This Backdoor Cannabis Play Could Climb Over 100%, and It's the Perfect Time to Strike

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Greg Miller

At the National Institute for Cannabis Investors, we talk a lot about cannabis banking. That's because accessing loans and depositing money are still huge hurdles facing cannabis companies.

But the progressive financial firms that realize how much money there is to be made working with legal cannabis companies will be handsomely rewarded.

And I've found the perfect play…

Just like when we talked about Innovative Industrial Properties Inc. (NYSE: IIPR) – which is now up almost 100% since we launched the American Cannabis Summit on Oct. 23, 2018 – we wanted to add another way for you to try and capture an additional potential triple-digit return.

Of course, timing is everything, so you may have not seen when we first mentioned Innovative Industrial Properties and bought it at a higher price, or you may have simply chose not to buy its shares.

But if you missed out, that's okay. I wanted to share another play with you today that could offer a similar profit opportunity, and the timing is perfect.

I talked to my friend and banking expert, Money Morning Special Situation Strategist Tim Melvin, and he tells me that as of right now, there is only ONE publicly traded bank taking on cannabis customers – the rest are credit unions or privately held banks.

I've held off talking about this company too much before because it faced some significant challenges outside of its cannabis business. However, those challenges seem to be behind it, and we could soon see a quick jump in the stock price thanks to some positive headwinds.

So right now, I'm going to share with you hopefully another big winner to add to your growing list of cannabis investments…

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

Greg Miller

About the Author

Browse Greg's articles | View Greg's research services

Greg Miller started working on Wall Street in September, 1987, just a month before the "Black Monday" stock market crash.

During his career there, he became an expert in just about every kind of publicly traded security - from blue-chip and small-cap stocks to municipals, junk bonds, and derivatives. As a portfolio manager, Greg was responsible for over $500 million of assets in mutual funds and insurance company accounts.

After leaving the Street, he designed a successful options trading strategy and made lucrative tech investments for a financial publication. He has also helped develop new products and worked with other editors to hone their strategies.  He's always been dedicated to deep, fundamental research - and he always will be - because he believes buying the very best companies at the right price is the best way to amass wealth in the stock market.

… Read full bio

3 Ways To Adopt The Right Retirement Savings Behavior

&l;p&g;When it comes to retirement, we often don&s;t &l;em&g;behave&l;/em&g; right.

It&s;s not that we throw a tantrum when we see percentage signs or big numbers. The big problem is that we rarely have an emotional connection to them, so we don&s;t behave wisely.

I know. It&s;s hard to get attached to things like compound interest or expense ratios. They sound really dull, although they&s;re always important. Yet there is a way to better see numbers and save more for retirement.

&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-1132238755&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/1132238755/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;659&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Getty

The National Foundation for Employee Benefit Plans &l;a href=&q;https://www.ifebp.org/pdf/ten-ways-behavioral-finance.pdf&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;recently published&l;/a&g; a mini-white paper on behavioral finance and retirement security. Although the paper was for 401(k) sponsors, there were some useful nuggets on improving savings behavior:

&l;strong&g;-- Frame how you will &l;em&g;gain&l;/em&g;, rather than lose by saving for retirement.&l;/strong&g; Not surprisingly, many see their monthly 401(k) contribution as &l;em&g;lost&l;/em&g; money instead of an investment in their future. Behavioral finance research suggests that we can &q;re-frame&q; how we see that contribution.

&q;Stress what could be gained or lost. A chief tenet of behavioral finance is that people are loss-averse. People are highly motivated to avoid what they consider a loss. In fact, losing hurts worse than winning feels good.&q;

How much will you gain at retirement by saving more upfront or when you get a raise? What will it mean in total dollars at the end of 30 years?

&l;strong&g;-- Ask About Success Stories.&l;/strong&g; Ask those who are comfortable in retirement how they got there. How much did they save every year? If we can model our savings strategy on those who did well, that makes a difference.

&q;When making choices, people tend to do what they think most other people are doing because they believe there is less chance they will make a wrong choice. They are also influenced by what they think is expected or socially acceptable.&q;

&l;strong&g;-- Envision Your Retirement.&l;/strong&g; Where do you want to be? What do you want to be doing? Have a picture of your lifestyle.&a;nbsp; If you have a distinct idea of your preferred retirement lifestyle, it will motivate you to save.

&q;Having a personal retirement picture helps people avoid temptations to spend today, which can derail their retirement.&q;

Still stymied on what to do? You can always work with a &l;a href=&q;https://www.napfa.org/find-an-advisor&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;fee-only financial planner &l;/a&g;if you need help. Even better, if your employer offers access to financial planners, you can start there.

&a;nbsp;&l;/p&g;

The Best Stocks to Buy Now: All-Star Edition

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We'll always keep you up to date on the best stocks to buy now. But sometimes the stocks we recommend are the best stocks to buy and hold forever – or at least hold for a very long time.

With that in mind, we're bringing you our Money Morning all-stars: picks we've brought you in the past that have already performed well and still have a lot of gains on the way.

Here's a peek:

A company that brings technology to fleet management has delivered 100% gains for our readers, but is still making savvy moves to deliver more profits. Perhaps our experts' favorite tech giant isn't the one you'd expect, but it has jumped in front of the pack and is still growing its biggest business at a staggering rate. One of our experts called for our next pick to double in a year. It's halfway there now, so you can still grab it for the rest of the ride. We've also got a pick that is far from glamorous, but absolutely essential. Plus, it's been consistently trouncing the S&P 500 for half a decade. We'll close with a cannabis pick of ours that has soared – and then offer not one, not two, but three that are positioned to repeat the feat.

And now our latest list of best stocks to buy now…

Best Stocks to Buy Now, No. 5: This Company Brings Cutting-Edge Technology to Our Highways and 100% Profits to Your Portfolio

Our first pick is a Money Morning all-star going all the way back to April 2014, when Defense and Tech Specialist Michael Robinson first recommended it to readers.

Since then, the share price has more than doubled. But not before Michael doubled down on his recommendation in December 2017, handing newer readers a 20% gain in a little over a year.

We're talking about FleetCor Technologies Inc. (NYSE: FLT), an enterprise that proves every company is a tech company.

FleetCor has become one of the leading providers of fleet and fuel management for the trucking industry, as well as for all kinds of vehicles used in business and government agencies.

Those drivers spend millions of dollars on gas every day. Thanks to FleetCor, all those transactions are monitored efficiently, and the drivers can leave their wallets in the cab.

Whether it's filling up the tank or getting brakes fixed, FleetCor offers a virtual card service that will take care of the payments automatically.

That service is the result of the 2014 acquisition of Comdata for $3.45 billion, which brought in 20,000 new customers for FleetCor. Since then, the company has landed big contracts with Uber Technologies Inc. and BP Plc. (NYSE: BP). And it made a key acquisition in 2017 to enable business-to-business cross-border payments.

More recently, the company just acquired Oregon-based Nvoicepay for an undisclosed sum. That deal gives FleetCor a platform to automate accounts payable processing for its clients. Given its favorable cash flow – free cash flow was up 35% in 2018 – it's likely that we'll see more strategic acquisitions like this from FleetCor in the near future as it builds its competitive edge.

This Could Be the Most Profitable Dollar You Ever Spend: Tom Gentile's Cash Course covers all the essential trading ideas you need to know to potentially make thousands in extra income every week. Get access for $1…

Speaking of that edge, FleetCor beat earnings estimates in its most recent quarter, finishing the year with 23% growth in earnings per share (EPS).

The bottom line: This has already been a top performer for a lot of our readers. But there's still lots of room to run if you get in now.

Best Stocks to Buy Now, No. 4: Surprise! This Unheralded Tech Giant Is a Top Performer and the Leader of the Pack

Here's another that has proven a winner for Money Morning readers over and over again. It's been a favorite not just of Michael Robinson's, but of Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald and Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani.

We're talking about a tech conglomerate that's benefiting from some of the biggest investing trends in recent history, from cloud computing to legal cannabis.

In March of last year, Keith came out and said this pick could be the first American tech giant to be worth $1 trillion.

Well, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reached that mark last summer – but it didn't last long. So it still remains to be seen which company can reach the trillion-dollar mark and stay there.

And don't look now, but Keith's pick has taken over the lead…

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

USA Technologies (USAT) Shares Up 17.6%

Shares of USA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:USAT) shot up 17.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $4.14 and last traded at $4.01. 2,905,691 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 26% from the average session volume of 2,305,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.41.

Several research firms have commented on USAT. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on shares of USA Technologies from $16.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 15th. BidaskClub downgraded shares of USA Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 13th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of USA Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.25 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 1st. ValuEngine raised shares of USA Technologies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 27th. Finally, Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of USA Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, January 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.44.

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The company has a market capitalization of $247.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.86 and a beta of 1.82.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of USA Technologies by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 645,659 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 89,177 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of USA Technologies by 285.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 295,595 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 218,891 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of USA Technologies by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 67,807 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 28,716 shares during the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY grew its holdings in shares of USA Technologies by 290.8% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY now owns 17,299 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 12,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of USA Technologies by 375.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 49,612 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 39,185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: “USA Technologies (USAT) Shares Up 17.6%” was originally posted by Ticker Report and is owned by of Ticker Report. If you are reading this report on another site, it was illegally copied and reposted in violation of United States & international copyright laws. The original version of this report can be viewed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4219274/usa-technologies-usat-shares-up-17-6.html.

USA Technologies Company Profile (NASDAQ:USAT)

USA Technologies, Inc provides wireless networking, cashless transactions, asset monitoring, and other value-added services in the United States and internationally. It designs and markets systems and solutions that facilitate electronic payment options, as well as telemetry and machine-to-machine (M2M) services.

Featured Story: Book Value Of Equity Per Share – BVPS Explained

Costco Keeps Rolling in the Second Quarter

Back in December, Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) reported an impressive 7.5% increase in adjusted comp sales for the first quarter of its 2019 fiscal year. But the stock plummeted because Costco's gross margin declined significantly in the quarter.

Not surprisingly, the pressure on Costco's gross margin didn't last long. Last week, the warehouse club giant posted stellar earnings growth for the second quarter of fiscal 2019, even though its sales growth moderated. Investors should expect more of the same in the future: Gross margin will be unpredictable from quarter to quarter, but relatively stable over the long term, while sales growth will continue to outpace the broader economy by a wide margin.

A strong quarter for Costco

Comps rose 5.4% at Costco last quarter, or 6.7% after adjusting for the impact of gasoline price deflation, foreign currency fluctuations, and new revenue-recognition rules. Net sales rose 7.3% to $34.6 billion for the quarter. Membership fee revenue also increased 7.3%, reaching $768 million.

Meanwhile, gross margin improved to 11.3% from 11% a year earlier. This -- combined with Costco's solid revenue growth -- caused operating income to surge 18% to $1.2 billion. Costco also benefited from an improvement in net interest expense and a slightly lower tax rate, mainly due to foreign tax credits. The net result is that Costco's earnings per share skyrocketed 26% to $2.01. This dramatically exceeded the average analyst estimate of $1.69.

Costco's earnings per share smashed analysts' estimates last quarter. Image source: Costco Wholesale.

It's (almost) all about gas prices

Costco's gross margin expansion last quarter was driven by strength in what the company calls its ancillary businesses. These businesses boosted gross margin for Costco as a whole by 33 basis points (with 100 basis points equaling 1 percentage point).

Richard Galanti, Costco's long-serving CFO, noted that most of the margin improvement in the ancillary businesses came from Costco's gas stations. Costco gets about 10% of its revenue from gasoline sales, and margins depend heavily on price trends. Price declines (like the big plunge seen last fall) tend to temporarily boost Costco's gross margin on gasoline sales. Of course, rising gasoline prices have a corresponding negative impact on gross margin.

The growth of Costco's e-commerce business made a smaller contribution to the company's gross margin improvement, but Galanti did not quantify the amount, other than to say that it was much smaller than the tailwind from higher gasoline margins.

Comparing each of Costco's main merchandise categories to itself a year earlier, core gross margin improved by 8 basis points last quarter. On the same basis, core gross margin declined by 6 basis points in the first quarter. But while there was some underlying improvement sequentially, Galanti said there was no big trend change -- just the normal small fluctuations you would expect from quarter to quarter.

Looking ahead

There are two big takeaways from Costco's second-quarter earnings report. The first is that the company's 26% surge in EPS was basically a fluke. Declining gas prices, a small uptick in core gross margin, some foreign tax credits, and elevated membership fee growth related to Costco's 2017 price increase all combined to boost EPS growth last quarter.

The second big takeaway is that Costco's subpar first-quarter earnings results were equally a fluke. (Operating income actually declined slightly in that quarter.) Investors had no reason to panic three months ago.

The reality for Costco is somewhere between its apparently dismal first quarter and its apparently stellar second quarter. As a company with about $150 billion of annual revenue that operates on narrow margins, very small changes in Costco's margin structure can have an outsize impact on its earnings growth.

The good news for investors is that Costco largely controls its own destiny. The company is constantly working to lower prices for customers, something that has driven strong sales growth and fostered enormous loyalty over the years. By tweaking pricing from time to time, Costco can ensure that its profit margin stays roughly constant. As long as the top line keeps surging, investors shouldn't worry too much about Costco's performance.

Why VirnetX Holding Stock Gained 19.4% in February

What happened

VirnetX Holding (NYSEMKT:VHC) stock gained 19.4% in February, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The software and intellectual-property company scored a big legal win against Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in January, as an appeals court shut down the tech giant's challenge to a previous ruling that found it had infringed on patents held by VirnetX. The decision sent VirnetX shares skyrocketing, and the positive momentum continued last month.

VHC data by YCharts.

The appellate court judge presiding over the matter reaffirmed the district judge's initial ruling finding Apple liable for $439.8 million in damages stemming from patent infringement. VirnetX stock gained 112.5% in January, with most of the stock's movement related to the case, and the gains rolled into February and March.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

The initial intellectual-property case actually kicked off back in 2010 and alleged that Apple had used communications security technologies and other software in apps including FaceTime and iMessage without the proper license. The overall situation regarding these issues and the legal battle between the two companies over the general matter has actually been going on for more than nine years. January's appeals court ruling upheld the previous judgment finding that Apple had infringed on patents held by VirnetX -- and this set the smaller company up to receive a substantial payday.

Now what

VirnetX stock has continued to gain ground in March, with shares trading up roughly 14.9% in the month so far.

VHC data by YCharts.

VirnetX stock has now nearly tripled year to date and sports a market capitalization of $467 million as of this writing -- roughly $30 million more than the judgment in the Apple case. Of course, the court battle does not appear to be over, with both companies appealing different judgments related to the issue, so it's still too early to fully bake that money into VirnetX's valuation.

Armada Hoffler Properties Inc (AHH) President, CEO Louis S Haddad Bought $229,650 of Shares

President, CEO of Armada Hoffler Properties Inc (NYSE:AHH) Louis S Haddad bought 15,000 shares of AHH on 03/05/2019 at an average price of $15.31 a share. The total cost of this purchase was $229,650.

Armada Hoffler Properties Inc is a full service real estate company that develops, constructs & owns institutional grade office, retail & multifamily properties in the Mid-Atlantic United States. It also offers general contracting & development services. Armada Hoffler Properties Inc has a market cap of $760.580 million; its shares were traded at around $15.11 with a P/E ratio of 41.95 and P/S ratio of 3.73. The dividend yield of Armada Hoffler Properties Inc stocks is 5.28%. Armada Hoffler Properties Inc had annual average EBITDA growth of 1.70% over the past five years.

CEO Recent Trades:

President, CEO Louis S Haddad bought 15,000 shares of AHH stock on 03/05/2019 at the average price of $15.31. The price of the stock has decreased by 1.31% since.

For the complete insider trading history of AHH, click here

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istar (STAR) Sets New 1-Year Low at $8.37

istar Inc (NYSE:STAR) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $8.37 and last traded at $8.39, with a volume of 979239 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.44.

Several brokerages have weighed in on STAR. JMP Securities raised shares of istar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $11.50 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 31st. ValuEngine raised shares of istar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of istar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.75.

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The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 7.34 and a current ratio of 7.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $570.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.83 and a beta of 1.03.

istar (NYSE:STAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.22. istar had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 11.04%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that istar Inc will post -0.7 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. istar’s payout ratio is currently -37.89%.

In other istar news, major shareholder Istar Inc. purchased 2,341 shares of istar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.37 per share, for a total transaction of $45,345.17. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,726,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,671,467.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 89,601 shares of company stock worth $1,719,373. Insiders own 5.01% of the company’s stock.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STAR. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in istar by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 706,431 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,477,000 after purchasing an additional 30,935 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in istar in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,982,000. HRT Financial LLC bought a new stake in istar in the 4th quarter valued at about $135,000. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan bought a new stake in istar in the 4th quarter valued at about $180,000. Finally, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY lifted its position in istar by 322.3% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY now owns 20,151 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 15,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.41% of the company’s stock.

WARNING: This report was first posted by Ticker Report and is the property of of Ticker Report. If you are reading this report on another website, it was stolen and reposted in violation of United States and international copyright & trademark law. The original version of this report can be viewed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4209934/istar-star-sets-new-1-year-low-at-8-37.html.

About istar (NYSE:STAR)

iStar (NYSE: STAR) finances, invests in and develops real estate and real estate related projects as part of its fully-integrated investment platform. Building on over two decades of experience and $40 billion of transactions, iStar brings uncommon capabilities and new ways of thinking to commercial real estate and adapts its investment strategy to changing market conditions.

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Dow: Why are stocks dropping today?

Stock slipped in early trading on Friday after a disappointing February jobs report underscored concerns about a global economic slowdown.

Employers added just 20,000 jobs in February, far below the 180,000 Bloomberg consensus and the fewest gains since September 2017 when employment was hindered by major hurricanes.

The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 162 points, or 0.64 percent, to 25,311 in early trading Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index also declined 21 points, or 0.75 percent, to 2,728. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 0.75 percent to 7,366.

Stocks have been on a losing streak all week.

"I think the federal shutdown and the weather are playing games with the numbers. Month to month numbers can be noisy," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance in Charlotte, North Carolina. "But the overall picture is that the economy is slowing and that's why the market is taking it so negatively."

The top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Friday included Abercombie & Fitch, Exxon Mobil, Etsy, GameStop, Kraft Heinz, Netflix, Tilray and Vodafone. (Photo: zoom-zoom / Getty Images)

Mild weather in January helped to boost gains in that month, while above-average snowfall when the Labor Department conducted its survey in February was predicted to cut total hiring estimates by 40,000, according to Goldman Sachs.

Jobs report: Economy added just 20,000 jobs in February amid slowing growth, snowy weather

Market predictions: Stocks: The record bull market is 10 years old. Is it about to flame out or surge higher?

The unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent from 4 percent in February, according to the government, as federal workers who identified as unemployed or on temporary leave in January returned to work.

Adding to worries

The markets were poised for a lower open even before the jobs report came in. A report from The New York Times on Thursday revealed that a broad trade agreement between the U.S. and China is still missing key details, suggesting a final deal is still a ways off.

NEWSLETTERSGet the Managing Your Money newsletter delivered to your inboxWe're sorry, but something went wrongA collection of articles to help you manage your finances like a pro.Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-872-0001.Delivery: FriInvalid email addressThank you! You're almost signed up for Managing Your MoneyKeep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration.More newsletters

Other reports this week had revived fears of a weakening global economy.

Earlier this week, the European Central Bank reduced its estimates for economic expansion in the eurozone and decided on more stimulus. In China, that country's exports dropped by 20.7 percent year over year in February, far more than the estimated 4.8-percent decline.

"We saw the ECB come out more dovish than it had been, which was a surprise," said Zaccarelli. "Since it made such an about-face really underscores the weakness there."

CLOSE

John Bogle, who founded the Vanguard Group in 1974 and later was dubbed the "father of index investing," has died at 89. USA TODAY

 

Should P&G take Gillette name off Patriots'…

Should Procter & Gamble consider stripping its razor brand name off Gillette Stadium in Boston in the wake of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's legal troubles?

That's what more than 13,000 signers of an online petition are urging the Cincinnati-based consumer products giant to do. The appeal is circulating on Change2, a petition-oriented social media site.

Kraft was charged in February with two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution following a police investigation of a Jupiter, Florida, spa. The team has denied its owner did anything illegal.

Kraft's charges came weeks after P&G's latest venture into "woke" advertising that urged men to stand up against "toxic masculinity."

The polarizing ad calls out sexual harassment and bullying by men and twists Gillette's classic slogan "The Best A Man Can Get" into urging them to be "the best they can be."

Florida spa investigation: Ex-Citigroup President charged in Florida spa investigation allegedly tied to Robert Kraft

Robert Kraft investigation: What's next for the Patriots owner

The new campaign, called 'We Believe,' is P&G's latest foray into brand messaging that incorporates a social message to reach consumers in a more meaningful way. 

P&G has a contract through the 2031 season to keep the Gillette name on the Boston stadium.

Company officials declined to comment on the petition or the Kraft controversy.

CLOSE

SportsPulse: Will Robert Kraft face actual jail time? Will the video inside the spa ever be released? A.J. Perez breaks down what's next for the Patriots owner legally. USA TODAY

Follow Alex Coolidge on Twitter: @alexcoolidge.

Bellevue Group AG Boosts Stake in Oxford Immunotec Global PLC (OXFD)

Bellevue Group AG raised its stake in Oxford Immunotec Global PLC (NASDAQ:OXFD) by 38.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 306,606 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,769 shares during the quarter. Bellevue Group AG’s holdings in Oxford Immunotec Global were worth $3,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of OXFD. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of Oxford Immunotec Global in the third quarter worth about $188,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oxford Immunotec Global by 84.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 21,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 9,658 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Oxford Immunotec Global in the third quarter worth about $279,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Oxford Immunotec Global by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 32,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 11,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in shares of Oxford Immunotec Global in the third quarter worth about $445,000. 91.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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In other news, CEO Peter Wrighton-Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.99, for a total value of $169,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 413,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,024,838.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard A. Sandberg sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.25, for a total value of $42,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,000 shares of company stock valued at $361,750 in the last ninety days. 6.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

OXFD stock opened at $16.70 on Wednesday. Oxford Immunotec Global PLC has a 12 month low of $10.94 and a 12 month high of $19.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $435.73 million, a PE ratio of -12.28 and a beta of 0.33.

A number of research firms have recently commented on OXFD. Piper Jaffray Companies reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Oxford Immunotec Global in a report on Sunday, November 11th. BidaskClub cut shares of Oxford Immunotec Global from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 5th. ValuEngine cut shares of Oxford Immunotec Global from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 1st. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Oxford Immunotec Global from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Oxford Immunotec Global currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

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Oxford Immunotec Global Company Profile

Oxford Immunotec Global PLC, a diagnostics company, focuses on developing and commercializing proprietary tests for underserved immune-regulated conditions. Its development activities principally focus on the areas of infectious diseases, transplantation, autoimmune and inflammatory disease, and immune-oncology.

Further Reading: What is a Lock-Up Period?

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding OXFD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Oxford Immunotec Global PLC (NASDAQ:OXFD).

James River Group (JRVR) Upgraded to Buy by ValuEngine

James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BidaskClub raised James River Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 20th. Compass Point assumed coverage on James River Group in a report on Tuesday, January 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Zacks Investment Research downgraded James River Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 9th. B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of James River Group in a report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “mkt perform” rating on shares of James River Group in a report on Monday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. James River Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.00.

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Shares of JRVR opened at $41.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 0.57. James River Group has a one year low of $32.64 and a one year high of $43.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $214.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.20 million. James River Group had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 10.22%. On average, research analysts anticipate that James River Group will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in James River Group by 88.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 752 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in James River Group by 1,221.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 912 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in James River Group by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 972 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Quantamental Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in James River Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in James River Group by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.92% of the company’s stock.

James River Group Company Profile

James River Group Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance and reinsurance services in the United States. Its Excess and Surplus Lines segment underwrites property and liability insurance on an excess and surplus commercial lines basis in all states and the District of Columbia.

Read More: What is Depreciation?

To view ValuEngine’s full report, visit ValuEngine’s official website.

Here's 1 Valuable Tax Credit You Don't Want to Miss Out On

Taxes are a burden for working Americans across a wide range of incomes. But lower earners more so than anyone tend to struggle to keep up.

Thankfully, the IRS offers a bit of relief in the form of the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. For the 2018 tax year, the EITC could be worth up to $6,431, so it pays to see whether you qualify for it.

How tax credits work

Unlike a tax deduction, which simply exempts a portion of your income from taxes, a tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of your tax liability. This means that if you qualify for a $2,000 tax credit, $2,000 automatically gets subtracted from your tax bill.

Image source: Getty Images.

Now many tax credits are nonrefundable, which means the most they can do is knock your tax liability down to $0. For example, if you owe the IRS $500 in taxes but qualify for a $1,000 tax credit, you won't get that $500 difference if the credit in question in nonrefundable. The EITC, however, is one of the few tax credits that is refundable, which means that if it lowers your tax burden below $0, the IRS will send you the difference.

Qualifying for the EITC

The EITC is designed to help lower earners, and to qualify for the credit, you will need earned income from a job or business that you own. Also, your tax filing status must be one of the following:

Single Married filing jointly Head of household Qualifying widow

Additionally, you can't have investment income in excess of $3,500 if you want to claim the EITC.

If you meet the above criteria, you can claim the EITC if you have the following number of qualifying children in your household and your earnings don't exceed the following limits:

Tax Filing Status

No Qualifying Children

1 Qualifying Child

2 Qualifying Children

3 or More Qualifying Children

Single, head of household, or widowed	$15,270	$40,320	$45,802	$49,194
Married filing jointly	$20,950	$46,010	$51,492	$54,884

Data source: IRS.

Keep in mind that if you have children, there are other tax credits you might be eligible for, like the Child Tax Credit or the Child and Dependent Care Credit (if you pay for child care in order to work). You're allowed to claim multiple credits on your taxes, so it pays to explore your options.

As far as the EITC's value goes, it'll depend on the number of children in your household, as follows:

Number of Qualifying Children

Maximum Value of EITC

0	$519
1	$3,461
2	$5,716
3	$6,431

Data source: IRS.

Now remember how we talked about the fact that the EITC is a refundable tax credit? If your tax liability is $0 and you qualify for the EITC's maximum value, the IRS will send you $6,431. To get that money, however, you'll need to file a tax return and actually claim the credit -- something an astounding 20% of eligible filers fail to do every year.

One final thing: The above earning limits and credit values apply to the 2018 tax year -- meaning, the tax return you'll be filing this year. In 2019, you can earn slightly more and still claim the credit if you otherwise qualify. The maximum value of the EITC has also gone up to $6,557 for the 2019 tax year, so if you claim it on your 2018 taxes, be sure to keep it on your radar for the following year as well.

Lyft Set to Beat Uber in IPO Timing

Lyft has just made an S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This is the document that signals its formal intent to conduct and initial public offering (IPO). The offering only shows an equity sale of up to $100 million in class A common shares, but that number can (and likely will) change as the IPO date gets closer. The company will trade under the LYFT ticker on Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Lyft has a massive IPO underwriting syndicate. JPMorgan, Credit Suisse, Jefferies, UBS, Stifel, RBC and KeyBanc are all prominently listed. Another 13 underwriters were also named on the document.

The company has listed several key figures in its filing. Bookings were $8.1 billion in 2018, and that generated $2.2 billion in company revenues for the year. That revenue growth compares with $1.1 billion in 2017 and just $343.3 million in 2016. Bookings were $4.6 billion in 2017 and $1.9 billion in 2016.

The growth metrics are quite impressive, as long as you ignore the profitability metrics, as Lyft is still losing its shirt when it comes to profits versus losses. The IPO filing showed that its results from operations (not even the net losses) were $977.7 million in 2018, $708.2 million in 2017 and $692.6 million in 2016. That’s an operating loss buildup of almost $2.4 billion in just the past three years combined.

Lyft now claims to have more than a billion in cumulative rides over time from more than 300 markets it operates in the United States and Canada. It also claims to have some 18.6 million active riders and over 1.1 million drivers as of the end of 2018. Its network of active riders also increased 47% in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017.

Note that both Lyft and larger rival Uber were listed as the top 15 IPOs to watch for in 2019.

Lyft launched its peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ridesharing in 2012. The company showed in its IPO filing that consumers spend over $1.2 trillion annually on personal transportation, or more than $9,500 on average, and the substantial majority is spent on car ownership and operation. Lyft showed that the average car is utilized only 5% of the time.

The “Risk Factors” of any IPO is a long list of issues, but some of the key ones mentioned up front are that Lyft’s limited operating history and evolving business make it difficult to evaluate future prospects, and there are no real earnings here, with a history of net losses, and it may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability in the future.

Lyft also has a dual-class structure of common stock, which effectively concentrates its voting power with co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer. New shareholders buying into the IPO will have a limited ability to influence corporate matters. This includes electing directors, amending organizational documents and any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of the company’s assets or other major corporate transactions.

Lyft also named its shareholder entities that currently own more than 5% of the outstanding shares from venture backing: Rakuten Europe (13.05%), General Motors (7.76%), Fidelity (7.71%), Andreessen Horowitz (6.25%) and Alphabet (5.33%).

There are many issues to consider here, but the Lyft IPO is now formally afoot. It also looks as though Lyft will beat its rival Uber in the IPO timeline.

24/7 Wall St.
10 Companies That Have Raised Their Dividends for 50 Consecutive Years

What Lexicon Pharma Could Mean for the Future of Diabetes

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: LXRX) shares jumped on Friday after the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion on the Marketing Authorization of Zynquista (sotagliflozin).

Ultimately, CHMP recommended approval of sotagliflozin in the European Union in both a 200-mg and 400-mg dose for use as an adjunct to insulin therapy to improve blood sugar (glycemic) control in adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus, who have failed to achieve adequate glycemic control despite optimal insulin therapy.

For some quick background: sotagliflozin is an investigational oral dual inhibitor of two proteins responsible for glucose regulation known as sodium-dependent glucose co-transporter types 1 and 2 (SGLT1 and SGLT2). SGLT1 is responsible for glucose absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, and SGLT2 is responsible for glucose reabsorption by the kidney.

The opinion is based on evidence including data from the inTandem clinical trial program, which included three Phase 3 clinical trials assessing the safety and efficacy of sotagliflozin.

Separately, sotagliflozin is also currently being reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has the potential to be the first oral antidiabetic drug approved in the United States for use together with insulin therapy to improve glycemic control in adults living with type 1 diabetes.

Shares of Lexicon were last seen up about 21% at $6.43 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $4.26 to $13.97. The consensus price target is $21.33.

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5 Safe Merrill Lynch US 1 List Stocks to Buy That Pay Big Dividends

Top Bank Stocks To Invest In 2019

tags:AP,WFC,FCF,CM,HSBA, &l;p&g;Paul Lipari is a co-founder of Hudson Capital Advisors, a small merchant bank. Before his current job at Hudson Capital, Lipari worked between 2006 and 2015 at Columbus Nova, which Lipari describes as &a;ldquo;a family office,&a;rdquo; &l;a href=&q;http://www.hudsoncap.net/paul-f-lipari.html&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;on Hudson Capital&a;rsquo;s web site&l;/a&g;.

Columbus Nova has been in the headlines this week because of &l;a href=&q;https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/us/politics/michael-cohen-shell-company-payments.html?hp&a;amp;action=click&a;amp;pgtype=Homepage&a;amp;clickSource=story-heading&a;amp;module=first-column-region&a;amp;region=top-news&a;amp;WT.nav=top-news&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;revelations&l;/a&g; that the New York-based investment firm made $500,000 in payments last year to a shell company, Essential Consultants, controlled by Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump&a;rsquo;s personal lawyer.

&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-916330890&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/916330890/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;647&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Russian businessman and billionaire Viktor Vekselberg (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

Top Bank Stocks To Invest In 2019: Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation(AP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  San Juan, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Puerto Rico is now estimating that Hurricane Maria killed more than 1,400 people, far more than the official death toll of 64, in a report to Congress seeking billions to help the island recover from the devastating storm.

• [By ]

  Despite claims by President Donald Trump saying the U.S. stock market would crash if he was impeached, money managers stress that the stock market's longer-term direction and health are less about political drama and more about the overall strength of the economy. (Photo: AP)

• [By ]

  New York (AP) -- Four more deaths have been linked to a national food poisoning outbreak blamed on tainted lettuce, bringing the total to five.

  Health officials have tied the E. coli outbreak to romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Arizona. The growing season there ended six weeks ago, and it's unlikely any tainted lettuce is still in stores or people's homes, given its short shelf life. But there can be a lag in reporting, and reports of illnesses have continued to come in.

• [By ]

  New York (AP) -- The bitter cold that followed a massive East Coast snowstorm should begin to lessen as temperatures inch up and climb past freezing next week, weather forecasters said.

• [By ]

  This undated photo provided by Honda shows the 2019 Honda Insight, which returns to the U.S. after a five-year absence. It now more closely resembles Honda's Civic and Accord models. (Courtesy of American Honda Motor Co. via AP) (Photo: AP)

• [By ]

  The 2018 Infiniti Q50, a luxury sedan that has a significant discount going into Memorial Day weekend. Though it's not as polished as some rivals, the Q50 is stylish and desirable all the same. (Photo: AP)

Top Bank Stocks To Invest In 2019: Wells Fargo & Company(WFC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jordan Wathen]

  Buffett and Munger have held up Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) as one of the greatest banks in the country ever since Berkshire took a stake back in 1989. Berkshire owns about 10% of the bank often described as "America's largest community bank," making it the second-largest holding in the holding company's stock portfolio.

• [By Benzinga News Desk]

  Wells Fargo & Co.’s (NYSE: WFC) struggle to shore up money-laundering controls in its division serving companies may prove awkward for Chief Executive Officer Tim Sloan as he faces shareholders Tuesday: Link

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Prudential Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) by 11.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,940,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,281,633 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Co accounts for approximately 0.8% of Prudential Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Co were worth $520,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Top Bank Stocks To Invest In 2019: First Commonwealth Financial Corporation(FCF)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on First Commonwealth Financial (FCF)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on First Commonwealth Financial (FCF)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Barclays PLC increased its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) by 24.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,717 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 6,593 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in First Commonwealth Financial were worth $476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Top Bank Stocks To Invest In 2019: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce(CM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM)Q3 2018 Earnings Conference CallAug. 23, 2018, 8:00 a.m. ET

  Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

  Operator

• [By Logan Wallace]

  A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSE: CM) recently:

  6/6/2018 – Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup Inc from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating. They now have a C$130.00 price target on the stock, up previously from C$125.00. 5/24/2018 – Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was downgraded by analysts at National Bank Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating. They now have a C$124.00 price target on the stock, down previously from C$136.00. 5/24/2018 – Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce had its price target lowered by analysts at Scotiabank from C$131.00 to C$127.00. They now have a “sector perform” rating on the stock. 5/24/2018 – Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce had its price target lowered by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from C$141.00 to C$135.00. They now have a “sector perform” rating on the stock. 5/24/2018 – Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was given a new C$140.00 price target on by analysts at Eight Capital. 5/24/2018 – Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from C$133.00 to C$138.00.

  CM traded up C$0.59 on Wednesday, reaching C$115.86. 987,570 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,290,708. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has a fifty-two week low of C$103.84 and a fifty-two week high of C$124.37.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSE:CM) (NYSE:CM) – Analysts at Desjardins reduced their Q2 2018 earnings per share estimates for Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, May 2nd. Desjardins analyst D. Young now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.85 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.86.

Top Bank Stocks To Invest In 2019: HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Morgan Stanley set a GBX 855 ($10.91) price target on HSBC (LON:HSBA) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

• [By Max Byerly]

  HSBC Holdings plc (LON:HSBA) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 768.33 ($9.80).

• [By Max Byerly]

  Credit Suisse Group set a GBX 720 ($9.32) price target on HSBC (LON:HSBA) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  HSBC (LON:HSBA) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Citigroup from GBX 810 ($10.78) to GBX 800 ($10.65) in a report released on Tuesday. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 9.59% from the stock’s previous close.