American International Group Inc. Acquires 139,218 Shares of Patterson Companies (PDCO)

American International Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) by 320.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 182,605 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 139,218 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Patterson Companies worth $4,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,182,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,255,000 after purchasing an additional 304,402 shares during the last quarter. Fairpointe Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Fairpointe Capital LLC now owns 3,974,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,588,000 after purchasing an additional 213,341 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 70.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,681,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,747,000 after purchasing an additional 696,540 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,544,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,808,000 after purchasing an additional 492,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 1,467,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,024,000 after purchasing an additional 289,732 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.42% of the company’s stock.

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Several research firms have recently issued reports on PDCO. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Patterson Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Patterson Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $40.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Patterson Companies from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Patterson Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Patterson Companies in a report on Thursday, March 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Patterson Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.17.

Shares of NASDAQ PDCO opened at $21.69 on Monday. Patterson Companies has a twelve month low of $20.91 and a twelve month high of $48.29. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 1st. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. Patterson Companies had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 4.39%. Patterson Companies’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. sell-side analysts expect that Patterson Companies will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Patterson Companies

Patterson Companies, Inc distributes and sells dental and animal health products in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It operates through Dental and Animal Health segments. The company's Dental segment offers consumable products, such as infection control, restorative materials, hand instruments, and sterilization products; basic and advanced technology dental equipment; patient education systems; and office forms and stationery.

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Analyzing Simulations Plus (SLP) & NetScout Systems (NTCT)

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ: SLP) and NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

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This table compares Simulations Plus and NetScout Systems’ revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Simulations Plus	$24.14 million	14.14	$5.78 million	$0.34	57.94
NetScout Systems	$986.79 million	2.24	$79.81 million	$0.99	27.78

NetScout Systems has higher revenue and earnings than Simulations Plus. NetScout Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Simulations Plus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Simulations Plus and NetScout Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Simulations Plus	30.65%	26.19%	18.85%
NetScout Systems	8.06%	4.07%	2.71%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

35.1% of Simulations Plus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.0% of NetScout Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 33.5% of Simulations Plus shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of NetScout Systems shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Simulations Plus has a beta of -0.56, suggesting that its share price is 156% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NetScout Systems has a beta of 1.54, suggesting that its share price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Simulations Plus and NetScout Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Simulations Plus	0	0	0	0	N/A
NetScout Systems	0	4	2	0	2.33

NetScout Systems has a consensus target price of $27.80, suggesting a potential upside of 1.09%. Given NetScout Systems’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe NetScout Systems is more favorable than Simulations Plus.

Dividends

Simulations Plus pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. NetScout Systems does not pay a dividend. Simulations Plus pays out 70.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

NetScout Systems beats Simulations Plus on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

Simulations Plus Company Profile

Simulations Plus, Inc. develops drug discovery and development software for mechanistic modeling and simulation worldwide. The company offers GastroPlus, which simulates the absorption, pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics of drugs administered to humans and animals; DDDPlus that simulates in vitro laboratory experiments, which measure the rate of dissolution of the drug and additives in a dosage form; and MembranePlus, which simulates laboratory experiments. It also provides PKPlus, a standalone program that provides the functionality needed by pharmaceutical industry scientists to perform the analyses and generate the outputs needed to satisfy regulatory agency requirements for NCA and compartmental PK modelling; ADMET Predictor, a chemistry-based computer program, which takes molecular structures as inputs and predicts their properties; and MedChem Designer, a molecule drawing program or sketcher that integrates with MedChem Studio and ADMET Predictor. In addition, it offers MedChem Studio, a software tool for data mining and designing new molecules; KIWI, a cloud-based Web application, which organizes, processes, maintains, and communicates the volume of data and results generated by pharmacologists and scientists over the duration of a drug development program; DILIsym, a quantitative systems pharmacology software; and DILIsym, a software that is used to investigate the likelihood that a known drug molecule would cause injury to the liver. Further, the company provides consulting services ranging from early drug discovery through preclinical and clinical trial data analysis, and for submissions to regulatory agencies; and population modeling and simulation contract research services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Additionally, it offers its pharmaceutical/chemistry software to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrochemical, and food companies. Simulations Plus, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Lancaster, California.

NetScout Systems Company Profile

NetScout Systems, Inc. provides real-time operational intelligence and performance analytics for service assurance, and cybersecurity solutions in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers nGeniusONE management software that enables customers to predict, preempt, and resolve network and service delivery problems, as well as facilitate the optimization and capacity planning of their network infrastructures; and specialized platforms and analytic modules that enable its customers to analyze and troubleshoot traffic in radio access and WiFi networks, as well as gain timely insight into services, applications, and systems. It also provides Intelligent Data Sources under the Infinistream brand name that provide real-time collection and analysis of data from the network; packet flow switching solutions that delivers targeted network traffic access to an increasing number of monitoring and security systems; and a suite of test access points that enable non-disruptive access to network traffic with multiple link type and speed options. In addition, the company offers portable network analysis and troubleshooting tools, which help customers identify key issues that impact network and application performance. Further, it provides security solutions that enable service providers and enterprises to protect their networks against DDoS attacks; and threat detection solutions that enable enterprises to identify and investigate advanced threat campaigns that present tangible risks to the integrity of their networks. The company serves enterprise customers in industries, such as financial services, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, utilities, education, transportation, and retail; mobile operators, wireline operators, and cable operators; and governmental agencies through a direct sales force, and indirect reseller and distribution channels. NetScout Systems, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts.

Italy Premier-Designate Starts Quest for Government Support

Italy’s premier-designate Giuseppe Conte, a law professor with no political experience, began his search for a government that will satisfy his populist sponsors and pass muster with President Sergio Mattarella.

Conte, 53, will meet leaders of all political parties at the lower house in Rome on Thursday, starting at 8 a.m., newswire Ansa reported. After talks with the head of state, Conte was given a mandate on Wednesday to form a new administration, which has already spooked financial markets.
Mattarella, 76, a former constitutional court judge, stressed to Conte concerns about the economy, according to a senior state official who declined to be named discussing a confidential encounter. Mattarella noted Italy’s economic difficulties, as well as the need to safeguard financial stability, market confidence and budget rules, the official said. Conte assured Mattarella of his full collaboration, the official said.

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Luigi Di Maio

Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg

“I am aware of the need to confirm Italy’s position in Europe,” Conte said after meeting Mattarella, accepting his mandate. He added that his government will be based on a program drawn up by Luigi Di Maio of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and Matteo Salvini of the anti-immigrant League.

Paolo Savona, an 81-year-old economist who’s repeatedly called on the government to plan for a possible euro exit, is the front-runner for the post of finance minister, according to League officials. Another possible contender for the position is Luigi Zingales, professor of finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, La Stampa newspaper reported.

Conte said the government would have to deal “straight away with the negotiations under way” on the European Union budget, reform of the asylum-seeking process and completion of the banking union. He said his intention was “to build the relevant alliances and work so that the process reflects national interest.”

In Italy, a Novice Premier May Face Rival Puppet-Masters

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Matteo Salvini

Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg

A euroskeptic government, to be led by Conte, has unnerved markets even before its birth, with the Five Star-League policy program promising a spending spree and tax cuts in deliberate defiance of EU fiscal rules.

Italy’s economy is a hurdle for such an administration, with growth set to be the slowest in the euro area this year. Conte’s lack of political experience and his untested ability to contain personal and political rivalry between Di Maio and Salvini are also a source of concern.

Bonds Slide

Italian bonds resumed their slide Wednesday, with the 10-year yield spread over German bunds widening to 189 basis points, the most since June.

The premier-designate will draw up a list of ministers that he has to submit to the head of state. If Mattarella approves the team, the government will be sworn in and then face a vote of confidence in the two houses of parliament, possibly next week.

Di Maio is tipped as a possible minister of labor and economic development, while Salvini could be interior minister.

— With assistance by Chiara Albanese, and Kevin Costelloe

(Updates 5th paragraph with Zingales report.) LISTEN TO ARTICLE 2:51 Share Share on Facebook Post to Twitter Send as an Email Print

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:SIRI,YRCW,SAFM,LUNA,RIG,

Vancouver-based mineral exploration and development company Kootenay Zinc Corp. (OTCQB:KTNNF)(CSE:ZNK.CN)(CSE:ZNK)(FRANKFURT:KYH) is currently in the process of developing a massive new greenfield mining megaproject that if successful would trigger a significant adjustment in the configuration of North American zinc production. Dubbed ��Sully�� in homage to the nearby Sullivan Deposit��itself an iconic Canadian mine and one of the world��s most productive of its kind for over a century��the new project would give Kootenay exclusive rights to begin operations to extract one of the top-performing global commodities in recent years on a sprawling 1,375ha site. Located just 30km away from the original Sullivan Deposit, Sully exhibits promising physical anomalies of the same order as those observed at the original Sullivan mine that point to massive sedimentary exhalative (SEDEX) deposits, so a positive outlook on this penny stock is not without merit.

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Own Right Now: Sirius XM Radio Inc.(SIRI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Remember, Apple (AAPL) had run because its service-revenue stream made the tech giant part of an elite group of companies. It joined Costco (COST) , Netflix (NFLX) , and SiriusXM (SIRI) , Spotify (SPOT) and Amazon (AMZN) (home of Amazon Prime) as companies that charge you recurring fees that you don't seem to notice or care about. So, Apple's stock no longer represents the tug to the group, and each company has to develop a separate power base away from Cupertino.

• [By Chris Hill]

  Lastly, the Fools answer a classic question from a listener: "When should an investor start taking profits on a multibagger stock? Or should he just hold on forever?" Since the answer to this depends a lot on the company, they both talk generally and address the case of the listener's stock --�Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI)�-- which is up around 500% since he bought it.

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  Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI)�is gearing up for a big earnings announcement this week. The satellite radio provider reports first-quarter results before Wednesday's market open, and a lot is riding on its financial performance. Sirius XM has been one of the market's biggest winners since bottoming out at $0.05 -- yes, a nickel -- in 2009. The stock is now a 127-bagger, and it hit a new 12-year high just last month.

• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $2.4 per share on revenue of $5.63 billion. Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.41 per share on revenue of $37.16 billion. Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.11 per share on revenue of $605.26 million. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.59 per share on revenue of $22.75 billion. General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $2.52 per share on revenue of $7.6 billion. The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $2.58 per share on revenue of $22.24 billion. Anthem, Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $4.91 per share on revenue of $22.52 billion. Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.79 per share on revenue of $3.04 billion. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $3.61 per share on revenue of $6.61 billion. Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.81 per share on revenue of $1.66 billion. Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.07 per share on revenue of $2.15 billion. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.46 per share on revenue of $3.82 billion. Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.97 per share on revenue of $1.62 billion. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TROW) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $1.71 per share on revenue of $1.29 billion. Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.04 per share on revenue of $1.57 billion. Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SI

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Own Right Now: YRC Worldwide Inc.(YRCW)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  On Monday, the industrial shares surged 1.55 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA), up 9 percent, and YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) up 6 percent.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ: CLWT) shares jumped 155.56 percent to close at $5.75 on Thursday. Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: INSP) shares gained 56.12 percent to close at $24.98. Inspire Medical went public Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. The company issued 6.75 million shares priced at $16 each. Presbia PLC (NASDAQ: LENS) shares rose 53.02 percent to close at $3.55. Integrated Media Technology Limited (NASDAQ: IMTE) shares rose 46.29 percent to close at $32.11. The nano-cap low-float stock skyrocketed over 1,300 percent on Wednesday on no company specific news which would support the surge. The move higher is consistent with what was seen in other low-float stocks over the past few months. Technical Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: TCCO) climbed 27.78 percent to close at $5.75. STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA) shares gained 26.27 percent to close at $21.15 after reporting upbeat Q1 results. Sharing Economy International Inc. (NASDAQ: SEII) shares jumped 22.16 percent to close at $4.30 on Thursday after gaining 9.32 percent on Wednesday. China Advanced Construction Materials Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CADC) rose 20.45 percent to close at $2.65 on Thursday. YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) surged 18.36 percent to close at $9.99 following upbeat quarterly earnings. MYR Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MYRG) jumped 17.68 percent to close at $35.74 after the company posted strong Q1 earnings. Xspand Products Lab Inc (NASDAQ: XSPL) jumped 17.4 percent to close at $5.87. Xspand Products priced its IPO at $5 per share. Coherus BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRS) shares rose 17.32 percent to close at $14.90. Coherus BioSciences reported resubmission of BLA for CHS-1701. Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: RTEC) shares gained 17.17 percent to close at $31.05 following upbeat quarterly earnings. The Meet Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEET) gained 16.02 percent to close at $2.68 following Q1 earnings. Ca
• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ: CLWT) surged 73.3 percent to $3.90. Integrated Media Technology Limited (NASDAQ: IMTE) shares gained 51 percent to $33.1365. The nano-cap low-float stock skyrocketed over 1,300 percent on Wednesday on no company specific news which would support the surge. The move higher is consistent with what was seen in other low-float stocks over the past few months. Monaker Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MKGI) shares jumped 34 percent to $3.00. Sharing Economy International Inc. (NASDAQ: SEII) shares rose 28.2 percent to $4.51 after gaining 9.32 percent on Wednesday. STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA) shares jumped 27.8 percent to $21.40 after reporting upbeat Q1 results. Boxlight Corporation (NASDAQ: BOXL) rose 20.5 percent to $8.920 after climbing 107.87 percent on Wednesday. Xspand Products Lab Inc (NASDAQ: XSPL) gained 19.5 percent to $ 5.97. Xspand Products priced its IPO at $5 per share. YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) rose 18.9 percent to $10.035 following upbeat quarterly earnings. ENDRA Life Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NDRA) gained 18.3 percent to $3.0177. ENDRA Life Sciences is expected to report Q1 results on May 15. MYR Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MYRG) rose 18.1 percent to $35.85 after the company posted strong Q1 earnings. Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: RTEC) shares jumped 16 percent to $30.75 following upbeat quarterly earnings. TTM Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTMI) gained 13.7 percent to $16.53 after reporting Q1 results. Insight Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSIT) shares surged 12 percent to $40.06 following better-than-expected Q1 earnings. TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (NYSE: THS) rose 11.8 percent to $40.93 following Q1 results. Engility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EGL) surged 11.2 percent to $27.36. Engility reported upbeat quarterly earnings. Synalloy Corporation (NASDAQ: SYNL) rose 10.7 percent to $19.10 following Q1 results. Logitech International S.A. (NASDAQ: LOGI)
• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Marten Transport (NASDAQ: MRTN) and YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ:YRCW) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Own Right Now: Sanderson Farms Inc.(SAFM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  ValuEngine cut shares of Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ:SAFM) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Own Right Now: Luna Innovations Incorporated(LUNA)

Advisors' Opinion:

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  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Luna Innovations (LUNA)

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Top 5 Penny Stocks To Own Right Now: Transocean Inc.(RIG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Aceto Corporation (NASDAQ: ACET) fell 41.9 percent to $4.30 in pre-market trading. ACETO board disclosed that it is taking proactive steps to address business and financial challenges. Canaccord Genuity downgraded Aceto from Buy to Sell. Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: HMNY) fell 25.3 percent to $2.86 in pre-market trading after reporting an ATM offering of $150 million. Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR) fell 17.4 percent to $2.86 in pre-market trading after reporting a fourth quarter sales miss. Comps were down 7.5 percent in the quarter. Sleep Number Corporation (NASDAQ: SNBR) fell 12.4 percent to $32.00 in pre-market trading following a first quarter earnings miss. Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTK) fell 10.2 percent to $11.90 in pre-market trading on news of $125 million convertible debt offering. Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MACK) shares fell 8 percent to $8.02 in pre-market trading after dropping 2.02 percent on Wednesday. Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPO) shares fell 5.6 percent to $80 in pre-market trading. Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LITE) shares fell 4.8 percent to $60.00 in pre-market trading after rising 1.78 percent on Wednesday. vTv Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VTVT) fell 4.6 percent to $2.10 in pre-market trading after surging 84.87 percent on Wednesday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE: TSM) shares fell 4.5 percent to $40.07 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q1 results. Align Technology, Inc.. (NASDAQ: ALGN) fell 3.5 percent to $267.40 in pre-market trading after rising 1.61 percent on Wednesday. Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) shares fell 3.5 percent to $12 in pre-market trading after the company issued quarterly fleet status report. GoPro, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO) fell 3.2 percent to $4.90 in pre-market trading. Unilever PLC (NYSE: UL) fell 2.6 percent to $54.73 in pre-market
• [By The Ticker Tape]

  TD Ameritrade clients appeared to take some profits in multiple names during the period. Oil companies were popular sells with ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), BP  PLC (ADR) (NYSE: BP), National-Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV), and Transocean LTD (NYSE: RIG) all net sold. Oil prices traded near three-year highs on higher global demand and possible OPEC-led production cuts. COP and BP both traded at multi-year highs, while NOV and RIG reached 52-week highs, enticing clients to take profits in all four names. Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA) traded at levels not seen since before the financial crisis following proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum, and was net sold. For the third month in a row, Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was net sold after CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress regarding the misuse of user data and a beat on earnings.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Transocean (NYSE:RIG) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 30,040 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

• [By Spencer Israel]

  Oil companies were popular sells for the month, including ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), BP p.l.c. (NYSE: BP), and Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) all net sold. Investors also net sold Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA), Starbucks Corporation (NYSE: CMG). and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) in the midst of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's testimony before Congress. 

• [By Max Byerly]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of Transocean (NYSE:RIG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

  Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on RIG. Bank of America increased their price objective on Transocean from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Transocean from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 30th. Susquehanna Bancshares set a $11.00 price objective on Transocean and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Cowen set a $11.00 price objective on Transocean and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Piper Jaffray set a $11.00 price objective on Transocean and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $11.79.

Zacks: Analysts Anticipate bluebird bio (BLUE) to Announce -$2.27 EPS

Brokerages expect bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) to announce earnings of ($2.27) per share for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Six analysts have made estimates for bluebird bio’s earnings. The highest EPS estimate is ($0.84) and the lowest is ($2.55). bluebird bio reported earnings of ($1.73) per share in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a negative year over year growth rate of 31.2%. The firm is expected to announce its next quarterly earnings report on Wednesday, August 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that bluebird bio will report full-year earnings of ($9.33) per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from ($10.89) to ($4.74). For the next fiscal year, analysts forecast that the company will report earnings of ($9.23) per share, with EPS estimates ranging from ($12.17) to ($3.81). Zacks Investment Research’s EPS averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that follow bluebird bio.

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bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.01) by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $15.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 million. bluebird bio had a negative net margin of 857.55% and a negative return on equity of 27.61%. The company’s revenue was up 133.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.68) earnings per share.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of bluebird bio in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Canaccord Genuity reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of bluebird bio in a report on Tuesday, March 13th. Leerink Swann cut shares of bluebird bio from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $162.00 to $194.00 in a report on Thursday, January 25th. SunTrust Banks upped their price target on shares of bluebird bio to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 19th. Finally, BidaskClub raised shares of bluebird bio from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.80.

BLUE traded down $5.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $183.70. The company had a trading volume of 665,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 778,666. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of -23.83 and a beta of 2.17. bluebird bio has a 1-year low of $74.45 and a 1-year high of $236.17.

In other bluebird bio news, insider David Davidson sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.52, for a total transaction of $2,307,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,905 shares in the company, valued at $6,728,895.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Vachon sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.38, for a total transaction of $1,286,280.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,500,660. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,250 shares of company stock valued at $8,269,990. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its position in shares of bluebird bio by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 2,334 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of bluebird bio by 24.7% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Winfield Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of bluebird bio by 12.4% during the first quarter. Winfield Associates Inc. now owns 3,620 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of bluebird bio by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 19,102 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,402,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kazazian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of bluebird bio by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Kazazian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,555 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $811,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter.

bluebird bio Company Profile

bluebird bio, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing transformative gene therapies for severe genetic diseases and cancer. Its product candidates include Lenti-D that is in Phase II/III clinical trials for the treatment of cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare hereditary neurological disorder; and LentiGlobin, which is in various clinical studies for the treatment of transfusion- transfusion-dependent �-thalassemia and severe sickle cell disease.

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