Author Archives: Scalper1

Yahoo Stock Up Despite Loss Of AT&T Contract; Verizon Near?

Yahoo ( YHOO ) stock rose early Thursday, despite the loss of an AT&T ( T ) contract one analyst valued at $100 million in revenue. AT&T is shifting Web and mobile portals hosted by Yahoo to a new provider, Synacor ( SYNC ), the Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday. AT&T archrival  Verzion Communications ( VZ ) continues to be viewed by most observers as the front-runner to acquire all or part of Yahoo, which is weighing a number of buyout offers. Yahoo reportedly closed preliminary bidding on April 18. Yahoo is said to be leaning toward a cash deal , which could work in Verizon’s favor, some analysts say. Private equity firm TPG Capital is among others that reportedly have submitted a bid. Verizon last year bought AOL for $4.4 billion. Yet, AT&T’s decision to shift Web properties away from Yahoo to Synacor might be unrelated to Yahoo’s expected sale, some observers say. Tiny Synacor’s shares more than doubled on the news, albeit merely to 3.30. Yahoo stock was up more than 3% in early trading in the stock market today , near 37.50. AT&T stock was flat Thursday morning.

Best And Worst Q2’16: Consumer Staples ETFs, Mutual Funds And Key Holdings

The Consumer Staples sector ranks third out of the ten sectors as detailed in our Q2’16 Sector Ratings for ETFs and Mutual Funds report. Last quarter , the Consumer Staples sector ranked first. It gets our Neutral rating, which is based on aggregation of ratings of nine ETFs and 15 mutual funds in the Consumer Staples sector. See a recap of our Q1’16 Sector Ratings here . Figure 1 ranks from best to worst all nine Consumer Staples ETFs and Figure 2 shows the five best and worst rated Consumer Staples mutual funds. Not all Consumer Staples sector ETFs and mutual funds are created the same. The number of holdings varies widely (from 16 to 115). This variation creates drastically different investment implications and, therefore, ratings. Investors seeking exposure to the Consumer Staples sector should buy one of the Attractive-or-better rated ETFs or mutual funds from Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1: ETFs with the Best & Worst Ratings – Top 5 Click to enlarge * Best ETFs exclude ETFs with TNAs less than $100 million for inadequate liquidity. Sources: New Constructs, LLC and company filings Figure 2: Mutual Funds with the Best & Worst Ratings – Top 5 Click to enlarge * Best mutual funds exclude funds with TNAs less than $100 million for inadequate liquidity. Sources: New Constructs, LLC and company filings Fidelity Select Automotive Portfolio (MUTF: FSAVX ) is excluded from Figure 2 because its total net assets are below $100 million and do not meet our liquidity minimums. Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF (NYSEARCA: FSTA ) is the top-rated Consumer Staples ETF and fidelity Select Consumer Staples Portfolio (MUTF: FDFAX ) is the top-rated Consumer Staples mutual fund. FSTA earns a Very Attractive rating and FDFAX earns an Attractive rating. PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage Portfolio (NYSEARCA: PBJ ) is the worst rated Consumer Staples ETF and ICON Consumer Staples Fund (MUTF: ICRAX ) is the worst-rated Consumer Staples mutual fund. PBJ earns a Neutral rating and ICRAX earns a Very Dangerous rating. 117 stocks of the 3000+ we cover are classified as Consumer Staples stocks. Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG ) is one of our favorite stocks held by FSTA and earns an Attractive rating. Over the past decade, Procter & Gamble has grown its after-tax profit ( NOPAT ) by 6% compounded annually. Since 2008, PG has earned a double digit return on invested capital ( ROIC ) and over the last twelve months earns an 11% ROIC. In spite of revenue declines, Procter & Gamble has generated a cumulative $64 billion in free cash flow over the past five years. However, at current prices, PG remains undervalued. At its current price of $82/share, PG has a price-to-economic book value ( PEBV ) ratio of 1.1. This ratio means that the market expects PG’s NOPAT to only grow 10% over the life of the corporation. If Procter & Gamble can grow NOPAT by 3% compounded annually for the next decade, (half the rate of the previous decade), the stock is worth $94/share today – a 15% upside. The company’s 3% dividend yield also adds to the attractiveness of PG. Mondelez International (NASDAQ: MDLZ ) is one of our least favorite stocks held by ICRAX and earns a Very Dangerous rating. MDLZ was placed in the Danger Zone in late March 2016 . Despite impressive revenue growth, Mondelez has never generated positive economic earnings . In fact, since 2008, the company’s economic earnings have declined from -$763 million to -$1.3 billion. The company’s ROIC has declined from 7% in 2009 to 5% in 2015. As we pointed out in our Danger Zone report, MDLZ likes to push focus away from the deterioration of business operations by using misleading non-GAAP metrics that remove many standard operating costs. Worst of all, MDLZ is significantly overvalued. To justify its current price of $42/share, MDLZ must grow NOPAT by 10% compounded annually for the next 17 years . The expectations embedded in the stock price are simply too high considering the decline in profits and the corporate governance risk related to the company’s reliance on non-GAAP measures of performance. Figures 3 and 4 show the rating landscape of all Consumer Staples ETFs and mutual funds. Figure 3: Separating the Best ETFs From the Worst ETFs Click to enlarge Sources: New Constructs, LLC and company filings Figure 4: Separating the Best Mutual Funds From the Worst Mutual Funds Click to enlarge Sources: New Constructs, LLC and company filings D isclosure: David Trainer and Kyle Guske II receive no compensation to write about any specific stock, sector or theme. Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Alibaba Posts Highest Growth In A Year Despite Sluggish China

China e-commerce giant Alibaba ( BABA ) turned in a quarterly earnings report early Thursday that largely eased concerns of slowing performance, despite a sluggish Chinese economy. Alibaba reported revenue of $3.75 billion for its fiscal Q4 ended March 31, beating the Wall Street consensus of $3.58 billion. Sales rose 39% in local currency year over year, the company’s highest growth rate in the past four quarters. Earnings per share minus items rose 88% to 33 cents, but that was far below the consensus of 55 cents. Costs associated with new businesses initiatives and rising logistics and order-fulfillment costs weighed on the company. Still, Alibaba stock was up nearly 4% in early trading in the stock market today , near 79. The stock is up 35% from a seven-month low of 59.25 touched on Feb. 9. Alibaba credited the revenue beat to strong growth in mobile users, active buyers and transactions on its China e-commerce platforms. “Our focus on long-term strategic priorities — globalization, rural expansion, building a world-class cloud computing business and creating a comprehensive media and entertainment platform — has laid a strong foundation for future growth,” Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said in the earnings release. Alibaba competes with JD.com ( JD ), Baidu ( BIDU ) and Tencent Holdings ( TCEHY ) in various segments of China’s Internet economy. JD is China’s largest online direct-sales retailer, Tencent dominates in messaging and gaming, and Baidu is China’s search leader. The four are the largest Internet companies in China and have been investing aggressively in new areas to spur growth. JD is scheduled to report earnings before the market open on May 9. Alibaba reported gross merchandise volume (GMV) of $115 billion, slightly edging the consensus of $112 billion and up 24% year over year. Transactions through mobile devices accounted for 73% of GMV volume. It reported annual active buyers of 423 million, up 16 million from the prior quarter and up 21% year over year. Monthly mobile active users reached 410 million, an increase of 17 million from the prior quarter and up 42% year over year. Alibaba’s cloud computing and Internet infrastructure business continued its rapid expansion, with revenue jumping 175% year over year to $165 million. That’s above the 126% growth achieved in the prior quarter.