

PROUD Money can be traded on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: Cryptopia and Crex24. It is usually not presently possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as PROUD Money directly using US dollars. Investors seeking to trade PROUD Money should first purchase Bitcoin or Ethereum using an exchange that deals in US dollars such as Coinbase, Changelly or Gemini. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Bitcoin or Ethereum to purchase PROUD Money using one of the exchanges listed above.

Somewhat Positive Press Coverage Somewhat Unlikely to Impact Builders FirstSource (BLDR) Stock Price

Media stories about Builders FirstSource (NASDAQ:BLDR) have trended somewhat positive on Thursday, Accern reports. The research group identifies positive and negative news coverage by reviewing more than twenty million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Builders FirstSource earned a media sentiment score of 0.08 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news articles about the company an impact score of 46.258630875835 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the near term.

These are some of the news articles that may have impacted Accern Sentiment’s analysis:

Get Builders FirstSource alerts: Is It Time To Hold Stock? Builders FirstSource, Inc. (BLDR) (nysewired.com) Intraday Industrial Goods Mover: Builders FirstSource, Inc. (BLDR) (stockdigest.info) Stock’s Financial Statistics�� Builders FirstSource, Inc. (BLDR) (stockmarketstop.com) Builders FirstSource Inc. – Receive News & Ratings Daily (thecasualsmart.com) Enthralling Stocks: Builders FirstSource, Inc., (NASDAQ: BLDR), Avnet, Inc., (NASDAQ: AVT) (globalexportlines.com)

Several analysts recently issued reports on BLDR shares. BidaskClub lowered shares of Builders FirstSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 28th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Builders FirstSource from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Builders FirstSource in a research report on Thursday, May 10th. Finally, ValuEngine lowered shares of Builders FirstSource from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.88.

NASDAQ BLDR traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $18.39. 32,424 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 895,594. Builders FirstSource has a one year low of $14.39 and a one year high of $23.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.81.

Builders FirstSource (NASDAQ:BLDR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 9th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.08. Builders FirstSource had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. Builders FirstSource’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. equities analysts expect that Builders FirstSource will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other Builders FirstSource news, Director Brett N. Milgrim sold 34,930 shares of Builders FirstSource stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.57, for a total value of $683,580.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,179,386.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Floyd F. Sherman sold 50,000 shares of Builders FirstSource stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.21, for a total transaction of $1,010,500.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Builders FirstSource

Builders FirstSource, Inc manufactures and supplies building materials, manufactured components, and construction services to professional homebuilders, sub-contractors, remodelers, and consumers in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Northeast, Southeast, South, and West. Its products include lumber and lumber sheet goods comprising dimensional lumber, plywood, and OSB products that are used in on-site house framing; and windows, and interior and exterior door units, as well as interior trims and custom products under the Synboard brand.

Brokerages Set Sanderson Farms, Inc. (SAFM) PT at $111.75

Shares of Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $111.75.

SAFM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Buckingham Research cut their price objective on Sanderson Farms from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 11th. Barclays reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Sanderson Farms in a report on Friday, May 25th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Sanderson Farms from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 19th. BidaskClub upgraded Sanderson Farms from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Sanderson Farms from $110.00 to $89.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 1st.

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Shares of SAFM stock traded up $0.93 on Monday, hitting $104.32. The stock had a trading volume of 2,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 536,517. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 0.39. Sanderson Farms has a 1 year low of $96.80 and a 1 year high of $176.43.

Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ:SAFM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 24th. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.67). The firm had revenue of $813.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.64 million. Sanderson Farms had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 16.79%. Sanderson Farms’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. sell-side analysts expect that Sanderson Farms will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sanderson Farms announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 31st that authorizes the company to buyback 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sanderson Farms by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,243,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000,000 after acquiring an additional 49,464 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Sanderson Farms by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,789,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,391,000 after acquiring an additional 501,917 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Sanderson Farms by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,153,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,231,000 after acquiring an additional 15,100 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Sanderson Farms by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 417,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,642,000 after acquiring an additional 24,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Sanderson Farms by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 341,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,637,000 after acquiring an additional 21,270 shares in the last quarter.

Sanderson Farms Company Profile

Sanderson Farms, Inc, an integrated poultry processing company, produces, processes, markets, and distributes fresh, frozen, and prepared chicken products in the United States. The company sells ice pack, chill pack, bulk pack, and frozen chicken in whole, cut-up, and boneless form primarily under the Sanderson Farms brand name to retailers, distributors, and casual dining operators in the southeastern, southwestern, northeastern, and western United States, as well as to customers who resell frozen chicken in the export markets.

Investors Buy Walmart (WMT) on Weakness

Traders purchased shares of Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) on weakness during trading hours on Monday. $179.17 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $97.82 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $81.35 million into the stock. Of all stocks tracked, Walmart had the 8th highest net in-flow for the day. Walmart traded down ($1.65) for the day and closed at $84.00

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 6th. ValuEngine downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, April 30th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.53.

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The firm has a market cap of $253.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 17th. The retailer reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $122.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.29 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 1.77%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 1,190,271 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.65, for a total value of $100,756,440.15. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,347,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,345,051.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,499,270 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.86, for a total value of $127,228,052.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,748,580 shares in the company, valued at $572,684,498.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,792,256 shares of company stock worth $740,486,626. 51.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cibc Bank USA purchased a new position in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,458,000. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $799,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,074,000. Greenline Partners LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Greenline Partners LLC now owns 32,490 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,891,000 after purchasing an additional 2,944 shares during the period. Finally, Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,349,000. 29.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the retail and wholesale operations in various formats worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, discount stores, drugstores, and convenience stores; membership-only warehouse clubs; e-commerce Websites, such as walmart.com, jet.com, hayneedle.com, shoes.com, moosejaw.com, modcloth.com, bonobos.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce and voice-activated commerce applications.

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Takes $2.49 Million Position in Visa (V)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Visa (NYSE:V) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 20,811 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock, valued at approximately $2,489,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of V. Robecosam AG raised its position in shares of Visa by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Robecosam AG now owns 9,562 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,445 shares during the last quarter. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Visa by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. now owns 5,650 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Visa during the 3rd quarter valued at $13,155,000. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Visa by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,390 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Visa by 56.1% during the 3rd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 4,023,202 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $423,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,445,091 shares during the last quarter. 79.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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In other news, President Ryan Mcinerney sold 38,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.33, for a total transaction of $5,056,205.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP James H. Hoffmeister sold 8,423 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $1,075,364.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Visa stock opened at $135.33 on Friday. Visa has a one year low of $93.19 and a one year high of $136.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market cap of $276.95 billion, a PE ratio of 38.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.98.

Visa (NYSE:V) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 25th. The credit-card processor reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.10. Visa had a net margin of 48.18% and a return on equity of 33.90%. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. sell-side analysts expect that Visa will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 17th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio is 24.14%.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Visa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 2nd. Vetr cut shares of Visa from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 5th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Visa from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Visa from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Visa in a research report on Friday, May 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $141.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Visa currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.09.

Visa Company Profile

Visa Inc operates as a payments technology company worldwide. The company facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, strategic partners, and government entities. It operates VisaNet, a processing network that enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions; and offers fraud protection for account holders and assured payment for merchants.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding V? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Visa (NYSE:V).

Brazil's Petrobras Fuel Pricing Drama Is A Huge Negative For The Economy

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-963976334&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/963976334/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Demonstrators protest against high fuel and cooking gas costs in front of Petrobras oil company headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 30, 2018. Photo by Cris Faga/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

Brazil&s;s three-year-old political crisis ebbs and flows. We may be entering&a;nbsp;the eye of the hurricane again, with October elections setting the table for what is to come regarding&a;nbsp;state intervention into the market. The economy is going to take a hit.

Besides the CEO of Petrobras stepping down and the Brazilian currency crash landing and an entire populous up to here in disgust with every single politician in Brasilia, the immediate fallout of a weeklong truckers strike will be felt by midsize companies and the biggest lenders, Fitch Ratings says.

&a;ldquo;It is difficult to make specific assumptions on the impact on the economy. But after ten days into the strike, the market expects a reduction of GDP growth,&a;rdquo; says Claudia Gallina, a senior director for Fitch in Sao Paulo.

Good luck finding a bank raising their growth forecast for Brazil.&a;nbsp; Santander reduced their call for 2018 GDP to 2% from 3.2%. That&s;s a huge drop. A slower economy makes it harder for Brazil to reverse stubbornly low employment.

Unlike other crises Brazil has faced in the past, companies and individuals lacked basic inputs for production and consumption because those things were not being delivered to them&a;mdash;like propane for cooking. The strike created a crisis of supply, mainly impacting every fuel segment. This is further exacerbated by Brazil&a;rsquo;s perennial underinvestment in infrastructure for other modes of transportation. Roads are used for the distribution of more than 70% of the production of goods within the country, and they were blocked for about 8 days.

&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-963976356&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/963976356/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Left-wing activists have used the strike as a reason to protest the Temer government and reignite old concerns that Brazil is opening its oil wealth to foreigners. Photo by Cris Faga/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

The reason for the strike: Brazilian President Michel Temer hiked diesel fuel by 10%. Truckers protested. Food wasn&a;rsquo;t delivered. Jets couldn&a;rsquo;t get fueled up. Animal feed wasn&a;rsquo;t being delivered and chickens were reportedly cannibalizing themselves. Then Temer extended a price break for 60 days. Then he said he would cap prices. Then Pedro Parente, Petrobras&a;rsquo; CEO, who was brought in to make the company more adherent to the market rather than to the politicians that spent the last decade ransacking it, decided to resign. No one was surprised. But Petrobras shares fell under $10 for the first time since February 2015, when they were worth about $3.

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Petrobras will likely trade sideways as investors weigh who will take Parente&a;rsquo;s spot. And whether price controls are coming back. No one has an answer to this question because the presidential election in October could change everything for Petrobras. Temer could hire Rex Tillerson to lead Petrobras, and Rex Tillerson could find himself fired again a few months later under a new president.

There are no front-runners this campaign season other than jailbird ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. His polling numbers are irrelevant at this point. Like many other politicians and business executives, Lula is in jail for his role in the massive Petrobras contract rigging schemes that brought that company&a;mdash;and the country&a;mdash;to its knees. He cannot run for office, even if released from prison, due to the country&a;rsquo;s Clean Slate law. The law bans&a;nbsp;people convicted by an appeals court from running for public office for eight&a;nbsp;years.

It made perfect sense that Brazilian truck drivers, many of them self-employed, would protest the increase in diesel prices. To them, it was more money going to more crooked politicians, and coming out of their pockets.

When Petrobras began pegging fuel prices to international oil markets last year, it went unnoticed by&a;nbsp;commercial drivers until oil prices began to rise dramatically and the Brazilian real began to approach R$4 to the dollar.

&a;ldquo;Because of the strike, companies may face further difficulties in generating positive operating cash flow, regardless of a relatively benign macro scenario amid lower interest rates,&a;rdquo; Gallina says. &a;ldquo;Consumer confidence is likely to decline.&a;rdquo;

Jumps in prices over the last couple of weeks will impact inflation, but it is unlikely to make the central bankers hawkish. Brazil interest rates aren&a;rsquo;t going up in the near term but will be rising sharply in the year ahead if interest rate futures trading on the B3 in Sao Paulo are any guide.

For Morgan Stanely, the strike could bring GDP down by as much as 30 basis points.&a;nbsp;As global banks revise their outlook for Brazil, the incumbent party and its allies, which include the Social Democrats, or PSDB, the market&a;rsquo;s favorite, will be hard pressed to tell the electorate that they are good stewards of the economy.

Cielo, the merchants payment company, reported some preliminary numbers&a;nbsp;up to Sunday, May 27, and said that overall retail revenues were down 28% compared with the previous year. Their gas station clients led the fall with a 60% dropoff.

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&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-963553226&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/963553226/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Brazilian President Michel Temer&a;nbsp;is probably the most unpopular president in the nation&a;rsquo;s history. Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images.

Morgan Stanley economist Arthur Carvalho Filho in Sao Paulo thinks the more worrisome impacts of the strike will be felt on the confidence front.&a;nbsp;&a;nbsp;Brazilians are fed up, and few are impressed with the roster of candidates running for the presidency. Brazil seems totally leaderless. Investors will begin paying close attention to this once campaign season kicks into high gear in late July.

It&a;rsquo;s true that Petrobras may never cap fuel prices. The government will probably cut taxes on fuel, namely the so-called PIS and Cofins taxes. That will alleviate much of the price hike Temer imposed late last month. But then the question is: Where will Brazil make up for that revenue loss? What politician wants to cut social spending in an election year? Who will be the one to cut it in 2019? Unless someone makes those hard decisions, Brazil&a;rsquo;s investment-grade days are still a ways away.

&a;ldquo;Given the impact already on the perception that there is popular support for targeted tax cuts to comply with the truck drivers&a;rsquo; demand, Brazil watchers are left wondering if this means it is unlikely a president who would continue the reform agenda in October,&a;rdquo; says Carvalho.

Political risk coupled with the impact of the truckers&a;rsquo; strike&a;nbsp;is going to pull the rug out from under Brazil.

Petrobras might rebound from its single-digit lows&a;nbsp;hit in intraday trading Friday. But lower growth raises fresh doubts for a country still reeling from two years of economic recession and at least 14% national unemployment.

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Top Canadian Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:CNI,RNO,TRP,NGD,VRX,

Canada marijuana legalization is the next big growth catalyst for marijuana stocks. That's because only 13% of the $6.7 billion in marijuana sales in North America in 2016 were from Canada.

But that will change in 2017…

As part of his 2015 campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised marijuana reform in Canada. That's because the majority of Canadians want recreational marijuana use legalized.

In a poll conducted during the summer of 2016, 69% of participants either supported or somewhat supported legalized recreational marijuana.

Only 26% were opposed or somewhat opposed.

Top Canadian Stocks To Own Right Now: Canadian National Railway Company(CNI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Neha Chamaria]

  Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) is facing a unique problem: too much demand that it can't seem to handle. Severe capacity shortages and delay in deliveries last quarter proved costly for the railroad, as evidenced by its just released first-quarter earnings report.

• [By Max Byerly]

  WARNING: “Q3 2018 Earnings Estimate for Canadian National Railway (CNI) Issued By Cormark” was first posted by Ticker Report and is owned by of Ticker Report. If you are reading this piece on another publication, it was copied illegally and reposted in violation of U.S. & international copyright & trademark law. The original version of this piece can be viewed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/3350637/q3-2018-earnings-estimate-for-canadian-national-railway-cni-issued-by-cormark.html.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  GE got some good news this past week with an order for 200 locomotives from Canadian National Railway Co. (NYSE: CNI). The locomotives will be built at GE’s plant in Fort Worth, Texas, and deliveries to the rail operator will begin next year. The balance of the locomotives will be delivered in 2019 and 2020.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Canadian National Railway Co (NYSE:CNI)Q1 2018 Earnings Conference CallApril 23, 2018, 4:30 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

Top Canadian Stocks To Own Right Now: Rhino Resource Partners LP(RNO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Deutsche Bank set a €115.00 ($133.72) target price on Renault (EPA:RNO) in a report released on Friday morning. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Top Canadian Stocks To Own Right Now: Transcananda Pipelines Ltd.(TRP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  TransCanada's (NYSE:TRP) expansion efforts continued paying dividends during the first quarter as earnings and cash flow kept growing. As a result, the Canadian pipeline giant remains on track to achieve its dividend growth targets. CEO Russ Girling affirmed that view on the quarterly conference call, where he detailed the company's progress on its strategic plan.

• [By Zacks]

  Moreover, TransCanada Corporation (NYSE: TRP)'s $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline – expected to carry heavy crude from Alberta to refineries in the United States – is yet to get a final investment decision. The midstream company had secured 20 years commitment for 500 thousand barrels per day for the pipeline and received Alberta government's support. However, the Nebraska government sanctioned the Mainline Alternative Route for the controversial project, which is longer than the company's preferred route and has forced it to review the alternative route keeping the final decision on hold.

• [By Jason Hall]

  Priestley:�Yeah,�absolutely. The last company is also on this natural gas trend,�it's TransCanada (NYSE:TRP), ticker TRP. It's a�Canadian energy infrastructure company. They have assets in the U.S.,�Canada, obviously, and Mexico. They�operate 40,000 miles of natural gas pipeline. A�notable project that they operate is the Keystone XL Pipeline and the�Keystone Pipeline system. It�also has interests in 20 power�generation facilities,�mostly in Canada. And, they have significant scale as a midstream company. I kind of like these midstream players, because they're really winners,�so to speak, in a lot of respects. A lot of the contracts that they make with the oil refiners or the oil�companies themselves are 15-20-year contracts.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Enbridge just bought its stake in the German offshore wind farm projects�last year, initially agreeing to invest about $1.25 billion for a 50% stake. However, with concerns growing about its balance sheet and ability to finance growth projects, the company has chosen to monetize part of this asset. It's also monetizing its onshore renewable facilities in Canada and two in the U.S. to bring in some much-needed cash. This decision to cash in on a portion of its renewable portfolio follows a similar plan by fellow Canadian pipeline giant TransCanada (NYSE:TRP), which sold its solar assets in Ontario last year. The driving factor in that decision was TransCanada's desire to improve its financial flexibility so that it could "continue to build on our vision of being North America's leading energy infrastructure company," said CEO Russ Girling. What's clear from these deals is that neither TransCanada nor Enbridge sees renewables playing a key role in building the companies they envision themselves being.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Most investors have probably heard of energy giants Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) (NYSE:RDS-B), Dominion Energy (NYSE:D), and TransCanada (NYSE:TRP). Fewer, however, are likely familiar with their publicly traded master limited partnerships (MLPs): Shell Midstream Partners (NYSE:SHLX), Dominion Energy Midstream Partners (NYSE:DM), and TC Pipelines (NYSE:TCP). That might be a good thing, as the market has beaten up the latter trio this year, sending their valuations south.

• [By Dustin Parrett]

  TransCanada Corp. (NYSE: TRP) just achieved a perfect Money Morning stock VQScore��, making it a profit powder keg waiting to ignite…

  TransCanada is a Canadian oil and gas pipeline company, most famous for its development of the Keystone XL pipeline connecting Canadian oil fields to major hubs in the United States.

Top Canadian Stocks To Own Right Now: NEW GOLD INC.(NGD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  New Gold Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: NGD) dropped about 3.8% Thursday to post a new 52-week low of $2.28. Shares closed at $2.37 on Wednesday and the stock’s 52-week high is $4.25. Volume was about 15% below the daily average of around 5.9 million shares. The company had no specific news.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  New Gold Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: NGD) dropped about 2.9% Monday to post a new 52-week low of $2.35. Shares closed at $2.42 on Friday and the stock’s 52-week high is $4.25. Volume was about 10% below the daily average of around 5.8 million shares. The gold mining company had no news.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Teradyne, Inc. (NYSE: TER) fell 10.8 percent to $37.02 in pre-market trading after the company issued downbeat Q2 guidance. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW) fell 9.2 percent to $122.29 in pre-market trading. Edwards Lifesciences reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter, but issued weak earnings guidance for the second quarter. New Gold Inc. (NYSE: NGD) fell 8.8 percent to $2.30 in pre-market trading after rising 4.13 percent on Tuesday. Gold Fields Limited (ADR) (NYSE: GFI) fell 8.6 percent to $3.61 in pre-market trading. Natus Medical Incorporated (NASDAQ: BABY) fell 8.2 percent to $32.95 in pre-market trading after the company issued weak forecast for the second quarter. Atossa Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ATOS) shares fell 7.9 percent to $3.50 in pre-market trading after climbing 27.09 percent on Tuesday. Bright Scholar Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: BEDU) shares fell 6.7 percent to $13.58 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Sangamo Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: SGMO) fell 5.9 percent to $16.75 in pre-market trading following announcement of a $200 million common stock offering. Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: FRSX) shares fell 5.7 percent to $3.29 in pre-market trading after declining 3.32 percent on Tuesday. Euronav NV (NYSE: EURN) fell 4.8 percent to $8.40 in pre-market trading. Limelight Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) shares fell 4.3 percent to $4.69 in pre-market trading. Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc (NASDAQ: GLPI) shares fell 4.1 percent to $32.92 in pre-market trading after the company issued downbeat quarterly results and reported the retirement of CFO William Clifford
• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers ARMO BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARMO) shares rose 67.5 percent to $49.96 in pre-market trading after Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced plans to acquire ARMO BioSciences for $50 per share. Turtle Beach Corporation (NASDAQ: HEAR) rose 62.8 percent to $11.30 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q1 results and raised its FY18 outlook. vTv Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VTVT) rose 23.4 percent to $2.11 in pre-market trading following announcement that the company will pre-specify new subgroup with the FDA and report Phase 3 Part B results in June. Resonant Inc. (NASDAQ: RESN) rose 19.1 percent to $5.00 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: RXII) rose 17.7 percent to $2.39 in pre-market trading following Q1 results. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) rose 15.2 percent to $2.20 in pre-market trading after French company Total announced plans to acquire 25 percent stake in Clean Energy Fuels for $83.4 million. Everspin Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRAM) rose 14.6 percent to $8.50 in pre-market trading after the company reported strong results for its first quarter. Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) shares rose 11 percent to $27.50 in pre-market trading after reporting upbeat Q1 sales. Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN) rose 8.9 percent to $10.70 in pre-market trading following upbeat quarterly earnings. MediciNova, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNOV) rose 8.1 percent to $11.35 in pre-market trading after the company announced opening of Investigational New Drug Application for MN-166 (ibudilast) in glioblastoma. New Gold Inc. (NYSE: NGD) shares rose 7.7 percent to $2.65 in pre-market trading after the company reported that its President and CEO Hannes Portmann left the company. The company named Raymond Threlkeld as successor. Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ: OTTR) shares rose 7.4 percent to $46.60 in the pre-market trading session. Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIMX) shares rose
• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) fell 23.3 percent to $9.87 in pre-market trading after declining 13.45 percent on Wednesday. SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: SXCP) fell 12.8 percent to $16.00 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE: BGG) fell 11 percent to $17.55 in pre-market trading after the company posted mixed Q3 results and lowered its FY18 guidance. New Gold Inc. (NYSE: NGD) fell 8.4 percent to $2.30 in pre-market trading following downbeat Q1 results. Quality Care Properties, Inc. (NYSE: QCP) fell 8.2 percent to $20.85 in pre-market trading. Welltower announced plans to acquire QCP for $20.75 per share in cash. China Customer Relations Centers Inc. (NASDAQ: CCRC) shares fell 7.5 percent to $17.25 in pre-market trading after climbing 18.73 percent on Wednesday. Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) shares fell 5.7 percent to $5.58 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) fell 5.6 percent to $38.66 in pre-market trading following Q1 results. Southw

Top Canadian Stocks To Own Right Now: Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc(VRX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.11 per share on revenue of $1.85 billion. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.44 per share on revenue of $1.99 billion. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.89 per share on revenue of $3.63 billion. Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.92 per share on revenue of $3.17 billion. Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.57 per share on revenue of $926.18 million. The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.24 per share on revenue of $2.98 billion. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPD) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of $1.71 billion. US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE: USFD) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.32 per share on revenue of $5.98 billion. DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.7 per share on revenue of $3.50 billion. Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $2.06 per share on revenue of $936.98 million. Camping World Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CWH) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.42 per share on revenue of $1.06 billion. Perrigo Company plc (NYSE: PRGO) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.14 per share on revenue of $1.21 billion. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.28 per share on revenue of $23.80 billion. JD.com, Inc. (NYSE: JD) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.18 per share on revenue of $15.65 billion. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.6 per share o
• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers ProPhase Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRPH) gained 50.7 percent to $4.34 after the company announced a special $1.00 per share cash dividend. Impinj, Inc. (NASDAQ: PI) surged 28.4 percent to $17.44 after reporting Q1 results. Cardlytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDLX) gained 22 percent to $17.945. Care.com, Inc. (NYSE: CRCM) shares rose 19.3 percent to $18.92 following Q1 earnings. Sharing Economy International Inc. (NASDAQ: SEII) jumped 19.1 percent to $4.3934 after the company disclosed that it entered into a license agreement with Ecrent Capital Holdings Limited. Blink Charging Co. (NASDAQ: BLNK) rose 18.6 percent to $4.79 after jumping 171.14 percent on Monday. IntriCon Corporation (NASDAQ: IIN) climbed 17.4 percent to $29.30 after reporting Q1 results. Nevsun Resources Ltd. (NYSE: NSU) rose 16.2 percent to $3.45 after Lundin Mining Corporation and Euro Sun Mining Inc. proposed to acquire Nevsun Resources for around C$1.5 billion. Tactile Systems Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: TCMD) gained 15.4 percent to $42.61 following Q1 results. eGain Corporation (NASDAQ: EGAN) gained 15.3 percent to $10.55 following Q3 earnings. Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF) rose 13.8 percent to $9.48 after reporting upbeat Q1 earnings. Sterling Construction Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRL) shares surged 13.1 percent to $13.42 after reporting Q1 results. USA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAT) climbed 11.9 percent to $10.85 following better-than-expected Q3 earnings. scPharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SCPH) gained 11.2 percent to $14.45 following Q1 results. Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRGI) rose 10.2 percent to $24.08 following Q1 results. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) shares rose 7.9 percent to $19.60 as the company posted upbeat Q1 results and raised its outlook. Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TAST) rose 7.7 percent to $11.90 following upbeat Q1 results. Pareteum Corporation (NASDAQ: TEUM) rose 6.8 perc
• [By Craig Jones]

  Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers suggested on Bloomberg Markets an options strategy in Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE: VRX).

  The company is going to report earnings next week and Sosnick wants to use elevated implied volatility to sell options. He wants to sell the May 11, 17.50 strike call and buy the May 11, 19 strike call for a total credit of 60 cents.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) has a PDUFA date set for May 13. Specifically, this is for its New Drug Application for Plenvu (NER1006), which was licensed by Salix from Norgine in August 2016 for introduction to the U.S. market. Plenvu is a next-generation bowel cleansing preparation for colonoscopies.

Digix Gold Token Price Hits $42.56 (DGX)

Digix Gold Token (CURRENCY:DGX) traded 4.5% lower against the US dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 17:00 PM Eastern on May 27th. Digix Gold Token has a total market cap of $0.00 and approximately $103,887.00 worth of Digix Gold Token was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. In the last seven days, Digix Gold Token has traded down 3.7% against the US dollar. One Digix Gold Token token can now be bought for approximately $42.56 or 0.00581415 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges.

Here’s how other cryptocurrencies have performed in the last 24 hours:

Get Digix Gold Token alerts: Ripple (XRP) traded down 2.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.61 or 0.00008287 BTC. Stellar (XLM) traded down 5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.28 or 0.00003765 BTC. TRON (TRX) traded 6.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0702 or 0.00000959 BTC. IOTA (MIOTA) traded down 4.6% against the dollar and now trades at $1.45 or 0.00019789 BTC. NEO (NEO) traded down 3.1% against the dollar and now trades at $52.19 or 0.00712948 BTC. Tether (USDT) traded 0% higher against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00013675 BTC. VeChain (VEN) traded 4.1% lower against the dollar and now trades at $3.47 or 0.00047375 BTC. Binance Coin (BNB) traded down 4% against the dollar and now trades at $12.46 or 0.00170220 BTC. Zilliqa (ZIL) traded 5.2% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.12 or 0.00001584 BTC. Ontology (ONT) traded 2.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $6.46 or 0.00088241 BTC.

About Digix Gold Token

Digix Gold Token’s total supply is 32,300 tokens. Digix Gold Token’s official website is digix.global. The Reddit community for Digix Gold Token is /r/digix and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here. Digix Gold Token’s official Twitter account is @digixglobal.

Buying and Selling Digix Gold Token

Digix Gold Token can be purchased on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: Kyber Network. It is usually not presently possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as Digix Gold Token directly using US dollars. Investors seeking to trade Digix Gold Token should first purchase Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in US dollars such as Changelly, Coinbase or GDAX. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to purchase Digix Gold Token using one of the exchanges listed above.

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Lowe’s (LOW) Given a $111.00 Price Target by Credit Suisse Group Analysts

Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) has been given a $111.00 target price by equities research analysts at Credit Suisse Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock. Credit Suisse Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.04% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LOW. BMO Capital Markets restated a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $82.00) on shares of Lowe’s in a report on Thursday, March 1st. Loop Capital started coverage on Lowe’s in a report on Thursday, March 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Lowe’s from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $83.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Zacks Investment Research cut Lowe’s from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co started coverage on Lowe’s in a report on Monday, April 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Lowe’s presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.10.

Get Lowe's alerts:

Shares of LOW stock opened at $96.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $71.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.33. Lowe’s has a 1-year low of $70.76 and a 1-year high of $108.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 23rd. The home improvement retailer reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $17.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.44 billion. Lowe’s had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 65.17%. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. equities research analysts expect that Lowe’s will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 26th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the home improvement retailer to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,000. ClariVest Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $118,000. Rainier Group Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $121,000. Truewealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $128,000. Finally, Cerebellum GP LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $129,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.83% of the company’s stock.

About Lowe’s

Lowe's Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It offers a line of products for maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. The company provides home improvement products in various categories, such as lumber and building materials, tools and hardware, appliances, fashion fixtures, rough plumbing and electrical, seasonal and outdoor living, lawn and garden, paint, millwork, flooring, and kitchens, as well as outdoor power equipment.

US sales of new homes slipped 1.5% in April

WASHINGTON �� Sales of new U.S. homes fell 1.5% in April as buying plunged in the West.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new homes sold last month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 662,000. So far this year, new-home sales are 8.4% higher than in 2017.

A solid job market and a shortage of existing homes for sale have led more people into the new home market, even though they are generally more expensive than existing homes. Sales last month were increasingly were made at the higher end.

Momentum in the U.S. housing market has overcome even a supply shortage because mortgage rates remain near historic lows. But average mortgage rates have begun to climb in reaction to President Donald Trump's tax cuts, reaching a seven-year high of 4.61% on a 30-year loan, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.

Sales tumbled 7.9% last month in the West and were essentially unchanged in the Midwest and South. But sales improved 11.1% in the Northeast. The new-home sales figures are often volatile on a monthly basis and often revised.

The median sales price of a new home rose 0.4% from a year ago, to $312,400. But that masks a broader change last month, which was more activity at luxury prices levels.

Ten percent of new homes purchased in April cost more than $750,000. That is twice the percentage of homes bought last year in that range. As a result, the average price of a new home in April shot up 11.3% from a year ago, to $407,300.

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Millennials are ditching their parents' basements and using their socked away cash to buy some pretty lavish homes. USA TODAY

11 hacks for freelancers and entrepreneurs

"Never have I ever procrastinated on a task," said no freelancer ever. Having your income tied to your productivity levels can encourage anyone to work hard.

However, sometimes the money factor is not enough to get the creative juices flowing. If you��re in a productivity valley, there are practical hacks you could use to rise to the mountaintop and be in a great shape. Here are 11 of them, as recommended by some top freelancers and entrepreneurs.

1. Trick your brain into productive mode

��Our brain comes with this little nagging system that reminds us of unfinished tasks. The ��nagger�� is known as ��Zeigarnik Effect��. It states that once we begin doing something (but do not complete that action), our brain experiences a task-specific tension. This tension improves our ability to remember the content of the task, as well as forces us to complete it. So how is this good for you? First, physiological tests suggest that interruptions can increase our information retention and recollection abilities by 90%. Students who have interrupted their studies with unrelated activities (e.g. playing games) tend to remember the material better than peers who did not take a break. Next, if you start doing some chore, the Zeigarnik Effect will push you into finishing it as your brain will just nag you to complete what has been started.�� - Daniel Soderberg, CEO of EyeOnPass.

2. Head to a coffee�shop

��Here��s your excuse for treating yourself to that overpriced mocha latte ��� it has been scientifically proven that certain levels of ambient noise such as clattering of cups and the hiss of an espresso machine improves performance on creative tasks. Going outside also means that you will need to get out of those PJs �� an additional productivity booster.�� -�Jason Springer, CMO of Loan Mart.

3. Work in 90-minute sprints

��Our bodies naturally shift from higher to lower alertness states every 90 minutes throughout the day. This is called ��ultradian rhythm��. Observe your behavior and feelings and try to capture those moments of higher alertness during the day and plan your schedule around them. After an extensive 90-minute session, give yourself at least an hour to ��recharge��. - Jason Hall, CEO of 8 Figure Dream Lifestyle.

4. Compete with your peers

��When you are working solo, it��s hard to assess how well you are doing as you end up being either too harsh on yourself or too lax. Having an accountability buddy at a similar stage of their business journey, but in a different niche, can help you create a friendly sense of competition and steer you towards improving your performance and reaching your goals quicker.�� - Matthew van Niekerk, Co-Founder & CEO of Databroker DAO.

5. Make a public�commitment

��If you are really struggling with finishing one dreadful chore, make a public promise that you will have it done by a certain deadline. Promise that to your best buddy, spouse or just a bunch of random people on Facebook. Make sure there are ��sanctions�� involved if you fail to deliver (e.g. buying a round of drinks for all witnesses).�� - Benson Varghese, Founder of Varghese Summersett.

6. Adjust the thermostat

��Home office temperature can impact your productivity. One study indicates that workers tend to make 44% more mistakes when the room temperatures were too low (68 degrees or 20 degrees Celsius). When you feel cold, your brain gets distracted as it's thinking of ways to warm up, instead of focusing on the job at hand. Switch to the optimal ��work�� temperature �� 77 degrees or 25 degrees Celsius.�� - Victor Kluczenya, CEO of Mobile Tracking Reviews.

7. Visualize your progress

��At the end of the day, we like to feel accomplished. Instead of deleting the tasks from your to-do list, try to visualize them in a fun manner. Create your weekly scoreboard where you will track how much you have accomplished (e.g. how many new pitches you have sent or how many new clients you have on-boarded). Set specific milestones and treat yourself with something meaningful once you reach those.�� - Steve McCullah, Head of PR at Apollo Currency.

8. Try the ��forced deadline�� technique

��Even the most driven freelancers and entrepreneurs can struggle with creative blocks and procrastination. At times like these, be your own boss and set a non-negotiable deadline for yourself -- the more urgent, the better. This ��forced deadline�� can spark a burst of productivity that kick starts motivation to get you back on track. Hard mode: The All-Nighter. Creativity, clarity and productivity can be amazing in pre-dawn hours. Just be sure to rest and nourish your brain afterwards for healthy mental recovery.�� - Patrick Dougherty, Marketing Director of Mind Lab Pro.

9. Plan your schedule backwards

��Many people push the most daunting chores till the last moment. If you are guilty of such, flip your daily schedule. Assume that you want to stop working by 6 pm and plan your tasks from that point. Be meticulous and assign specific hour to each chore you plan to accomplish. Creating a rigid schedule may not sound appealing initially, but scientists have proved that apart from improving your work performance, time managing your leisure activities increases the quality of life.�� - Pat Morrow, Headlines maker (Sports line trader) for Bovada.

10. Create additional obstacles for distractions

��Working from home comes with a lot of productivity killers �� the food, the TV, the kids and the ever-present social media. There's a quick hack to protect you against those ��hazards�� �� create a 20-second delay for getting access to the distraction. Remove batteries from the TV remote control or hide that cookie on the highest shelf you cannot reach without bringing a chair. You will be positively surprised how less appealing those actions will become in awhile.�� - Ronnie Wilson, CEO of SaveonIT.

11. Work on your morning mood

��Getting up on the wrong side of the bed can hamper your productivity. Researchers from Ohio found that employees�� morning moods tend to affect their performance throughout the day and their perception of customers. Grumpy employees didn��t do particularly well. Replace your habit of reading emails first thing in the morning with a 100% positive ritual that would leave you content for the rest of the day.�� - Silvia Polivoy, Co-Founder of Spirit Vine Ayahuasca Retreat Center.

If you struggle to stay on top of your workload or are experiencing a decline in your productivity, try some of the 11 hacks above to restore your work mojo.

Are you ready to start your own business or try out a few side gigs to get the feel of freelancing? No matter what path you choose, kick start your freelance career by joining the amazing community of freelancers, entrepreneurs, and gig workers on Moonlighting. Sign up or download the app today - Free!

Members of the editorial and news staff of the USA Today Network were not involved in the creation of this content.