The Energy-Solar industry group is red-hot as a few components reported better-than-expected results recently. In Tuesday’s IBD, the group ranked No. 3, up from No. 67 three weeks ago. Six weeks ago, the group was at No. 129. Last week, SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) delivered stellar results for its first time as a public company. It posted a fiscal Q3 non-GAAP profit of 20 cents a share vs. a loss of 19 cents a year ago, more than twice views.
S ales of Ultra HD televisions are likely to get a boost with news that Hollywood movies will soon be available on Blu-ray Disc for the super-high resolution format. The Blu-ray Disc Association announced Tuesday the completion of the Ultra HD Blu-ray specification and will begin licensing the technology this summer to makers of set-top boxes and discs. Ultra HD video, also called 4K, offers four times the resolution of today’s standard high-definition video. To view Ultra HD Blu-ray movies, consumers will need 4K televisions as well as not-yet-available Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc players. To date, Internet television services Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon.com (AMZN) have been the leading providers of 4K content with select TV shows and movies.
An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration voted 12-1 in favor of approving Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ (VRTX) cystic-fibrosis drug Orkambi Tuesday afternoon. The FDA has until July 5 to decide on approval, but it usually follows the recommendations of its panels. So much buzz surrounded the event that trading in Vertex stock was halted all day Tuesday while the panel debated the issues. Orkambi is a combination of Vertex’s drug Kalydeco,