Traditional brick and mortar retailers seem to face more intense online competition every year. Given the challenging consumer spending environment��articularly during the highly promotional holiday shopping period��013 was an especially tough year for many.
The weak holiday sales have resulted in numerous downgrades of retail stocks. Among them was PetSmart (PETM), the leading retailer of pet products and services in North America, which was downgraded by several analysts last month, citing weaker holiday traffic trends and expectations for increased online competition ahead.
However, PETM has been fairly unscathed by the growing dominance of online retailers over the years. The simple reason for this is the fact that no one has been able to stay in the business of selling 50 pound bags of dog food at a discount while also providing free shipping for very long. Additionally, demand for its products tends to be fairly inelastic and less affected by consumer spending trends.
Top 5 Media Stocks To Buy For 2015: Maxim Integrated Products Inc.(MXIM)
Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. engages in designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing various linear and mixed-signal integrated circuits worldwide. The company also provides various high-frequency process technologies and capabilities for use in custom designs. It primarily serves industrial, communications, consumer, and computing markets. The company markets its products through a direct-sales and applications organization, as well as through its own and other unaffiliated distribution channels. Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By rusticnomad]
Maxim Integrated (MXIM) didn't do very well last quarter as its revenue declined. This decline was anticipated by management, as its consumer business was facing seasonal weakness. However, the gains from the initial ramp of a new smartphone at its largest customer arrested the decline.
5 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Buy For 2014: Ambit Biosciences Corp (AMBI)
Ambit Biosciences Corporation, incorporated on May 17, 2000, is a biopharmaceutical company. The Company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs to treat unmet medical needs in oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by inhibiting kinases that are important drivers for those diseases. The Company�� lead drug candidate, quizartinib, is in Phase IIb clinical development in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The Company�� second drug candidate in clinical development, AC410, is a potent, selective, orally-administered, small molecule inhibitor of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) that has potential utility for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The Company�� third program consists of two selective small molecule compounds, AC708 and AC855, which inhibit the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF1R), a receptor tyrosine kinase.
Quizartinib
The Company�� lead drug candidate, quizartinib, is a once-daily, orally-administered, potent and selective inhibitor of FLT3, a validated target in the treatment of AML, and is in Phase IIb clinical development. The FLT3-ITD mutation acts like a power switch that causes leukemic cells, or blasts, to spread more aggressively and grow back more rapidly following chemotherapy, conferring an especially poor survival outcome. Quizartinib is designed to turn off this switch. The Company is developing a companion diagnostic test with Genoptix Medical Laboratory, a Novartis company, to identify FLT3-ITD positive patients.
AC410
The Company�� advanced drug candidate, AC410, is a potent, selective, orally-administered, small molecule inhibitor of JAK2, which has potential utility for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Signaling through JAK controls the activation, proliferation and survival of various types of immune cells, and overactivation of such cells can exacerbate a range of normal inflammatory processes, resulting i! n inflammation. The Company�� initial JAK2 drug candidate, AC430, is a racemic mixture (50/50) of two enantiomers (mirror images), AC410 and AC409, and was studied in a Phase I clinical trial.
CSF1R Program
The Company is developing two potent and exquisitely selective small molecule compounds, AC708 and AC855 that both inhibit CSF1R and have potential utility in oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Signaling through CSF1R controls the activation, proliferation and survival of macrophages, which are key mediators of immune system function and over-activation of macrophages, may result in exacerbation of certain diseases.
The Company competes with Abbvie Inc., Akinion Pharmaceuticals AB, Amgen Inc., ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., AROG Pharmaceuticals, LLC, ArQule, Inc., Astellas, AstraZeneca plc, Bayer AG, Celgene Corporation, Daiichi-Sankyo Company Limited, Galapagos NV, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Incyte Corporation, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly and Company, Novartis, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pfizer, Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., F. Hoffman-LaRoche Ltd, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Ambit Biosciences Corp. (AMBI) �shares fell more than 37% to $8 in moderate volume. The small-cap biotech said it will not file an accelerated approval application with the Food and Drug Administration for its leukemia drug quizartinib after the agency disagreed with the company about the use of certain study data to support the drug�� efficacy.
5 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Buy For 2014: Shoe Carnival Inc (SCVL)
Shoe Carnival, Inc. is a family footwear retailer. The Company offers customers an assortment of dress, casual and athletic footwear for men, women and children with emphasis on national and regional name brands. The Company�� stores averaged approximately 10,800 square feet, ranging in size from 6,000 to 26,500 square feet. As of January 28, 2012, the Company operated 327 stores located across 32 states and offered online shopping at www.shoecarnival.com. Its average store carries approximately 28,500 pairs of shoes in four general categories, such as men��, women��, children�� and athletics. In addition to footwear, its stores carry selected accessory items complementary to the sale of footwear.
The Company operates a single 410,000 square foot distribution center located in Evansville, Indiana. Women��, men�� and children�� non-athletic footwear categories are further divided into dress, casual, sport, sandals and boots. It classifies athletic shoes by functionality, such as running, basketball or fitness shoes. During the fiscal year ended January 28, 2012 (fiscal 2011), athletic styles, including children�� sizes, have represented approximately 50% of its footwear sales.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sue Chang]
Shoe Carnival (SCVL) �is forecast to post earnings of 52 cents a share in the third quarter.
- [By Jeremy Bowman]
What: Shares of Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ: SCVL ) were partying on Friday, gaining as much as 10% after reporting a strong first quarter.
So what: The shoe-selling chain turned in a per-share profit of $0.47, $0.07 ahead of the analyst consensus, while revenue crept up 4.3% thanks to an 8% increase in store count over the year. Same-store sales, however, decreased 0.8%, perhaps indicating organic weakness in the retailer. CEO Cliff Sifford noted "the colder, wetter weather" made the quarter "challenging," as many other retailers have said this season. Better weather in April improved the sales trajectory and helped the company beat expectations. Its outlook for the current quarter was in line with estimates with an EPS of $0.26-$0.30 and same-stores increasing 3-5%.
- [By DailyFinance Staff]
Job creation last month was shockingly weak, but analysts couldn't really explain why –- other than to blame the weather -- which left investors unsure how to react Friday. Many analysts say the numbers are likely to be revised higher next month, and in the end, market reaction was muted. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) lost ground for a third straight day, declining nearly 8 points, but the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) added 4, and the Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC) rose 18 points. Target (TGT) lost more than a point after saying the data breach that began on Black Friday was much worse than previously thought. The company now says as many as 70 million customers had personal information stolen. Target also lowered its fourth quarter outlook, partly because sales slumped after the data breach was first revealed. Sears (SHLD) tumbled by around 13.5 percent. It expects a big quarterly loss as sales fell during the holiday shopping season. Several smaller, specialty retailers also fell: Pacific Sunwear (PSUN) slid 16 percent, Five Below (FIVE) fell 7 percent, Shoe Carnival (SCVL) lost 5 percent, and Conn's (CONN) lost 2 percent. But Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) jumped 12 percent. It raised its earnings forecast as sales were not as bad as expected. Elsewhere, Alcoa (AA) fell about 5.5 percent. It's not quite the economic bellwether it used to be, but the aluminum giant still matters, and its net came in a bit shy of expectations. YRC Worldwide (YRCW) tumbled 13 percent after workers rejected a contract offer. That has raised fears the trucking company could be forced into bankruptcy. On the upside, the weak jobs report could keep mortgage rates from rising, and that boosted housing stocks. KB Homes (KBH) rose 3 percent, William Lyons up 4 percent, and Lennar (LEN) was up 2 percent. And on Thursday we reported that shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals nearly quadrupled in price on news of a positive clinical study for its liver dr
5 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Buy For 2014: PrivateBancorp Inc.(PVTB)
PrivateBancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for The PrivateBank and Trust Company that provides business and personal financial services to middle-market companies and business owners, executives, entrepreneurs, and families in the United States. The company?s deposit products include checking, savings, and money market accounts; interest and non-interest bearing demand deposits; and certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial loans, including lines of credit to businesses for working capital needs, term loans, and letters of credit; commercial real estate loans; loans for the construction of single-family residential properties, multi-family properties, and commercial projects; mortgage loans; and residential, home equity, and personal loans. The company also provides private banking, investment management, trust, and investment agency services to high and ultra-high net-worth clients; custody, escrow, and tax-deferred exchange services; and investment management services to individuals, families, and foundations. In addition, it invests primarily in residential mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated 18 branch locations in the Chicago market; and 10 branch locations in the Atlanta, Detroit, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and St. Louis metropolitan areas, as well as 29 automated teller machines located at its banking facilities. PrivateBancorp, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Next week investors will be waiting for several key earnings reports including�General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG), Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE: BTU), Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK), PrivateBancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PVTB),Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ).
- [By Holly LaFon]
In the last several weeks, three hedge and mutual fund managers sold shares of their holdings where they own 5% or more of the company, according to GuruFocus Real Time Picks. Most of the managers made large gains on these sales, with one exception. John Paulson reduced his stake in Delphi (DLPH), Third Avenue reduced its stake in Skyline Corp. (SKY), and NWQ Managers reduced its stake in PrivateBancorp (PVTB) and Bob Evans Farms (BOBE). John Paulson and Delphi Auto Plc (DLPH)
- [By Zacks]
Some better-ranked Midwest banks include First Interstate Bancsystem Inc. (NASDAQ: FIBK), Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: WTFC) and PrivateBancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PVTB). All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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