Gri-spb/iStock via Getty Images Shares of Republic First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FRBK) have soared almost 33% since early trading on July 24. Are traders being rational or is this typical meme penny stock trading? Most likely a combination of both. FRBK is a “lottery ticket” trade that could pay off nicely if interest rates decline significantly but…
rvlsoft The Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSEARCA:VDC) is a relatively cost-efficient fund (a 0.10% expense fee) that has a strong long-term performance track-record (see chart below) and has a relatively defensively positioned portfolio in an arguably expensive market. That being the case, the VDC ETF is a perfect “SWAN” fund for Nervous…
Alisa Korolevskaya/iStock via Getty Images SalMar (OTCPK:SALRF, OTCPK:SALRY) is a company that has acted as a gold standard in terms of aquaculture returns on assets. The problem is that the industry in Norway has been slammed, where taxes will be levied from aquaculture on Norwegian shores. SalMar has some non-Norwegian businesses in Iceland and Scotland,…
Torsten Asmus/iStock via Getty Images Dear Baron New Asia Fund Shareholder: Performance Baron New Asia Fund® (MUTF:BNAFX, MUTF:BNAIX, MUTF:BNAUX) (the Fund) gained 2.09% (Institutional Shares) during the second quarter of 2023, while its primary benchmark index, the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index, declined 1.26%. The MSCI AC Asia ex Japan IMI Growth Index declined…
Seremin Zepp Health (NYSE:ZEPP) today is no longer the company it used to be. As Huami, it was heavily reliant on its strategic partner Xiaomi which in 2020 brought close to 70% of revenue. In just a couple of years, this has changed dramatically in favor of Zepp’s own brands which now constitute 60% of…
Justin Sullivan Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) is successfully harnessing the momentum of the rapidly growing cloud computing market. Its exceptional services and the high demand in this sector are fueling its prospects for a promising market forecast. Aided by the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Oracle is carving out a prominent position in this rapidly…
studiostockart This is an update to our series of articles started in 2012 assessing market valuation and estimating forward stock market returns. The most recent previous update was April 2023. The December 2021 update concluded that the then prevailing condition of overvaluation suggested zero returns from stocks to the end of 2028 and the danger…
Justin Sullivan SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) will report fiscal second-quarter earnings before the market opening bell on Monday. Going by SOFI stock reaction to quarterly earnings in the last few quarters, it is reasonable to expect a major move on July 31. In my opinion, the magnitude of the move will largely be determined by the…
KE ZHUANG Regular readers know that I am bullish on the long-term prospects of uranium, as I believe nuclear energy continues to play an essential role in global energy security and the transition to low-carbon energy sources. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine placed a spotlight on the weakness in Europe’s reliance on Russian natural gas for…
24K-Production Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) is a mortgage REIT, which means that it’s essentially a capital provider for real estate projects. The way it works is as follows. GPMT provides a loan a to an office or multifamily property and the loan is secured by that property. GPMT collects interest on the loan and…
Wolterk A year ago I concluded that General Mills (NYSE:GIS) was milling along, after it optimized its portfolio in recent years, creating a stable consumer staple business with slightly improved growth prospects. This created a fair, but not necessarily very attractive situation given the (interest) rate environment. While growth turned out to be better than…
Robert Way The electric vehicle industry is showing promising signs of improving investor sentiment after XPeng (NYSE:XPEV) announced that it received a $700M investment from German auto company Volkswagen (OTCPK:VWAGY) (OTCPK:VLKAF) (OTCPK:VWAPY). In a strategic partnership, XPeng and Volkswagen agreed to jointly develop two battery electric vehicles under the Volkswagen brand and the deal could…
David Becker As with any competitor, a quarterly earnings report from a peer can provide great insight into the market. For Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), the Q2’23 earnings report from Intel (INTC) provides great views on the surging demand for AI chips and a rebound in PC demand crucial for AMD. My investment thesis remains…
Nordex SE (OTCPK:NRDXF) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call July 27, 2023 8:00 AM ET Company Participants Felix Zander – Investor Relations Jose Luis Blanco – Chief Executive Officer Patxi Landa – Chief Scientific Officer Ilya Hartmann – Chief Financial Officer Conference Call Participants Vivek Midha – Citi John Kim – Deutsche Bank Constantin Hesse –…
Accor SA (OTCPK:ACRFF) H1 2023 Results Earnings Conference Call July 30, 2023 2:30 AM ET Company Participants Martine Gerow – Group Chief Finance Officer Conference Call Participants Vicki Stern – Barclays Capital Richard Clarke – Bernstein Research Jaina Mistry – Jefferies Leo Carrington – Citigroup Jarrod Castle – UBS Jaafar Mestari – Exane BNP Paribas…
First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call July 27, 2023 9:00 AM ET Company Participants Patrick Ryan – President & Chief Executive Officer Andrew Hibshman – Chief Financial Officer Darleen Gillespie – Chief Retail Bank Officer Peter Cahill – Chief Lending Officer Conference Call Participants Nick Cucharale – Hovde Group Manuel Navas – D.A….
Jose Miguel Sanchez/iStock via Getty Images Merlin Properties (OTCPK:MRPRF) has a solid portfolio of assets, despite the exposure to office. The story here is that the locations have some downside protection in the worst case scenario for offices, but it seems that Europe is going to be less resistant to the return to the office…
Toromont Industries Ltd. (OTCPK:TMTNF) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call July 27, 2023 8:00 AM ET Company Participants Michael McMillan – Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Scott Medhurst – President & Chief Executive Officer Conference Call Participants Cherilyn Radbourne – TD Cowen Michael Doumet – Scotiabank Steven Hansen – Raymond James Jacob Bout –…
vivalapenler Social media company Snap (NYSE:SNAP) reported better than expected second quarter earnings last week, yet shares crashed on concerns over the company’s revenue guidance for the third-quarter. Shares of Snap have declined more than 90% from its peak and fell 14% after the social media company submitted its second-quarter earnings sheet, but I believe…
Justin Sullivan Introduction As a dividend growth investor, I seek new investment opportunities in income-producing assets. I often add to my existing positions when I find them attractive. I also use market volatility to my advantage by starting new positions to diversify my holdings and increase my dividend income for less capital. A year ago,…
ATN International, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATNI) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call July 27, 2023 10:00 AM ET Company Participants Justin Benincasa – Chief Financial Officer Michael Prior – President, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman Brad Martin – Chief Operating Officer Conference Call Participants Ric Prentiss – Raymond James Operator Good day and thank you for standing by….
MERLIN Properties SOCIMI, S.A. (OTCPK:MRPRF) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call July 28, 2023 9:00 AM ET Company Participants Ines Arellano – Investor Relations Ismael Clemente – Chief Executive Officer Miguel Ollero – Chief Operating Officer Conference Call Participants Ignacio Dominguez – JB Capital Ignacio Carvajal – Cartesio Florent Laroche – ODDO Fernando Abril-Martorell – Alantra…
Justin Sullivan Investment Thesis Roku (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:ROKU) achieved a double-digit growth for the first time since 3Q FY2022, primarily driven by a gradual rebound in overall ad spending. We also saw both Google (GOOG) and META (META) reported better-than-expected ad revenue in their recent earnings, leading to an increase in their stock prices in the…
deliormanli/iStock via Getty Images Dividend-growth investing is an excellent time-tested way to build capital steadily over time. However, there are nuances on how to implement the method, what echelon to target, and what ingredients to consider in order to minimize losses in case a dividend thesis does not live up to expectations, etc. On Seeking…
Siltronic AG (OTCPK:SSLLF) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call July 27, 2023 4:00 AM ET Company Participants Verena Stutze – Head of Investor Relations and Communications Michael Heckmeier – Chief Executive Officer Claudia Schmitt – Chief Financial Officer Conference Call Participants Adam Angelov – Bank of America Constantin Hesse – Jeffries Gustav Froberg – Berenberg Robert…
Univest Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UVSP) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call July 27, 2023 9:00 AM ET Corporate Participants Jeff Schweitzer – President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Keim – Chief Operating Officer and President, Univest Bank & Trust Brian Richardson – Chief Financial Officer Conference Call Participants Frank Schiraldi – Piper Sandler Michael Perito – KBW…
Arcadis NV (OTCPK:ARCVF) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call July 27, 2023 8:00 AM ET Company Participants Christine Disch – Investor Relations Alan Brookes – Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Virginie Duperat – Chief Financial Officer Conference Call Participants Hans Pluijgers – Kepler Cheuvreux Martijn den Drijver – ABN AMRO Bank Anthony Manning – Bank of…
Iberdrola, S.A. (OTCPK:IBDSF) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call July 27, 2023 3:30 AM ET Company Participants Ignacio Arambarri – Investor Relations Ignacio Galan – Executive Chairman Pepe Sainz – Chief Financial Officer Armando Martinez – Chief Executive Officer Gerardo Calatrava – General Secretary Conference Call Participants Ignacio Arambarri [Foreign Language] Good morning, ladies and gentlemen….
Olga Kaya/iStock via Getty Images Introduction All eyes in the banking sector are obviously on the net interest income performance of the smaller banks. And while generally a lower net interest margin and net interest income is expected across the board, it always is interesting to see who was able to keep the damage limited….
Phiromya Intawongpan Dear Baron Discovery Fund Shareholder: Performance Baron Discovery Fund Retail Shares1,2 Baron Discovery Fund Institutional Shares1,2 Russell 2000 Growth Index1 S&P 500 Index1 Three Months3 3.47% 3.58% 7.05% 8.74% Six Months3 15.02% 15.19% 13.55% 16.89% One Year 15.17% 15.44% 18.53% 19.59% Three Years 5.07% 5.35% 6.10% 14.60% Five Years 7.30% 7.58% 4.22% 12.31%…
Ildo Frazao This article series aims at evaluating ETFs (exchange-traded funds) regarding past performance and portfolio metrics. Reviews with updated data are posted when necessary. DGS strategy and portfolio WisdomTree Emerging Markets SmallCap Dividend Fund (NYSEARCA:DGS) started investing operations on 10/30/2007 and tracks the WisdomTree Emerging Markets SmallCap Dividend Index. It has 960 holdings, a…
underworld111/iStock via Getty Images I wrote about Verano Holdings (OTCQX:VRNOF) in mid-March and explained that it is facing a challenge with its projected margins. I said then that I do like the company, but I wasn’t holding it in my model portfolios. I still don’t, though the stock has declined a bit since that piece….
Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript July 28, 2023 3:00 AM ET Company Participants Ricardo Martinez – Investor Relations Director Enrique Beltranena – President and Chief Executive Officer Holger Blankenstein – Airline Executive Vice President Jaime Pous – Chief Financial Officer Conference Call Participants Stephen Trent –…
ZE14361/iStock via Getty Images If you’re looking for a high-yield investment that profits from rising interest rates, the business development company sub sector has benefited greatly from higher rates in this new era. BDCs lend to privately-held companies, most of whom have co-sponsors with much larger stakes in these companies. Hence, there’s more security for…
Falcor The Q2 Earnings Season for the Gold Miners Index (GDX) began last week and while it’s been a rocky start, Alamos Gold (NYSE:AGI) was certainly one exception. Not only did the mid-tier producer post multiple records, but it’s heading into H2 well positioned to deliver at or above its guidance midpoint helped by a…
Love portrait and love the world Hotel REITs took a ferocious beating during the pandemic, but they are making a steady comeback. As of this writing, Hotel REITs are up 4.62% in 2023, good for a middle-of-the-pack 9th-place standing among REIT sectors, and just slightly off the 4.90% pace set by the average REIT. Meanwhile,…
This is an opinion editorial by Sydney Bright, a software developer with a master’s degree in biomedical engineering. Bitcoin is not merely a medium of exchange. That is not to say that bitcoin is not money. Bitcoin is undoubtedly money. However, to think it is merely a technological innovation that transcends the archaic systems of…
David Gyung/iStock via Getty Images Investment Outline The share price for AMN Healthcare Services Inc (NYSE:AMN) has been a rollercoaster the last 12 months and now sits around 20% higher than the lows it had back in early April this year. But is the company worth buying into right now? Well, the market seems conflicted…
Banco de Sabadell, S.A. (OTCPK:BNDSF) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call July 30, 2023 3:00 PM ET Company Participants Cesar Gonzalez-Bueno – Chief Executive Officer Leopoldo Alvear – Chief Financial Officer Gerardo Artiach Morenes – Investor Relations Conference Call Participants Maksym Mishyn – JB Capital Ignacio Ulargui – BNP Paribas Carlos Cobo – Société Générale Sofie…
MarsYu/iStock via Getty Images Dear Baron Opportunity Fund Shareholder: Performance During the second quarter, Baron Opportunity Fund® (the Fund) climbed 16.31% (Institutional Shares), outperforming the broader market, including the Russell 3000 Growth Index, which rose 12.47%, and the S&P 500 Index, which gained 8.74%. For the year-to-date and trailing 12-month periods, the Fund is up…
Michael M. Santiago Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) saw its share price suffer after a major scandal, where the company opened accounts for users without their authorization. The company saw its size limited by the Fed, a limit that remains in place. The company has worked to comprehensively fix its problems, but in the meantime, its share…
cemagraphics As I write this letter, record-breaking heat is sweeping the Northern hemisphere. Over the past year, there has also been record-breaking precipitation, with heavy snowfall this past winter in California and the Rockies and recent flooding in the Northeast and many parts of Europe. These extreme and rapid weather swings are not dissimilar to…
Chainarong Prasertthai Performance Contrary to the expectations of almost all market observers earlier this year, U.S. equities rallied for a second consecutive quarter. Few of the events that pundits fretted about proved to be as dire as feared. Inflation continued to ease, leading the Federal Reserve to suspend its prolonged trajectory of interest rate hikes,…
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Despite a slightly underwhelming Q2 2023, Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) continues its climb from its early October low: in about 20 days the stock has climbed 15 percent. The market had probably already discounted the difficulties of this quarterly even before it came out, and is now already looking ahead to…
MadamLead/iStock via Getty Images DEAR BARON EMERGING MARKETS FUND SHAREHOLDER: PERFORMANCE Baron Emerging Markets Fund® (the Fund) gained 3.81% (Institutional Shares) during the second quarter of 2023, while its primary benchmark index, the MSCI EM Index, returned 0.90%. The MSCI EM IMI Growth Index gained 0.23% for the quarter. The Fund outperformed both the primary…
NickyLloyd Amid buoyant markets, it’s a great time for investors to step back and critically re-assess their portfolios to emphasize picking stocks that can outperform the broader indices throughout the rest of the year. And though tech has largely returned to center stage this year powered by enthusiasm for generative AI, many of these stocks…
Marilyn Nieves Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) turned in another strong quarter of leasing with positive cash spreads of 14%. They also made significant progress in the renewal of their largest tenant, U.S. Bank. But the real story is their recent refinancing activity and the subsequent decrease in the quarterly dividend. Some may relish in…
Nikada By Albert Grosman & Brian Lund Investor Optimism Masks Risks of Higher Rates Market Overview Whatever happened to “Don’t fight the Fed?” U.S. equity markets rose across the board in the second quarter, with the Russell 2000 Index up 5.21%, the Russell 1000 Index up 8.58% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite up over 13%….
gorodenkoff A Tough Quarter Advantest (OTCPK:ATEYY) had a horrible June 2023 quarter, with sales dropping 26% and net income plummeting 75%. This was expected and the company had guided as much, warning of industry wide slowdowns and inventory reductions after the massive growth of three years, which had pulled demand forward. The biggest damage came…
ERAMET S.A. (OTCPK:ERMAF) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call July 27, 2023 4:30 AM ET Company Participants Christel Bories – Chair & CEO Nicolas Carre – CFO Conference Call Participants Nicolas Montel – Portzamparc Julien Onillon – Stifel Maxime Kogge – ODDO BHF Christel Bories Good morning, everyone. And thank you for being with us for…