12 Leading Investors Explain Why They're Funding Sextech

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;size-large wp-image-62&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/andreabarrica/files/2019/03/forbes_investors08-1200x800.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;800&q; data-width=&q;1200&q;&g; 12 Investors Explain Why They&s;re Funding Sextech

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;For some, it&a;rsquo;s personal. For others, it&a;rsquo;s political. But the one motivation that drives nearly every sextech VC is the exploding market in sexual wellness.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Much of the coverage of sextech has focused on the founders and their products. But given the funding issues faced by sextech companies, a more important issue might be the motivation of the investors themselves.&l;span class=&q;tweet_icon&q;&g;&l;/span&g; Because whether its vibrator design or contraceptive delivery or educational platforms, no sextech company can change the world without funding.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Some sextech pioneers, like &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.makelovenotporn.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;MakeLoveNotPorn&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;rsquo;s Cindy Gallop, are lucky enough to have&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/21/sex-the-final-frontier-cindy-gallop-raises-2m-from-mysterious-investor-for-social-sex-tech/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;a single investor&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g; who believes in &a;mdash; and helps fund &a;mdash; her company. For sextech companies raising outside funding, it&a;rsquo;s still a big deal to be backed by major VC funds. (Recently, app-based audio erotica platform &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.dipseastories.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Dipsea&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g; raised $5.5M in a competitive funding round, a hopeful harbinger of what we&a;rsquo;ll start to see in this space.) &a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;So I asked nearly a dozen prominent investors in sextech &a;mdash; some of whom have invested in &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.o.school/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;O.school&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;,* and others who have invested in companies like &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://getmaude.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Maude&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;, &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://unboundbabes.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Unbound&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;, &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.elvie.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Elvie&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;, and &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.juiceboxit.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Juicebox&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g; &a;mdash; the central question: Why are you investing in sextech?&l;span class=&q;tweet_icon&q;&g;&l;/span&g; &l;/span&g;

&l;b&g;&a;lsquo;Overlooked&a;rsquo; and &a;lsquo;Ignored&a;rsquo;&l;/b&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Many cited the promise of a surprisingly untapped market &a;mdash; women.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;You can tell that this market is growing by the unicorn status of companies like Rent the Runway and Glossier,&a;rdquo; venture capital investor Monique Woodard told me. &a;ldquo;But so far women&a;rsquo;s health, women&a;rsquo;s sexuality, and women&a;rsquo;s products have been ignored. Given the demographic shifts that are underway right now, a women&a;rsquo;s health company that also has a lens into women of color will be even more important.&a;rdquo; &l;/span&g;

&l;img class=&q;wp-image-69 size-full&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/andreabarrica/files/2019/03/Untitled-drawing-1.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;720&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; &q;Given the demographic shifts that are underway right now, a women&a;rsquo;s health company that also has a lens into women of color will be even more important.&q; &a;mdash; Monique Woodard

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;There is a huge business opportunity in sextech,&a;rdquo; says Christie Pitts, partner at &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://backstagecapital.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Backstage Capital&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;, a VC fund dedicated to funding people of color, women, and other &a;ldquo;underestimated&a;rdquo; founders. &a;ldquo;Women control nearly all of the purchasing decisions and the majority of the wealth in the US, yet have been overlooked when it comes to products and solutions dedicated to their pleasure.&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Lina Wenner, principal at &l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.firstminute.capital/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;firstminute Capital&l;/a&g;,&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;a $100M UK-based seed fund backed by 30 unicorn founders, sees that trend only growing.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;We&a;rsquo;re particularly excited by the younger, more sexually liberated Gen Z gaining share of wallet and opening up the conversation around ,&a;rdquo; she says. &a;ldquo;Over the next few years, we&a;rsquo;ll continue to see an increasing democratization and growing social acceptance of &a;mdash; particularly female&a;nbsp;&a;mdash; sexual pleasure. If we can speed this up by investing into the right teams, that would be a great outcome for us.&a;rdquo; &l;/span&g;

&l;b&g;&a;lsquo;A Huge Part of Our Lives&a;rsquo;&l;/b&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;The current cultural climate has created a window to shake up this moth-eaten market with new, innovative thinking and design,&a;rdquo; says &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.xfactor.ventures/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;XFactor Ventures&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g; partner Aubrie Pagano, pointing me to a &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://medium.com/@aubriepagano/lets-talk-about-sex-ual-wellness-baby-fc4dec327163&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Medium post&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g; she wrote upon backing the sexual wellness company, Maude, in 2018. The real excitement for her? 10% YOY growth in a market that&a;rsquo;s barely explored anyone but young cis males.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Pagano isn&a;rsquo;t the only one drawn in by the potential to remake a long-stagnant industry. Changes in technology have made it easier for products to get to prototype, and crowdfunding is allowing founders with a little money and a strong idea to get to market. &l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;Sex toys in general are really interesting,&a;rdquo; says Cyan Banister, an angel investor and partner in &l;a href=&q;https://foundersfund.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Founders Fund&l;/a&g;. &a;ldquo;There are lots of people innovating on form and function of these products, especially women entrepreneurs. Previous to companies like &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.jimmyjane.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;JimmyJane&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;, there weren&s;t a lot of products that were geared towards innovation of materials. &a;hellip; And, it&a;rsquo;s becoming less of an issue. The fact that you can get a Trojan finger vibrator at Walgreens or Walmart means that it&a;rsquo;s becoming a little less stigmatized, which makes me very hopeful for the future.&a;rdquo; &l;/span&g;

&l;img class=&q;wp-image-65 size-full&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/andreabarrica/files/2019/03/Elomida-Visviki-.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;600&q; data-width=&q;900&q;&g; &q;&a;nbsp;such a huge, important part of our life. We should embrace it, and it has to be fun.&a;rdquo; - Elomida Visviki&l;b&g;&s;A Moral Imperative&s;&l;/b&g;

Elomida Visviki and husband Lars Rasmussen, co-founder of the company that became Google Maps, find the reticence to discuss sex in the US &a;mdash; and by extension Silicon Valley &a;mdash; unnerving, and a bit silly. (During their first pitch meeting with me, Visviki breastfed their child.)

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;It&a;rsquo;s been an undervalued, &a;lsquo;shady&a;rsquo; category,&a;rdquo; says Visviki, who grew up in Greece, &a;ldquo;but it&a;rsquo;s such a huge, important part of our life. We should embrace it, and it has to be fun.&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;When I was in college I volunteered at the local kindergarten, and was the kids&a;rsquo; favorite subject,&a;rdquo; says Rasmussen, who was raised in Denmark. &a;ldquo;Now I live in a country that if you suggested that kids learn about sex and pleasure in kindergarten, it would not be OK. I want to be part of changing that. &a;hellip; Despite the hangups about sex, everyone loves it and everyone is interested. It&a;rsquo;s just a matter of time before someone breaks through.&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Gerda Larsson, co-founder and managing director at &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;http://www.thecaseforher.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;The Case for Her&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;, a European fund which invests in women&a;rsquo;s health, says she sees huge opportunities in markets like sex education and fertility. But to truly realize that potential, investors simultaneously tackle stigma. &l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;Why can I see Viagra ads everywhere,&a;rdquo; she asks, &a;ldquo;but you&s;re not allowed to advertise sexual products for women? Why is my sexuality shamed and framed as unnatural?&a;rdquo; &l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Larsson says she invests in sextech as a strategy to close the gender gap &a;mdash; The Case for Her launched its Pleasure Portfolio in 2018: &l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;We started investing in sextech after identifying it as one of the solutions that could tackle the global taboo surrounding sex and female sexual pleasure. Tech gives people the opportunity to explore, nurture and innovate around pleasure and what that means to you.&a;rdquo; &l;/span&g;

&l;img class=&q;size-large wp-image-75&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/andreabarrica/files/2019/03/Lina-Wenner--1200x960.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;960&q; data-width=&q;1200&q;&g; &q;Over the next few years, we&a;rsquo;ll continue to see an increasing democratization and growing social acceptance of &a;mdash; particularly female &a;mdash; sexual pleasure.&q; -Lina Wenner

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;Sexuality is part of wellness,&a;rdquo; says angel investor Laura Behrens Wu. &a;ldquo;My investment in sextech shouldn&a;rsquo;t be viewed any differently than investments in other types of healthcare , &a;nbsp;like &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.headspace.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Headspace&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g; or &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.calm.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Calm&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g; &a;nbsp;&a;mdash; and that&a;rsquo;s a huge, established market. Investors who insist on segmenting out one aspect of our bodies, just because it makes some people uncomfortable, may regret it in five years.&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Courtney Broadus, a member of &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;http://www.broadway-angels.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Broadway Angels&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;, &l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;an all-female investment group world-class angel investors, &l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;sees investment in sextech as a moral imperative. &a;ldquo;Youth, teens and beyond have access to scientific information about consent and healthy, safe and enjoyable sex.&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;Sexual health and wellness are still taboo in so much of our culture,&a;rdquo; says Alison Hartman, Ph.D, an angel investor in New Orleans. &a;ldquo;I love that Juicebox democratizes access to experts on sex and relationships.&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

For Jake Gibson, an angel investor and co-founder of NerdWallet, the educational aspect of sextech can offer an antidote the bullying, misinformation and shame that now seems to saturate online life.

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;When the internet started, it was a place for all freaks and geeks,&a;rdquo; he told me. &a;ldquo;As the internet grew and evolved, it has gotten toxic, exactly like the places you had to run away from before. That&a;rsquo;s why I invested in O.school &a;mdash; because safe places are important.&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;Pioneering investors have begun the process, but the market is imbalanced. Once institutional investors come in, we may finally unlock the sector&a;rsquo;s true potential. &l;/span&g;

&l;b&g;&a;lsquo;Entrepreneurs Are Standing Ready&a;rsquo;&l;/b&g;

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-64&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/andreabarrica/files/2019/03/Cyan-Banister.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;562&q; data-width=&q;1000&q;&g; &q;&l;span&g;The fact that you can get a Trojan finger vibrator at Walgreens or Walmart means that it&a;rsquo;s becoming a little less stigmatized, which makes me very hopeful for the future&l;/span&g;.&q; - Cyan Banister

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;It&a;rsquo;s a growing industry and the entrepreneurs are standing ready to go,&a;rdquo; says Larsson. &a;ldquo;Now we need more investors and pioneers from the finance sector to take on the subject and start realizing the potential both from the rights perspective and as an investment case.&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;Sextech is underserved because a lot of people that do not see the exit opportunities, and they don&a;rsquo;t understand the space&a;nbsp;&a;mdash; or they have vice clauses in their LP agreements that keep them from investing in the space,&a;rdquo; says Banister. &a;ldquo;I try to identify companies that I believe that aren&a;rsquo;t so &a;ldquo;risky&a;rdquo; they can&a;rsquo;t fit, but can be mainstream &a;mdash; but also moving the needle to what people think can be a VC-type investment. It&a;rsquo;s the mission&l;em&g; and&l;/em&g; the outsize return opportunity. &l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;&a;ldquo;I think it&s;s time we provide something relevant to the market,&a;rdquo; says Sophia Bendz, an angel investor and &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/05/sophia-bendz/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;partner at Atomico&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;, one of the most respected institutional VC funds in Europe, with a $765M fourth fund. &a;ldquo;I like the idea of a sextech company being founded by women and targeting the needs of women in a more ambitious way and not having someone else dictating the rules &a;hellip; I believe it has a huge potential.&a;rdquo; &l;/span&g;

&l;i&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400&q;&g;*Disclosure: Banister, Behrens Wu, Bendz, Broadus, Gibson, Pitts, Rasmussen, Visviki, Wenner and Woodard have all been invested in O.school, either personally or through their funds.&l;/span&g;&l;/i&g;&l;/p&g;

Akebia Therapeutics (AKBA) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallMarch 18, 2019 4:30 p.m. ET

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

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Akebia Therapeutics preliminary full-year 2018 financial results and business highlights conference call. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. [Operator instructions] I would now like to introduce your host for today's conference. Megan, the floor is yours.

Unidentified speaker

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon and thank you for joining us to discuss our recent business progress and Akebia's preliminary full-year 2018 financial results and business highlights conference call. The press release containing the company's preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2018 was issued earlier this afternoon and is also available on our Investor Relations website. For your convenience, an audio replay of today's call will also be available on our website shortly after we conclude today's webcast.

Joining our call are John Butler, president and chief executive officer; and Jason Amello, chief financial officer. Rita Jain, chief medical officer; Michel Dahan, chief business officer; and Doug Jermasek, VP of marketing and strategy, will also be joining for the Q&A session. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that this conference call includes forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement contained in this call is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these statements.

Additional information regarding these factors are described in the Risk Factors and management's Discussion and Analysis sections of our most recently quarterly and annual financial reports. The forward-looking statements on this call speaks only as of the original date of this call, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any of these statements. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to our CEO, John Butler. John?

John Butler -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Megan. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. 2018 was a transformative year for Akebia. Throughout the year, we executed against multiple strategic initiatives, including the creation of a fully integrated biopharma company for a successful merger with Keryx.

We now have capabilities from research, commercialization, and a portfolio of complementary assets. Through the merger, we gained access to Auryxia, a commercial product proved for two indications to treat patients with kidney disease. In addition, we continued to advance our global Phase 3 program for vadadustat. 2019 is beginning with the same sort of momentum with the announcement of the positive results from the Phase 3 clinical program for vadadustat in Japan conducted by our collaboration partner, Mitsubishi Tanabe or MTPC.

Simply put, we did what we said we were going to do and a bit more. One of the things that all of us at Akebia are most proud of is that we've advanced our mission to improve care for kidney disease patients. There is much more work ahead to advance our portfolio. And at the same time, we see tremendous opportunities to bring further innovation to the market to grow and to increase shareholder value.

The next 18 months will be a very busy time with significant catalyst ahead of us. Let me share why I have confidence in this vision. First, our two primary assets are highly differentiated and highly complementary. Our portfolio was focused on patients across the spectrum of chronic kidney disease.

Auryxia is the only oral iron tablet approved in the United States to treat non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease or CKD patients for iron deficiency anemia or IDA, and dialysis-dependent CKD patients for [Inaudible]. Vadadustat is an investigational hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor or HIF-PHI currently in Phase 3 development for the treatment of anemia due to CKD in non-dialysis-dependent and dialysis-dependent patients. With these assets at the core of our current portfolio and a strategic focus on growing that portfolio, we're working toward an all-important goal: to provide better control of kidney disease and its complications in earlier stages and potentially slow disease progression and improve outcomes for patients. Second, our merger with Keryx provides this valuable manufacturing, sales, marketing, and medical affairs capabilities, including long-standing relationships with key opinion leaders and a broader nephrology community.

We believe that these added capabilities represent a significant advantage that will help us with the launch momentum for vadadustat, subject to FDA approval, in addition to supporting Auryxia growth. For Auryxia, during 2018, the commercial team made significant progress in driving uptake of the drug. Pro forma unaudited full-year Auryxia sales increased 72% to $96 million. We saw an 85% increase in total prescriptions in 2018 compared to 2017.

We exited 2018 with a market share of 6.6% compared to 4.2% at the end of 2017. Auryxia's volume and share gains exceeded the gains of all other phosphate binders, both branded and generic, in 2018. Auryxia has the potential to grow on both of its approved indications, primarily because it offers an alternative treatment option that's very favorably perceived by prescribers. Nephrologists have a highly favorable perception of Auryxia across three of the most important needs in the hyperphosphatemia market: first, less pill burden for patients; second, a favorable tolerability profile; and third, a palatable formulation.

In addition, at the end of 2017, the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes or KDIGO, which publishes treatment guidelines for kidney disease, released guidance stating that in adult patients with CKD, use of calcium-based phosphate binders should be limited. This has driven more than half of nephrologists to recognize the need to use a calcium-based phosphate binder in fewer patients, and we're starting to see that reflected in prescription data. On top of this, we have an opportunity to capture patients that are switching from other agents, particularly those switching from [Inaudible]. Although this is the market leader, there's a high discontinuation rate due to tolerability issues and pill burden.

There are limited options for switching patients, creating even more opportunity to grow share for Auryxia. Together with the proven clinical benefits of Auryxia, these drivers create a significant opportunity for the product. We expect Auryxia's hyperphosphatemia indication to continue to drive the majority of our revenue. As you know, CMS recent decision about coverage of Auryxia's IDA indication has led to the need for nephrologists to obtain prior authorization when prescribing Auryxia to Medicare patients to ensure the uses for its covered hyperphosphatemia indication.

This created an additional and often time-consuming administrative step in the process. While this new requirement pressured Auryxia prescription fulfillment starting late last year and early this year, the tools we developed in response to this action are having an impact. We're effectively working through this, and importantly, Auryxia weekly prescriptions are again exhibiting robust growth. Turning to the IDA indication.

Auryxia is the only oral iron tablet approved in the U.S. to treat non-dialysis-dependent CKD patients for iron deficiency anemia. Over 70% of nephrologists see Auryxia as an advance over other oral iron products and we continue to work to translate this perception into adoption. We see substantial opportunity for growth in the IDA indication.

Our greatest near-term opportunity is within the large and growing pool of private, commercial, and Medicaid patients, who represent approximately 45% of the addressable patient population. And in CKD non-dialysis, that's hundreds of thousands of patients. With respect to Auryxia's opportunity within the Medicare patient population, our team continues to work with others in the renal care community to urge CMS to restore coverage for the IDA indication under Medicare Part D, as we believe it dramatically impacts patient choice and access to care. There are analogues where CMS has provided Part D coverage for similar products, which gives us confidence in our position.

To fully recognized Auryxia's long-term market opportunity, we'll need to restore coverage when prescribed to treat IDA and ensure Medicare patients have access to its use for both FDA-approved indications, and we're actively engaged toward that end. We're very excited about the opportunities ahead for Auryxia. The product is growing in both indications. We're pleased with the progress the team has been making.

There's clearly more work and more opportunity ahead. I'd like -- and now I'd like to shift gears and spend some time discussing the vadadustat clinical development program in anemia due to CKD. Vadadustat is an oral HIF-PHI that's designed to stimulate endogenous EPO production to a more physiologic level. The premise is that by raising hemoglobin levels while avoiding super physiologic levels of EPO, vadadustat will present less cardiovascular risk to patients than ESAs, the current standard of care.

The goal is to bring patient's hemoglobin levels into the target range and keep it stable over time without fluctuations in and out of the target range, also called excursions or overstimulation of erythropoietin, which has been associated with cardiovascular safety risks in patients. Our global Phase 3 trials are designed to compare directly to [Inaudible] in ESA. They're designed to assess non-inferiority for efficacy to [Inaudible] and non-inferiority for the major adverse cardiovascular events or MACE. The trials include multiple secondary end points to assess other clinically important areas of differentiation [Inaudible] and alpha.

We believe the next 12 to 18 months are going to be an exciting time for Akebia and HIF-PHI class in general. The size of the addressable market for anemia associated with CKD is substantial -- in the multibillion dollar range, creating a large opportunity for multiple products in the space. Data continues to highlight the potential of our program in both dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis-dependent CKD patients. Just recently, we announced positive top-line results from two pivotal Japanese Phase 3 clinical trials conducted by our development and commercialization partner, Mitsubishi Tanabe, one in non-dialysis-dependent subjects and one in hemodialysis-dependent subjects; and results from two additional single-arm studies in dialysis-dependent subjects that further support vadadustat's potential to establish a new standard of care in anemia due to CKD.

The Japanese regulatory authority does not require a cardiovascular outcomes trial but a typical assessment of efficacy and safety. Based on these results, Mitsubishi Tanabe expects to submit a Japanese new drug application in 2019. This would be the first regulatory submission of vadadustat globally. Moving to our global Phase 3 program, the core programs supporting a potential filing in dialysis patients is INNOVATE, which includes two open-label, active-controlled, non-inferiority cardiovascular outcome studies: a correction study and a correction conversion study.

Target enrollment in the larger trial, which is the conversion study completed in February of 2019 with over 3,500 subjects enrolled. With respect to the second smaller study, the final patients are in screening, and we expect completion of enrollment by April of this year with approximately 350 subjects enrolled. We're pleased with the robust enrollment in the program. If you recall, our expectation was up to 3,600 subjects, and we'll finish with about 3,900 subjects.

Now based on this enrollment number, the specifics of the protocol, and the tactical time lines related to data analysis following database lock, we expect to have top line data readouts for both INNOVATE studies in Q2 of next year, subject, of course, to the accrual of MACE events. The core program supporting a potential filing in non-dialysis patients is our PROTECT program. PROTECT also includes two open-label, active-controlled, non-inferiority cardiovascular outcomes trials: a correction and a conversion study. PROTECT enrollment is tracking in line with our expectations.

We've informed sites that we plan to close screening shortly, so we do expect to complete enrollment this year and we continue to anticipate a PROTECT readout in mid-2020, subject to the accrual of MACE. I'd now like to turn the call over to Jason for a review of our preliminary financials.

Jason Amello -- Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, John, and good afternoon, everyone. As John referenced in his opening remarks, 2018 was a transformative year for Akebia, where we continued to execute and optimize on our vadadustat development program, and we finished off the year with closing out our merger with Keryx on December 12. As a result, our financial results for 2018 are reflective of a newly merged integrated biotechnology company with commercial revenues and a late-stage development program. With that said, I'd like to remind everyone that although the merger was completed in 2018, the results of Keryx operations are included in our consolidated financial results only from December 12 forward.

As with all mergers and acquisitions, the most significant reporting requirement is the allocation of the merger consideration to the fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities. Given the proximity of the closing date of December 12 to the end of the year, that allocation process and the assessment of the associated tax impacts is not yet complete. Therefore, I submitted by SEC regulations, our 10-K will be filed when that analysis is completed, which will be no later than April 2nd. So on this call, we'll only be discussing our unaudited pre-tax operating results, and we'll provide our full audited financial statements with the filing of our 10-K in the days to come.

So let's look at the components of the P&L. Net product revenues from the sales of Auryxia from the date of the merger were $6.8 million with associated cost of goods sold of $6.3 million. It's important to note that the cost of goods sold includes a charge of $4.8 million related to the fair value inventory step-up as a result of merger accounting. We also continue to recognize revenues under three collaboration arrangements: our Otsuka U.S.

agreement, our Otsuka international agreement, and our MTPC agreement. These collaborations are considered multiple element arrangements under the revenue recognition guidance. This generally means that the noncontingent payments will be recognized over the life of the arrangement based on how activities under the arrangement are performed or delivered by Akebia versus when payments are actually received. With that said, collaboration revenue was $53 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to $90.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2017.

A significant decrease is due to the recognition of $42.9 million of previously deferred MTPC collaboration revenue in the fourth quarter of 2017, for which there is no comparable amounts recorded in the fourth quarter of 2018. As the company's performance obligations under the MTPC agreement were substantially complete as of Q3, future MTPC collaboration revenue will now come in the form of regulatory and commercial milestones and royalties. Collaboration revenue for the full year of 2018 was $200.9 million, compared to $181.2 million for 2017. This full-year increase relates primarily to our collaboration agreements with Otsuka.

Through 2018, Otsuka had funded 52.5% of the company's Phase 3 development costs for vadadustat. And in Q2 2019, Otsuka will begin to fund 80% of those costs. Moving to our research and development expenses. R&D expenses were $87.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to $68.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 and $291.1 million for the full year of 2018 compared to $230.9 million for the -- for 2017.

The increase is primarily attributable to an increase in external costs related to the continued advancement of the PROTECT and INNOVATE Phase 3 program, including ongoing enrollment, manufacture of drug substance and drug product and regulatory activities, partially offset primarily by costs associated with the Phase 2 studies in Japan, which were primarily incurred in 2017. R&D expenses were further increased by headcount and consulting costs required to support our expanding R&D programs. We expect R&D expenses to increase modestly for 2019 as we expect to fully enroll both PROTECT and INNOVATE Phase 3 studies in 2019. It's important to keep in mind that a significant portion of these R&D costs are reimbursed by our collaboration partners, which gets recorded as collaboration revenue, as I mentioned earlier.

Selling, general, and administrative expenses were $55.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to $7.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 and $87.1 million for the full year of 2018, compared to $27 million for 2017. The increase in SG&A expense was primarily attributable to merger-related costs of $49.5 million, of which $41.7 million was incurred in the fourth quarter of 2018, including a noncash expense of $13

Buy The Ramco Cements; target of Rs 830: Sharekhan

Sharekhan's research report on The Ramco Cements

The average cement prices in South during the period January-February 2019 shows marquee improvement leading to improved profitability outlook in the near term. The healthy demand environment along with benign cost environment to aid further. The capacity expansion plans to reach to 23MT by FY2021 along with improved realisations in South to aid in 28% CAGR in net earnings during FY2019E-2021E. We revise our net earnings upwards for FY2019E-2021E by ~3% factoring improved cement prices.

Outlook

We roll forward our valuation multiple to FY2021 leading to increased PT of Rs. 830. We continue to maintain Buy.

For all recommendations report, click here

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Read More First Published on Mar 20, 2019 04:32 pm

TPG says it fired executive charged in college bribery case, but he says he quit

The college admissions scandal that broke earlier this week has put the private equity firm TPG and one of its senior executives in a fight over whether he quit or was fired for cause.

On Thursday evening, TPG emailed a statement to CNBC's Leslie Picker that said William McGlashan, who had been the head of its growth buyout fund, had been "terminated for cause." He had been on administrative leave since Tuesday, after he was charged in the nationwide scheme that involved parents bribing college coaches and arranging for falsified standardized test scores to gain admission for their children to several elite universities.

"After reviewing the allegations of personal misconduct in the criminal complaint, we believe the behavior described to be inexcusable and antithetical to the values of our entire organization," TPG's statement said.

Dozens of people have been charged in the ongoing case.

But McGlashan is disputing the terms of his departure, saying he resigned. In an email to CNBC around the same time the firm sent its email, a spokesman for McGlashan said he has resigned from TPG's Rise Fund and TPG Thursday afternoon. "The progress we have made is too important for you to be distracted by the issues I am facing personally," said the text of a message from McGlashan to TPG board members that was forwarded in the spokesman's email.

TPG Growth has invested in startups like Airbnb and Uber. McGlashan, a Yale and Stanford Business School graduate, also started the Rise Fund, which is aimed at investments that promote social good. The Rise Fund first launched with the musician Bono and raised $2 billion in 2017. The second iteration of the fund recently had its first close of fundraising, which brought in another $1 billion, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

Given the McGlashan's implication in the college bribery scandal, TPG has told investors that they will have the opportunity to "reaffirm" their commitments to the second Rise Fund, or pull their investment if they so choose, a person said.

Prosecutors allege McGlashan paid $50,000 to the charitable arm of a college admissions counseling firm, which was going to correct his son's answers on a standardized test to boost the score. They also allege he arranged to fake an athletic profile of his son to help gain him admission to the University of Southern California.

CNBC's Leslie Picker contributed reporting.

Best Casino Stocks To Own For 2019

tags:GOGO,KTOV,TPRE,

Zacks Investment Research cut shares of MGM Growth Properties (NYSE:MGP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

According to Zacks, “MGM Growth Properties LLC is a real estate investment trust. The company is engaged in the acquisition, ownership and leasing of destination entertainment and leisure resorts which include casino gaming, hotel, convention, dining, entertainment and retail offerings. MGM Growth Properties LLC is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. “

Get MGM Growth Properties alerts:

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MGP. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of MGM Growth Properties in a report on Monday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of MGM Growth Properties in a report on Friday, January 4th. They issued an outperform rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Finally, SunTrust Banks raised shares of MGM Growth Properties from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $30.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Best Casino Stocks To Own For 2019: Gogo Inc.(GOGO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Gogo Inc. (NASDAQ: GOGO) fell about 15% Monday to post a new 52-week low of $4.15. Shares closed at $4.89 on Friday. The 52-week high is $14.76. Volume of around 2.7 million was about 50% above the daily average. The company had no specific news.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) fell 13.4 percent to $51.10 in pre-market trading after the company reported downbeat earnings for its first quarter and lowered its profit outlook for the year. Integrated Media Technology Limited (NASDAQ: IMTE) fell 9.8 percent to $28.97 in pre-market trading after surging 46.29 percent on Thursday. Gogo Inc. (NASDAQ: GOGO) shares fell 8.2 percent to $8.81 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q1 results and disclosed that it is withdrawing its FY18 outlook for adjusted EBITDA, airborne cash capex, airborne equipment inventory purchases and free cash flow. Sharing Economy International Inc. (NASDAQ: SEII) shares fell 7.5 percent to $3.98 in pre-market trading after climbing 22.16 percent on Thursday. Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE: ANET) fell 7.4 percent to $248.00 in pre-market trading following first-quarter earnings. Web.com Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: WEB) fell 6.7 percent to $18.00 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Varex Imaging Corporation (NASDAQ: VREX) fell 5.2 percent to $34 in pre-market trading after reporting Q2 results. Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. (NYSE: TKC) shares fell 5.2 percent to $7.60 in pre-market trading after dropping 3.02 percent on Thursday. AMN Healthcare Services, Inc (NYSE: AMN) shares fell 4.7 percent to $61.70 in pre-market trading following Q1 earnings. HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HSEA) fell 4.6 percent to $25.15 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) shares fell 4 percent to $16.66 in pre-market trading after dropping 2.86 percent on Thursday. Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ: MLCO) fell 4 percent to $30.65 in pre-market trading. Century Aluminum Co (NASDAQ: CENX) fell 4 percent to $15.76 in pre-market trading following Q1 results. HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HSBC) shares fell 3.5 percent to $48.10 in pre-market tr
• [By Max Byerly]

  Gogo (NASDAQ:GOGO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.58) by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $231.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $221.48 million. The firm’s revenue was up 40.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.52) EPS. analysts predict that Gogo Inc will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

• [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  In-flight broadband provider Gogo (NASDAQ:GOGO) outpaced the market last month by rising 11% compared to a 3% spike in the S&P 500, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

• [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  Shares of volatile in-flight broadband services specialist Gogo (NASDAQ:GOGO) outpaced the market last month by rising 16% compared to a 0.4% increase in the S&P 500, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  BidaskClub upgraded shares of Gogo (NASDAQ:GOGO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

  Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. ValuEngine downgraded Gogo from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a report on Friday, June 8th. William Blair downgraded Gogo from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 17th. Zacks Investment Research raised Gogo from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Gogo from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Gogo has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $8.38.

Best Casino Stocks To Own For 2019: Kitov Pharamceuticals Holdings Ltd.(KTOV)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Nevro Corp. (NASDAQ: NVRO) fell 11.6 percent to $81.58 in pre-market trading after reporting wider-than-expected Q1 loss. Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) shares fell 8.3 percent to $20.33 in pre-market trading after the company reported a wider-than-expected loss for its first quarter. Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) fell 7.5 percent to $51.74 in pre-market trading. Zillow reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter, but issued weak sales guidance for the second quarter. Sanchez Energy Corporation (NYSE: SN) fell 7.2 percent to $3.11 in pre-market trading after reporting wider-than-expected Q1 loss. Atossa Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ATOS) shares fell 5.5 percent to $4.14 in pre-market trading after rising 11.17 percent on Monday. Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) fell 5.1 percent to $95.00 in pre-market trading. Albemarle declared a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share. Tata Motors Limited (NYSE: TTM) fell 4.8 percent to $23.80 in pre-market trading. Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ORA) fell 4.5 percent to $57.14 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Kitov Pharma Ltd (NASDAQ: KTOV) shares fell 4.3 percent to $2.25 in pre-market trading after gaining 1.73 percent on Monday. 51job, Inc. (NASDAQ: JOBS) shares fell 4.2 percent to $93 in pre-market trading after rising 3.55 percent on Monday
• [By Lisa Levin]

  Kitov Pharma Ltd (NASDAQ: KTOV) shares dropped 14 percent to $2.6000. Kitov Pharma priced its 3.26 million ADS offering at $2.50 per ADS.

  Shares of Ambow Education Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: AMBO) were down 25 percent to $4.26.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers TransEnterix, Inc. (NYSE: TRXC) rose 28.8 percent to $4.03 in pre-market trading after the company disclosed that it has received the FDA clearance for expanded indications for its Senhance Surgical System. Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: ENT) rose 15.6 percent to $2.30 in pre-market trading. Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição (NYSE: CBD) rose 13.2 percent to $24.20 in pre-market trading. ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO) rose 12.2 percent to $21.65 in pre-market trading. Alibaba and Cainiao agreed to make strategic investment in ZTO Express of $1.38 billion. DHI Group, Inc. (NYSE: DHX) rose 10.8 percent to $2.05 in pre-market trading. Momo Inc. (NASDAQ: MOMO) shares rose 9.6 percent to $42.68 in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter and issued strong sales forecast for the second quarter. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: XENE) shares rose 9.1 percent to $6.00 in pre-market trading. Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ: OLED) rose 8.4 percent to $108.00 in pre-market trading. Jupai Holdings Limited (NYSE: JP) shares rose 7 percent to $24.50 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: UEPS) rose 5.9 percent to $10.61 in pre-market trading. Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) rose 5.9 percent to $5.04 in pre-market trading. Evogene Ltd. (NASDAQ: EVGN) rose 5.5 percent to $3.27 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) rose 5.5 percent to $3.68 in pre-market trading after gaining 5.44 percent on Friday. Kitov Pharma Ltd (NASDAQ: KTOV) shares rose 5.4 percent to $2.16 in pre-market trading.

  Find out what's going on in today's market and bring any questions you have to Benzinga's PreMarket Prep.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDGL) shares surged 144.96 percent to close at $265.61 on Thursday in reaction to an encouraging Phase 2 clinical trial update. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company said its liver-directed, thyroid hormone receptor called MGL-3196 showed a statistical significance in the primary endpoint of lowering liver fat at 12 weeks and also 36 weeks. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VKTX) shares rose 101.01 percent to close at $9.99 on Thursday after falling 4.42 percent on Wednesday. Akers Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKER) jumped 45.58 percent to close at $0.474. The developer of rapid health information technologies said Wednesday afternoon it was granted a 180-day extension from the Nasdaq Stock Market to meet the requirement of a minimum $1.00 per share closing bid price for 10 straight days. Kitov Pharma Ltd (NASDAQ: KTOV) gained 40.93 percent to close at $3.03 after the FDA approved Kitov's Consensi for the treatment of osteoarthritis pain and hypertension. China Customer Relations Centers, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCRC) rose 28.21 percent to close at $19.86. J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE: JILL) climbed 26.45 percent to close at $7.84 after the company posted upbeat quarterly earnings. Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS) shares climbed 21.93 percent to close at $2.78 in reaction to an encouraging FDA update. The biotechnology company that focuses on therapies for the treatment of cancer said the FDA granted a Fast Track designation for fimepinostat (CUDC-907) in patients with relapsed or refractory. Boxlight Corporation (NASDAQ: BOXL) gained 21.23 percent to close at $7.48. Kirkland's, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIRK) rose 16.21 percent to close at $12.83 after reporting upbeat Q1 results. The Brink's Company (NYSE: BCO) jumped 16.2 percent to close at $79.25 as the company announced plans to acquire Dunbar Armored for $520 million in cash. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAOI) rose 15.14 percent to c

Best Casino Stocks To Own For 2019: Third Point Reinsurance Ltd.(TPRE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) and Third Point Reinsurance (NYSE:TPRE) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and dividends.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Third Point Reinsurance (NYSE:TPRE) was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a sell rating to a hold rating.

  Ternium (NYSE:TX) was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a strong sell rating to a sell rating.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Third Point Reinsurance (NYSE:TPRE) was downgraded by research analysts at TheStreet from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Famed Investor Named In Elite College Scandal, Raising Critical Ethics Questions for All

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-268&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/morgansimon/files/2019/03/3805687772_6945f3379c_b.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;679&q; data-width=&q;1024&q;&g; At least 50 parents have so far been charged in a massive college admission bribery scandal.

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Yesterday, William E. &a;ldquo;Bill&a;rdquo; McGlashan Jr., Founder and Managing Partner of the $13B TPG Growth fund, was indicted in the &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/us/college-admissions-cheating-scandal.html&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;elite college scandal&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;. He was particularly noted for his candor in recorded phone calls about his efforts to buy a slot at USC for his child for $250,000. The tactic, employed by ringleader William Singer, was to&l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.thisisinsider.com/college-admissions-scandal-bill-mcglashan-son-usc-2019-3&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g; &l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;photoshop McGlashan&a;rsquo;s son &l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;to look like a recruitment-worthy football kicker &a;mdash; despite the fact that his son&a;rsquo;s high school did not have a football team.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;McGlashan has recently gained notoriety as a proponent of impact investing. The Rise Fund, an initiative he co-founded under the TPG umbrella, has raised &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-03/tpg-seals-record-2-billion-for-rise-impact-fund-co-led-by-bono&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;over $2B&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g; for interventions seeking to address global poverty and climate change. &l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;The fact that McGlashan was a proponent of ethical investment has raised several deep questions for the sector, and for the general public. &l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Does exercising your unchecked privilege in the world make you less ethical - separate from whether or not your actions are illegal? Should promoters of ethical investments be held to a higher standard when it comes to their personal ethics? &l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Do you need to have impeccable ethics to be a good impact investor?&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Having spent 18 years in the impact investing sector, and interacted with all types of investors, I would actually argue that impact investors should not be held to any higher standards. Investors are, and should be, held to basic ethical standards, period. &l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;But these &a;ldquo;basic ethical standards&a;rdquo; must be considered far beyond simple legal standards.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;It&a;rsquo;s too easy for us to read this story and say, &a;ldquo;I would never do something that outrageous, or that illegal&a;rdquo; and write off the lessons for impact investment generally, or simply write off The Rise Fund and the many skilled, ethical professionals who also played critical roles in its formation. The opportunity here is for all of us in the field to think more critically about how we hold and share power. &l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Ethics is also about acknowledging the ways that those of us with privilege &a;mdash; whether it be due to social class, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, or the intersections between &a;mdash; can be complicit in exploiting others through fully legal means. As this&l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/opinion/editorials/college-bribery-scandal-admissions.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g; &l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;New York Times editorial&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g; thoughtfully pointed out, wealthy individuals have always legally worked the system when it comes to accessing elite education &a;mdash; Charles Kushner&l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/college-admissions-scam-rekindles-scrutiny-of-kushners-harvard-acceptance-dollar25m-pledge/ar-BBUHtgT?li=BBnb7Kz&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g; happening to make a $2.5M pledge to Harvard&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g; at the time of his son, Trump&a;rsquo;s son-in-law Jared Kushner&a;rsquo;s admission comes to mind. This recent case is simply a more extreme version of what we&a;rsquo;ve always known to be true, and what we &a;mdash; the generally economically privileged class of impact investors &a;mdash; tend to replicate when we make investment decisions with unchecked privilege.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;As I wrote in Real Impact, &a;ldquo;Replicating past mistakes is all too easy, because the conventional financial system automatically gives us the power &a;mdash; even encourages us &a;mdash; to make exactly the wrong decisions.&a;rdquo; It&a;rsquo;s perfectly acceptable, and definitely legal, to many impact investors to celebrate job creation at $7.25/hr while the owners of an enterprise make $50 off that labor &a;mdash; because that wage is &a;ldquo;good enough for those people.&a;rdquo; Is that ethical? It&a;rsquo;s considered reasonable to charge a woman 300% interest on a microloan, because her next best alternative was 1,000% from the local moneylender&a;hellip; and then&l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://hbr.org/2018/06/can-impact-investing-avoid-the-failures-of-microfinance&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g; &l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;make ~250x on the IPO of the microloan provider&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;. Is that ethical? In general, unbalanced relationships to capital and privilege often lead impact investors to take advantage of people in vulnerable situations, desperate for alternatives &a;ndash; in ways that are completely legal. They may even be thanked for doing so.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Conversely, doing the thing that&a;rsquo;s legal is not always synonymous with doing what&a;rsquo;s most ethical. Investing is a regulated industry, such that all advisors and managers are required to follow the law both in their personal and professional lives. If anything, the concern I have with the regulation of impact investment managers, and policing of our law-abidingness, is that it actually &l;/span&g;&l;i&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;limits&l;/span&g;&l;/i&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g; our activism and ability to engage in civil disobedience &a;mdash; as Martin Luther King said in&l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g; &l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Letters from a Birmingham Jail&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;, &a;ldquo;&l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.&a;rdquo; &l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;At times a little more ethics and a little less unjust law-abiding could actually be the better posture for impact investors to take. Civil disobedience can be critical as we seek to both support frontline communities who literally put their bodies on the line in public protests, and also push the boundaries of society when it comes to how we treat people and the planet.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;I would posit we ALL could be more ethical, and most critically, more effective impact investors by examining our individual relationships to privilege. What are your sources of privilege? How do they impact the relationships with those whom you hope to benefit? What are benefits you might be given by financial systems that you may want to renounce, in order to strengthen your social impact? What are ways you can check your privilege, particularly when it comes to crafting investments that add value rather than extracting it from communities?&l;/span&g;

&l;a href=&q;https://impactalpha.com/the-rise-funds-impact-multiple-of-money/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;McGlashen himself once noted,&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;&q;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Capitalism isn&a;rsquo;t immoral as much as amoral. It needs to be managed and directed in a way so we can all know what we&a;rsquo;re getting into when we build businesses and invest capital.&a;rdquo; I agree with him 100% &l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;on that point, and would challenge him &a;mdash; and all of us &a;mdash; &l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;to significantly raise the bar when it comes to ethics.&l;/span&g;&l;/p&g;

Costco Wholesale Co. (COST) Position Lifted by Cidel Asset Management Inc.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,980 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,985 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20,897.6% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,652,688 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 33,492,419 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 55,048.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,504,928 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,292,998,000 after purchasing an additional 5,494,946 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 258.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,125,078 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $499,138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,770 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,908,138 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,327,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 28,041,444 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,586,376,000 after purchasing an additional 919,651 shares during the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Get Costco Wholesale alerts:

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $238.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $243.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America set a $255.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank set a $225.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $242.56.

Shares of COST opened at $229.69 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $180.83 and a 52 week high of $245.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.35 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.94.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $35.40 billion for the quarter. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 24.54% and a net margin of 2.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 8th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 7th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.38%.

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,611 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.15, for a total transaction of $332,107.65. Following the transaction, the director now owns 51,389 shares in the company, valued at $10,593,842.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 739 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $151,495.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 52,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,711,045. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

ILLEGAL ACTIVITY WARNING: “Costco Wholesale Co. (COST) Position Lifted by Cidel Asset Management Inc.” was reported by Ticker Report and is the sole property of of Ticker Report. If you are viewing this piece of content on another website, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of U.S. and international copyright & trademark law. The correct version of this piece of content can be accessed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4215052/costco-wholesale-co-cost-position-lifted-by-cidel-asset-management-inc.html.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates membership warehouses. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories. The company provides dry and packaged foods, and groceries; snack foods, candies, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, and cleaning supplies; appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, and garden and patio products; meat, bakery, deli, and produces; and apparel and small appliances.

Read More: What is Compound Interest?

Facebook pulls, restores Warren anti-tech ads

Facebook removed and then reinstated several of Sen. Elizabeth Warren's ads the Democratic presidential candidate placed on the social network touting her plan to break up big tech companies.

The Massachusetts senator on March 8 issued a plan to curtail growing monopolies owned by Amazon, Google and Facebook because she says they stifle innovation and hurt small businesses.

Facebook pulled four of Warren's ads Monday because they violated the social network's policy against the misuse of Facebook's logo, the company said in a statement sent to USA TODAY. A video that appeared in the ads used the letter "f," to represent Facebook.

But Facebook reinstated the ads shortly thereafter. "In the interest of allowing robust debate, we are restoring the ads," the company said.

The majority of Warren's ads, nine others placed on Facebook, were not affected.

Warren on big tech:: Her plan includes reining in Amazon, Google and Facebook

Happy Birthday, web: On web's 30th birthday, its inventor outlines plan to combat hacking, hate speech

Facebook's action, first reported by Politico on Monday, led to Warren commenting on Twitter that the social network basically confirmed the point of her ads.

"Curious why I think FB has too much power?" she asked in her tweet. "Let's start with their ability to shut down a debate over whether FB has too much power."

Warren did thank the company for restoring her posts, but added, "I want a social media marketplace that isn't dominated by a single censor."

Curious why I think FB has too much power? Let's start with their ability to shut down a debate over whether FB has too much power. Thanks for restoring my posts. But I want a social media marketplace that isn't dominated by a single censor. #BreakUpBigTechhttps://t.co/UPS6dozOxn

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) March 11, 2019

In her plan, entitled "Here's How We Can Break Up Big Tech," Warren said she would support regulators breaking up "anti-competitive" mergers such as Facebook's acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as Amazon's deals for Whole Foods and Zappos, and Google's acquisitions of Waze, Nest and DoubleClick.

.oembed-frame { width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0; border: 0; }

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.

Why Applied Optoelectronics Shares Fell 22% in February

What happened

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) fell 22.3% in February, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The vertically integrated maker of fiber-optic networking products, ranging from laser chips and components to turnkey systems, bucked the positive trend of many other stocks in the same sector due to a couple of pessimistic analyst notes and an unwelcome convertible-debt offering.

So what

On Feb. 12, analyst firm Rosenblatt lowered its price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $15 to $10 per share while holding firm on its sell rating. Rosenblatt analyst Jun Zhang said that the company appears to be losing market share in the crucial Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) account.

Two weeks later, a disappointing fourth-quarter report fell short of analyst targets across the board, alongside pessimistic first-quarter guidance. The next day, a handful of formerly bullish analysts downgraded the stock to a hold. D.A. Davidson's Mark Kelleher thinks it will take "at least a couple of quarters" to overcome current roadblocks such as poor visibility in China and limited capacity on Applied Opto's manufacturing lines.

The month ended with another sharp drop when the company proposed a $70 million batch of fresh convertible debt, or $77 million if the underwriters make full use of their overallotment options.

Image source: Getty Images.

Now what

Applied Optoelectronics is doubling its debt load while knee-deep in soft sales and unpredictable short-term business prospects. It's no surprise to see the stock falling hard against this backdrop. The new debt offering, in particular, smacks of desperation.

I'm not ready to give up on my bullish CAPScall on this stock quite yet, but shareholders should keep a close eye on the Facebook situation above all else.

Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Own For 2019

tags:ARQL,ALNY,BIIB,AMGN,

Monsanto (MON) is a one of the leading companies in the agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology sectors and is at the forefront of genetically engineered seeds. Over the years, Monsanto has become the flagship of negative publicity and sentiment in the farming community. For shareholders, however, there lies some very good news in the company's imminent future. In the wake of the Monsanto's acquisition by Bayer, shareholders will end up realizing one of two possibilities: the deal goes through and the price differential with Bayer's offer is locked in, or the deal does not go through and shareholders get a solid cash boost. The only question is – why are you not aboard this train?

Financials

Over the past two years, revenue has decreased from a peak of $15.848 billion in 2014 to $13.502 billion in 2016. The company's fiscal second and third quarters ending in February and May 2017 have shown promise and a lot of commentary around the market suggests that the stock will outperform this year. Sales were higher 6.64% on average on a year on year basis. In the last few years, agricultural product companies and chemical companies have delved into each others product markets; hence, I believe it's appropriate to compare Monsanto with CF Industries (CF) and FMC Corporation (FMC). A Monsanto – Dow Chemical comparison has been done way too many times and at this point, it would add little value to the reader.

Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Own For 2019: ArQule Inc.(ARQL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on ArQule (ARQL)

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

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Arqule Inc  (NASDAQ:ARQL)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallMarch 07, 2019, 9:00 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) rose over 70% today after the company reported full-year 2018 operating results and provided full-year 2019 guidance. That said, investors are probably used to wild swings in the stock price by now. The development-stage pharma didn't turn in a particularly impressive performance last year. Management expects revenue to drop significantly in the year ahead as collaboration revenue dries up, which will also widen operating losses.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Shares of ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQL) were down 5.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $4.71 and last traded at $4.73. Approximately 3,358,864 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 289% from the average daily volume of 863,008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.00.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  ValuEngine downgraded shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

  Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ARQL. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $2.75 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 8th. B. Riley set a $4.00 target price on shares of ArQule and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 26th. Roth Capital raised their target price on shares of ArQule from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 17th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, May 19th. Finally, Leerink Swann upgraded shares of ArQule from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $5.35.

Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Own For 2019: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Cory Renauer]

  Staying on top of every new drugmaker takes a lot more time than you probably have. That said, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) shareholders want to keep their eyes on young Eidos and its lead candidate. Here's why.

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) released first-quarter results last week, but all eyes were looking forward as the company waits for a potential approval of its hereditary TTR amyloidosis (ATTR) drug, patisiran.

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) were up 19% at 12:04 p.m. EDT on Monday after rival Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) released data for its transthyretin amyloid (ATTR) drug tafamidis at the ESC Congress 2018, which were also published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Earlier this month, Alnylam got its ATTR drug, Onpattro, approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) and Akcea Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKCA), which are jointly developing another ATTR drug, Tegsedi, are up 10% and 2.6% respectively.

• [By Cory Renauer]

  Anyone who likes a good underdog story will want to keep their eye on Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY) and GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:GWPH) through this year and next as they launch their first products in the U.S. Smaller biotechs have a terrible track record when it comes to launching new drugs on their own, but most analysts expect these companies to buck the trend and propel their recently approved drugs to blockbuster status within a few years.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) was downgraded by investment analysts at BidaskClub from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.41) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $21.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.23 million. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 36.81% and a negative net margin of 565.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.25) earnings per share. equities analysts anticipate that Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Own For 2019: Biogen Idec Inc(BIIB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  Short interest in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) increased to 3.50 million shares from the previous 3.16 million. The stock recently traded at $262.15, within a 52-week range of $244.28 to $370.57.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) were flat despite dismal news out of China. This morning, the company reported a 38% slump in Chinese sales during the month of June. It was a terrible first six months for the iconic vehicle manufacturer. The company said that its Chinese operations saw a 25% slide in sales over the first half of the year. That was the largest six-month decline since launching its Chinese operations in 2001. Shares of Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) are off more than 1% after California regulators announced a new probe into the company. The probe was announced following a safety complaint filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The agency has not provided any details on the case. Shares of Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) popped more than 14% after the company announced positive results from a trial for an Alzheimer's drug. The phase 2 study examined BAN2401, an anti-amyloid beta protofibril antibody. It was tested on 856 patients with early stages of Alzheimer's disease. In a research note, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) announced that the results would be positive for Biogen's drug pipeline. Look for an earnings report Friday from InnerWorkings Inc. (Nasdaq: INWK). Wall Street projects that the company will report earnings per share of $0.09 on top of $284.9 million in revenue.

  Follow Money Morning on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

• [By Brian Feroldi]

  Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) have a lot in common. They are both hugely successful biotech giants that were founded decades ago. They each have produced stellar returns for their long-term shareholders and crank out copious amounts of cash flow each year.

• [By Shannon Jones]

  In this week's episode of Industry Focus: Healthcare, host Michael Douglass and Motley Fool contributor Shannon Jones look at what went wrong with Incyte's Epacadostat, where the company can go from here, and what this unfortunately means for the immuno-oncology sector on the whole. Then, in more pleasant news, the hosts dive into Novartis' (NYSE:NVS) newest acquisition of gene therapy company AveXis. Find out what this means for Novartis, why Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) might be getting the stink eye from their investors right about now, whether or not Novartis overpaid to tuck this company under their belt, and more.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Short interest in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) decreased slightly to 3.09 million shares from the previous 3.15 million. The stock recently traded at $344.57, within a 52-week range of $249.17 to $388.67.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Short interest in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) decreased to 3.45 million shares from the previous 3.50 million. The stock recently traded at $274.50, within a 52-week range of $244.28 to $370.57.

Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Own For 2019: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Hammer Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 16,988 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,136,000. Amgen makes up 2.7% of Hammer Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) saw its short interest fall to 9.58 million shares from the previous level of 10.61 million. Shares were last seen trading at $193.15, in a 52-week trading range of $163.31 to $201.23.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,120,853 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,484 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $391,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) is expected to release its most recent quarterly results on Thursday. The consensus forecast calls for $3.54 in EPS and $5.74 billion in revenue for the second quarter. Shares traded on Friday's close at $190.60. The consensus price target is $196.10, and the 52-week range is $163.31 to $201.23.

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF (VGIT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF (NASDAQ:VGIT) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 2,485,913 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 216% from the previous session’s volume of 787,105 shares.The stock last traded at $63.69 and had previously closed at $63.65.

Get Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF alerts:

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.119 dividend. This represents a $1.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Lake Point Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, We Are One Seven LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000.

COPYRIGHT VIOLATION WARNING: This article was first published by Ticker Report and is the sole property of of Ticker Report. If you are reading this article on another site, it was stolen and reposted in violation of U.S. and international trademark and copyright legislation. The legal version of this article can be viewed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4207534/vanguard-intermediate-term-government-bond-etf-vgit-sees-unusually-high-trading-volume.html.

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF Company Profile (NASDAQ:VGIT)

Vanguard Intermediate Term Government Bond ETF (the Fund) seeks to track the performance of a market-weighted government bond index with an intermediate-term, dollar-weighted average maturity. The Fund employs a passive management or indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Barclays Capital U.S.

Further Reading: Does the Step Transaction Doctrine Affect a Backdoor Roth IRA?

Everspin Technologies (MRAM) to Release Earnings on Thursday

Everspin Technologies (NASDAQ:MRAM) is scheduled to be releasing its earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, March 14th. Analysts expect Everspin Technologies to post earnings of ($0.23) per share for the quarter.

MRAM stock opened at $8.47 on Thursday. Everspin Technologies has a one year low of $5.30 and a one year high of $11.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.40 million, a PE ratio of -5.01 and a beta of 2.35. The company has a quick ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Get Everspin Technologies alerts:

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Everspin Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, February 20th. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Everspin Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Everspin Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.83.

WARNING: “Everspin Technologies (MRAM) to Release Earnings on Thursday” was first published by Ticker Report and is the property of of Ticker Report. If you are accessing this report on another website, it was illegally copied and republished in violation of US & international copyright & trademark legislation. The correct version of this report can be accessed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4202356/everspin-technologies-mram-to-release-earnings-on-thursday.html.

Everspin Technologies Company Profile

Everspin Technologies, Inc manufactures and sells magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) products to customers in the United States and internationally. It offers Toggle MRAM, spin-transfer torque MRAM, embedded MRAM, magnetic sensor, and aerospace and satellite electronic systems. The company provides its products for applications, including industrial, automotive, transportation, and enterprise storage markets.

Featured Article: How interest rates affect municipal bond prices

Best Insurance Stocks To Own For 2019

tags:ATO,HOMB,LCI, &l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image shutterstock wp-image-617412791 size-large&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/617412791/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;722&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; We need to put our money where our mouths are. Shutterstock.

Throughout our lives we&s;ve heard that as a society we have great respect for our older citizens. After all, businesses give discounts to seniors and we&a;rsquo;ve set up great government programs to help those in need as they age. Medicare is terrific, providing insurance for those who need health care. And Social Security has helped millions and millions of Americans sustain themselves after their work years are no longer possible, or as a supplement to savings. Sure, there are problems with both of those programs. But this blog is not about those two programs, per se. It&a;rsquo;s about looking into the future and deciding whether we want to put our money where our mouths are.

First let me be clear: the money we contribute to Social Security and Medicare through our FICA tax is NOT our money, any more so than the money we collect in taxes to spend on defending our nation. The money we contribute toward Medicare and Social Security is money used to help the older generation,&a;nbsp; our parents and grandparents. We&a;rsquo;ve got to stop thinking as if the money taken our of our paycheck is ours.

Best Insurance Stocks To Own For 2019: Atmos Energy Corporation(ATO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Natixis lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 577.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 176,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 150,051 shares during the quarter. Natixis owned about 0.16% of Atmos Energy worth $15,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) by 11.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 276,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,763 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.25% of Atmos Energy worth $23,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  GSA Capital Partners LLP trimmed its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 21.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,824 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Best Insurance Stocks To Own For 2019: Home BancShares, Inc.(HOMB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Billy Duberstein]

  Home BancShares (NASDAQ:HOMB) is an Arkansas-based bank run by founder and chairman Johnny Allison. Founded in 1999, the company has grown, mostly via 23 acquisitions, to $15 billion in assets, with major operations in Arkansas, Florida, and Alabama, along with a branch New York City.

• [By Max Byerly]

  BidaskClub cut shares of Home BancShares (NASDAQ:HOMB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA cut its stake in Home Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:HOMB) by 61.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 51,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 81,923 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA’s holdings in Home Bancshares were worth $1,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ: HOMB) and Home Bancshares (NASDAQ:HOMB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Home Bancshares (HOMB)

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

Best Insurance Stocks To Own For 2019: Lannett Co Inc(LCI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Lannett (LCI)

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

• [By Steve Symington]

  But several individual stocks endured a more difficult session, including Lannett Company (NYSE:LCI) and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA). Read on to learn what happened.

• [By ]

  With luck, we'll one day be able to add these stocks to our long list of homeruns. Over the past three years, my subscribers and I have seen gains like 181% on Lannett (NYSE: LCI), 135% on Westmoreland Coal (Nasdaq: WLB), and a striking 242% on Bitauto (NYSE: BITA). Each time, the Maximum Profit system has told us exactly when to buy and when to sell, while we just sit back and count the returns. 

• [By ]

  The Best Way To Navigate An Uncertain Market
  As I've discussed before, part of the beauty of the Maximum Profit system is its ability to help keep emotions at bay. Regardless of what the future might have in store, the system will help us navigate whatever the market throws at us. That's how, over the past three years, my subscribers and I have seen gains like 181% on Lannett (NYSE: LCI), 135% on Westmoreland Coal (Nasdaq: WLB), and 242% from Bitauto (NYSE: BITA). Each time, the Maximum Profit system has told us exactly when to buy and when to sell, while we just sit back and count the returns.

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Shares of Lannett Company (NYSE:LCI) fell nearly 15% today and have now dropped 65% in the last five days. Earlier this week the company announced it will soon lose its single most important supply contract, an agreement with Jerome Stevens Pharmaceuticals (JSP) for a basket of pharmaceutical ingredients that generated $253 million in net product sales in fiscal 2018. The contract will expire in March 2019. 

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In 2019

tags:ELY,CMP,HTY,CSTM,INOD,INSM,PRA,AAT,CIX,ROX,

Is investing in the stock market the same as gambling? Are we betting the odds when we purchase a piece of a company, playing a version of capitalist casino, rolling the proverbial dice?

It really all depends on your mindset about investing and your approach to making decisions. In his famous book The Intelligent Investor, the late Benjamin Graham wrote, "An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis promises safety of principal and an adequate return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative."

But there are investing lessons to be gleaned from the decision-making strategies used in gambling, says legendary poker player Annie Duke in her new book, Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts. In a recent podcast interview with Bloomberg, Duke—who retired from poker in 2012—explains how "getting used to dealing with noisy data" can serve you well in both.

Duke studied cognitive science and was pursuing a doctorate before becoming a professional poker player in 1994. Her academic background, she said in the Bloomberg interview, probably gave her an edge in poker because cognitive science studies "how people think, learn and how they are biased in how they process information." But Duke says that her potential as a card player probably developed well before college, at the family dinner table. Those discussions, Duke recalls, were "focused on getting to the truth rather than making everyone feel good about themselves," an environment that made her adept at hearing dissenting points of view. "It's incredibly good training for poker," Duke argues, and a great foundation for all types of decision-making.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In 2019: Callaway Golf Company(ELY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Elysian (CURRENCY:ELY) traded up 3.6% against the dollar during the one day period ending at 15:00 PM ET on August 22nd. During the last week, Elysian has traded up 1.6% against the dollar. Elysian has a market capitalization of $666,931.00 and $276,828.00 worth of Elysian was traded on exchanges in the last day. One Elysian token can now be purchased for about $0.0083 or 0.00000129 BTC on major exchanges including Hotbit, BitForex, Qryptos and CoinExchange.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Elysian (CURRENCY:ELY) traded down 2.1% against the dollar during the one day period ending at 17:00 PM E.T. on September 24th. Over the last seven days, Elysian has traded up 35.1% against the dollar. One Elysian token can currently be purchased for about $0.0046 or 0.00000069 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges including Hotbit, Stocks.Exchange, YoBit and Mercatox. Elysian has a market capitalization of $368,237.00 and approximately $225,690.00 worth of Elysian was traded on exchanges in the last day.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Granite Springs Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Callaway Golf (NYSE:ELY) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 72,500 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Granite Springs Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Callaway Golf were worth $1,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In 2019: Compass Minerals Intl Inc(CMP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Several brokerages have weighed in on CMP. Zacks Investment Research raised Compass Minerals International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. ValuEngine cut Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 2nd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group raised Compass Minerals International from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.34.

  WARNING: “Compass Minerals International, Inc. (CMP) Shares Sold by Kovack Advisors Inc.” was first reported by Ticker Report and is owned by of Ticker Report. If you are accessing this article on another website, it was copied illegally and reposted in violation of United States and international copyright and trademark law. The original version of this article can be viewed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4151975/compass-minerals-international-inc-cmp-shares-sold-by-kovack-advisors-inc.html.

  About Compass Minerals International

• [By Motley Fool Transcription]

  Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Feb. 12, 2019, 10:00 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Reuben Gregg Brewer]

  Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) is often listed as a miner, but the salt and fertilizer it produces are a bit different than what most investors think of when they hear the word "miner." That makes Compass something of an odd duck and results in it being off of most investors' radar screens. A tough 2017 is another net negative. That's a shame, since it currently sports a yield of more than 4.4%, and the business outlook is improving. Here's what investors are missing out on with this high-yield stock.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Few people look forward to winter more than investors in seasonal businesses that do a lot of business during the cold-weather months, and Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) falls squarely into that category. With so much of its business coming from state and municipal governments treating roads and other surfaces with salt and anti-icing products, Compass often sees a lot of its success come during this part of the year.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In 2019: John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund(HTY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  John Hancock Tax-Advntgd Glbl SH Yld Fd (NYSE:HTY) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 23rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.16 per share on Friday, September 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 13th.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In 2019: Constellium N.V.(CSTM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  ValuEngine cut shares of Constellium (NYSE:CSTM) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

  Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $15.00 price target on shares of Constellium and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Constellium from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Seaport Global Securities raised shares of Constellium from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Friday, April 27th. Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Constellium in a research note on Tuesday, March 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Constellium from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Constellium currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $16.20.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Constellium (CSTM)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Constellium NV (NYSE:CSTM) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 522,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,954 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC owned approximately 0.50% of Constellium worth $5,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Deutsche Bank set a $15.00 price objective on Constellium (NYSE:CSTM) in a research note published on Tuesday morning. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In 2019: Innodata Inc.(INOD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Luzich Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Innodata Inc (NASDAQ:INOD) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,316,550 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,944 shares during the period. Innodata accounts for approximately 1.5% of Luzich Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Luzich Partners LLC owned about 5.09% of Innodata worth $1,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Media coverage about Innodata (NASDAQ:INOD) has trended somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. The research firm scores the sentiment of press coverage by analyzing more than twenty million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Innodata earned a media sentiment score of 0.10 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news articles about the technology company an impact score of 47.3485759085159 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the near future.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Innodata (NASDAQ:INOD) will be releasing its Q1 2018 earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, May 8th.

  Innodata (NASDAQ:INOD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 8th. The technology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $15.66 million for the quarter. Innodata had a negative return on equity of 10.94% and a negative net margin of 8.30%.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In 2019: Insmed, Inc.(INSM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ: INSM) shares were also up, gaining 10 percent to $25.72. Credit Suisse upgraded Insmed from Neutral to Outperform.

  Equities Trading DOWN

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Insmed Inc  (NASDAQ:INSM)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 22, 2019, 9:30 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ:INSM) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.57.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In 2019: ProAssurance Corporation(PRA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  ProAssurance Co. (NYSE:PRA) – Equities research analysts at SunTrust Banks lowered their Q4 2018 earnings estimates for ProAssurance in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, February 5th. SunTrust Banks analyst M. Hughes now expects that the insurance provider will earn $0.17 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.33. SunTrust Banks has a “Hold” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on ProAssurance (PRA)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  ProChain (CURRENCY:PRA) traded 16.3% higher against the U.S. dollar during the 1 day period ending at 13:00 PM Eastern on September 3rd. During the last seven days, ProChain has traded 37.6% higher against the U.S. dollar. ProChain has a total market cap of $6.98 million and approximately $4.72 million worth of ProChain was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One ProChain token can now be bought for about $0.14 or 0.00001940 BTC on exchanges including FCoin, Bit-Z, OKEx and Bibox.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  ProChain (CURRENCY:PRA) traded up 1.1% against the US dollar during the 1 day period ending at 12:00 PM ET on September 28th. ProChain has a total market cap of $5.06 million and $110,631.00 worth of ProChain was traded on exchanges in the last day. In the last seven days, ProChain has traded down 20% against the US dollar. One ProChain token can now be bought for approximately $0.10 or 0.00001535 BTC on popular exchanges including Bit-Z, FCoin, OKEx and Bibox.

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  ProAssurance Corp  (NYSE:PRA)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 22, 2019, 9:30 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on ProAssurance (PRA)

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

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In 2019: American Assets Trust, Inc.(AAT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Shares of American Assets Trust, Inc (NYSE:AAT) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.75.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on American Assets Trust (AAT)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Assets Trust, Inc (NYSE:AAT) by 82.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,526 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,397 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in American Assets Trust were worth $251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,890 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of American Assets Trust worth $1,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In 2019: CompX International Inc.(CIX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  CI Financial (TSE:CIX) had its price objective decreased by analysts at TD Securities from C$25.00 to C$24.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday. TD Securities’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.36% from the stock’s previous close.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  CI Financial (TSE:CIX) had its price objective decreased by analysts at TD Securities from C$25.00 to C$24.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday. TD Securities’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.36% from the stock’s previous close.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Shares of CI Financial Corp (TSE:CIX) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$25.75.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  CI Financial (TSE:CIX) will issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, May 10th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of C$0.63 per share for the quarter.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In 2019: Castle Brands, Inc.(ROX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Castle Brands (NYSEAMERICAN:ROX) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,422,984 shares, a decrease of 5.8% from the April 30th total of 6,815,151 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 169,266 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 37.9 days. Currently, 7.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.