Tag Archives: request

Square Ups Ante In Payments Battle Against PayPal

Hot off the heals of its November initial public offering, Square ( SQ ) has added a feature that will up the stakes in its battle against payments rival  PayPal ( PYPL ): Square customers can now store cash in the Square Cash service. Square Cash is a peer-to-peer payments service that lets customers send money to anyone in the U.S. with an email address. It’s designed for things such as paying a friend back for a cab ride, or sharing a restaurant bill. The new feature Square announced  Monday is called Cash Drawer, and allows anyone who has the Square Cash app — sending or receiving money doesn’t require the app, just email — to store money and use it to pay people back at a later date. Square stock was up more than 3%, near 11, in afternoon trading on the stock market today . The San Francisco-based firm had a strong first day after making its IPO, with its stock rising 45% that day and touching its still-record high of 14.78, after prices shares at 9. But the stock has mostly fallen since as many bigger companies compete in payments. The new feature makes Square Cash look a lot more like rival PayPal and its peer-to-peer payments subsidiary Venmo, which is popular among millennials . Both PayPal and Venmo already have the capability that Square added Monday. Square Cash is outside the company’s core business, which is a set of digital cash registers and transaction processing, marketing and financial services, which it sells mostly to small businesses. Square CEO Jack Dorsey is also the top boss at microblog  Twitter ( TWTR ). Visa ( V ) has a sizeable investment in Square.

Apple Stock Retakes Critical Level As Market Surges

Loading the player… Apple ( AAPL ) made a critical move in the stock market today as the major indexes notched solid gains. The consumer tech giant is set to unveil new products at its March 21 spring media event. Some analysts speculate that Apple will roll out a small-screen iPhone and a smaller-screen iPad Pro. Shares jumped 4% to 100.53 in slightly below-average turnover, retaking the key 50-day moving average. Apple hasn’t traded above that level in nearly three months. The move also puts Apple back above the 100 price level. It’s a good sign for Apple to be coming off of its recent lows, but it’s also good to remember that its 50-day line is sloping downward as Apple’s overall performance over the last several months has trended lower. The stock is currently trading about 25% below its all-time high, reached last April. Apple is currently battling a federal order to assist the FBI in unlocking an encrypted iPhone connected to the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif. Meanwhile, Facebook ( FB ) is continuing higher as it bounces back from a breach of its 50-day line about a month ago. The stock is now trading 6% below its high. Google owner Alphabet ( GOOGL ) was able to retake its 50-day line, rising 3.5% in above-average volume Tuesday. Alphabet is about 8% below its high. Microsoft ( MSFT ) tried to retake its 50-day line and closed the session right at that level. Other recent attempts to retake that level met resistance. Microsoft is 7% below its peak. Amazon ( AMZN ) is 16% below its high. The e-commerce giant was able to retake its 200-day line last week. Image provided by Shutterstock .

This Blue-Collar Stock Group Is Acting Like A Fad Item

In the past five weeks, an industry group that normally attracts little attention has rocketed higher. IBD’s Machinery-General Industrial subgroup might sound like a collection of companies that have been around forever, but that doesn’t mean the group can’t be a winner. Charts tell the story. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 both hit a  low Jan. 20 and then rebounded — only to soon go down and strike a fresh low. Machinery-General Industrial handled the situation better. The group hit a closing low Jan. 21 and then marched steadily higher. There was no second low. While the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are up about 4% and 6% since their first low, Machinery-General Industrial is up 16%. If you’ve been following the news, you know that the press has been reciting over and over that manufacturing is in  terrible shape. Perhaps the problems are overblown. The action of the machinery stocks tells a less pessimistic story. And the latest industrial production report seemed to back the optimists: January output rose 0.9%, more than double expectations. The February numbers aren’t expected until later this month. Meanwhile, February’s ISM Manufacturing Index released Tuesday showed the best number in five months, though at 49.5 reflecting a slight contraction. Which stocks in the Machinery-General Industrial group led over the past five weeks? Nordson ( NDSN ), which manufactures products used to dispense adhesives, coatings and sealants, jumped 35% in roughly five weeks.  Colfax ( CFX ), a diversified manufacturing and engineering company, rumbled 32% higher.  Hyster-Yale Materials Handling ( HY ), a maker of lift trucks, popped more than 30%. Graco ( GGG ), a manufacturer of equipment for fluid applications, advanced 25%. The charts: Nordson is near a 74.34 buy point in a double-bottom base. Colfax is 51% off its high with no entry in sight. Hyster-Yale is working on its seventh weekly gain in a row but is 20% off its 76.50 high in May. Graco is 2% above a 77.65 buy point and extended past a 73.59 double-bottom-with-handle entry. What about earnings? For some, it’s a turnaround story. Nordson’s earnings, on a year-ago basis, declined 7% in fiscal 2015 ended in October. The Street, though, expects earning to grow 9% in fiscal 2016 and 10% in fiscal 2017. Both percentages reflect upward revisions. Colfax’s earnings slid 27% in 2015. Analysts expect a 9% drop this year and an 11% increase in 2017. Both represent upward revisions. Hyster-Yale’s earnings skidded 22% in 2015. The Street’s consensus estimate is for an earnings drop of 10% this year and then a 25% jump in 2017. Both reflect downward revisions. Graco’s EPS rose 7% last year. Analysts are pegging earnings growth in 2016-17 at 6% and 9% respectively. Both are upward revisions.