Month: January 2017

On Jan 4, we issued an updated research report on steel maker AK Steel AKS . AK Steel outperformed the Zacks categorized Steel-Producers industry in the last three months, supported by better-than-expected earnings performance in the last reported quarter. The company's shares gained 141% during the period while the industry saw a gain of about 25.5% […]

The impact of challenging retail landscape, stiff competition from online retailers and waning store traffic was clearly evident in the Macy’s, Inc. ’s M holiday sales results that came below expectations. […]

Statoil ASA STO has increased its drilling plan for 2017 by about 30% compared with 2016. The company intends to drill about 30 exploration wells in 2017, of which more than 50% will be drilled on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). In 2016, Statoil, as operator and partner, finished a total of 23 exploration wells, of which 14 were on the NCS. […]

Zumiez Inc. ZUMZ seems to have entered a favorable space with return to its trend of posting positive comparable sales (comps) and sales. Zumiez reported a 3.4% increase in comps for the five week period ended Dec 31, 2016 compared with an 8.9% decline witnessed in the five-weeks ended Jan 2, 2016 […]

It seems like President-elect Donald Trump intends to deliver on his vow to repeal Obamacare once he is in office. Earlier this week, Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, introduced a resolution for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, popularly known as Obamacare. Chairman Enzi pointed out that even after six years of its enactment, Obamacare has failed with people facing huge premiums and mounting deductibles […]

The tobacco industry is currently going through difficult times and Philip Morris International Inc. PM is no exception to the trend. […]

Earlier this week, Stifel Financial Corp. SF completed the acquisition of Indiana-based City Financial Corporation, and its wholly owned subsidiary, City Securities Corporation. The transaction, with no financial terms disclosed, was announced in Sep 2016 […]

Welltower Inc. HCN , the Toledo, OH-based healthcare real estate investment trust (“REIT”) has announced the extension of the tenure of its existing chief executive officer (“CEO”) Thomas J. DeRosa […]

On Jan 5, Zacks Investment Research updated the research report on diversified electronics manufacturer Amphenol Corporation APH . Amphenol designs and manufactures connectors and interconnecting systems that are used primarily to transmit electrical and optical signals for a wide range of sophisticated electronic applications. The stock almost performed in line with the Zacks categorized Electronics-Connectors industry last year, with an average return of 38.3% compared with 37.5% for the latter. […]

Shares of Nordson Corporation NDSN , a precision dispensing equipment manufacturer, reached a new 52-week high of $116.01 during its trading session on Jan 4. This apex improved upon the last 52-week high of $115.69 on Dec 21. Post the release of fourth-quarter fiscal 2016 (ended Oct 31, 2016) results on Dec 14, 2016, shares of the company yielded 5% return, outperforming the negative return of 0.5% generated by the Zacks categorized Machinery General Industrial industry. […]

While remote patient monitoring market is growing fast to become a $30 billion industry by 2020 (tech analyst firm Berg Insight’s data), renowned sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) company ResMed, Inc. RMD recently achieved a significant milestone in this respect. After one billion nights of sleep data was downloaded using ResMed’s remote patient monitoring platform AirView, the company reached a landmark in the field of sleep research and treatment of sleep apnea. […]

Bruker Corporation BRKR , a major player in the field of life science, materials research systems and associated products, has recently announced the acquisition of Bremen, Germany-based software solutions developer, SCiLS GmbH. Financial terms of the deal have been kept under wraps. We note that, SCiLS’ software solutions are used for the analysis and exploration of MALDI mass spectrometry imaging data […]

Braun, a subsidiary of The Procter & Gamble Company PG , recently introduced a new model of the Braun Series 9 electric shaver in its biggest market, the U.S. Priced at $330, this new Series 9 model can deliver up to 50,000 shaves. Procter & Gamble stated that the latest model has improved titanium-coated trimmer that provides “the world’s most efficient shave,” which refers to the amount of hair length it removes per stroke or unit of time […]

In order to meet the growing demand in the online shopping space, Amazon.com Inc . AMZN announced plans to open a second fulfillment center in Jacksonville, FL. Over the last one year, shares of Amazon have been steadily treading higher. […]

The non-profit Praxis Project filed a suit against The Coca-Cola Company KO and the American Beverage Association trade group for misleading consumers regarding the health risks associated with its soft drinks. Shares of Coca-Cola closed the trading session on Jan 4 at $41.65, down 0.4% from the previous day. Coca-Cola has been accused of understating the ill-effects associated with sugary drinks in its advertisements. […]

Calgary, Alberta-based oil and gas explorer Encana Corporation ECA announced that it expects to exceed 2017 production and profit margin forecasts discussed on its Investor Day in Oct 2016. The company reported that it is expecting to register a corporate margin of greater than $10 per barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) in 2017. That's 25% higher than the $8 per barrel margin anticipated earlier. […]