Archives for April 30, 2019

Stocks to Watch: Research Frontiers Incoporated (REFR) and Plymouth Industrial Reit, Inc. (PLYM) in the spotlight

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The price of Research Frontiers Incorporated (NASDAQ:REFR) went down by $-0.05 now trading at $2.81. Their shares witnessed a 368.33% increase from the 52-week low price of $0.6 they recorded on 2018-06-22. Even though it is still -24.2% behind the $3.49 high touched on 2019-02-13. The last few days have been good for the stock, as its price has grew by 8.91% during the week. It has also performed poorly over the past three months, as it lost around -2.43% while it has so far climbed around 200.44% during the course of a year. The stock of REFR recorded 80.13% uptrend from the beginning of this year till date. The 12-month potential price target for Research Frontiers Incorporated is set at $3. This target means that the stock has an upside potential to increase by 6.76% from the current trading price.

1 institutions entered new Research Frontiers Incorporated (NASDAQ:REFR) positions, 3 added to their existing positions in these shares, 6 lowered their positions, and 1 exited their positions entirely.

Research Frontiers Incorporated (REFR) trade volume has decreased by -37.13% as around 78,957 shares were sold when compared with its 50-day average volume of traded shares which is 125,586. At the moment, REFR is witnessing a uptrend, as it is trading 21.75% above its 20-day SMA, 21.11% above its 50-day SMA, and 66.24% above its 200-day SMA. The company runs an ROE of roughly -86%, with financial analysts predicting that their earnings per share growth will be around 30% per annum for the next five year. This will be compared to the 17% increase witnessed over the past five years.

The first technical resistance point for Research Frontiers Incorporated (NASDAQ:REFR) will likely come at $2.92, marking a 3.77% premium to the current level. The second resistance point is at $3.03, about 7.26% premium to its current market price. On the other hand, inability to breach the immediate hurdles can drag it down to $2.65, the lower end of the range. REFR’s 14-day MACD is 0.39 and this positive figure indicates an upward trading trend. The company’s 14-day RSI (relative strength index) score is 68.24, which shows that its stock has been neutral. The 20-day historical volatility for the stock stands at 67.43 percent, which is low when compared to that of the 50-day’s 75.32 percent.

The shares of Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (NYSE:PLYM) has increased by 5.57%, and now trading at $18.37 on the Wall Street in the intra-day deal, with their shares traded now around 92,733. This is a rise of 55,873 shares over the average 36,860 shares that were traded daily over the last three months. The stock that is trading at $18.37 went higher by 67.76% from its 52-week low of $10.95 that it attained back on 2018-11-12. The stock recorded a 52-week high of $18.76 nearly 1 days ago on 2019-04-29.

PLYM stock has performed well over the past 30 days, as it added 9.87% while its price climbed by 45.68% year-to-date (YTD). Looking at the last few days, it has been good for the stock, as it rose 9.41% over the last week. The stock’s 12-month potential target price is now at $18.33. This means that the stock price might likely increase by -0.22% from its current trading price. 2 out of 3 Wall Street analysts which represents 66.67% rated the stock as a buy while the remaining 33.33% rated it as a hold, with 0% of analysts rating it as a sell.

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (NYSE:PLYM) has been utilizing an ROE that is roughly 235.9%, with stock analysts predicting that the company’s EPS for the next five years will go down by 0% per year, following the -49.2% drop that was witnessed during the past five years. The stock at the moment is on a uptrend, trading 9.11% above its 20-day SMA, 13.06% above its 50-day SMA, and 22.52% above its 200-day SMA. In percentage terms, the aggregate Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. shares held by institutional investors is 28.2%. 4 institutions jumped in to acquire Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM) fresh stake, 12 added to their current holdings in these shares, 12 lowered their positions, and 7 left no stake in the company.

The stock’s 9-day MACD is 0.56 and this positive figure indicates an upward trading trend. The company’s 9-day RSI score is 85.87, which shows that its stock has been overbought. The 20-day historical volatility for the shares stand at 24.29 percent, which is less when compared to that of the 50-day’s 24.5 percent. On the daily chart, we see that the stock could reach the first level of resistance at $18.81, sporting a 2.34% premium to the current level. The next resistance point is at $19.25, representing nearly 4.57% premium to the current market price of Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (PLYM). On the other hand, failure to breach the immediate hurdles can drag it down to $17.39, the lower end of the range.

Stocks to Watch: Wake-up Call for Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (TSEM), Cellectis S.A. (CLLS)

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The price of Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM) went up by $0.45 now trading at $18.11. Their shares witnessed a 33.55% increase from the 52-week low price of $13.56 they recorded on 2018-12-24. Even though it is still -52.46% behind the $27.61 high touched on 2018-05-04. The last few days have been good for the stock, as its price has grew by 3.9% during the week. It has also performed better over the past three months, as it added around 23.53% while it has so far retreated around -30.88% during the course of a year. The stock of TSEM recorded 22.86% uptrend from the beginning of this year till date. The 12-month potential price target for Tower Semiconductor Ltd. is set at $23.25. This target means that the stock has an upside potential to increase by 28.38% from the current trading price.

27 institutions entered new Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM) positions, 67 added to their existing positions in these shares, 78 lowered their positions, and 26 exited their positions entirely.

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (TSEM) trade volume has decreased by -42.58% as around 268,427 shares were sold when compared with its 50-day average volume of traded shares which is 467,474. At the moment, TSEM is witnessing a uptrend, as it is trading 2.22% above its 20-day SMA, 3.94% above its 50-day SMA, and 1.24% above its 200-day SMA. The company runs an ROE of roughly 11.9%, with financial analysts predicting that their earnings per share growth will be around 15% per annum for the next five year. This will be compared to the 20% increase witnessed over the past five years.

The first technical resistance point for Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ:TSEM) will likely come at $18.23, marking a 0.66% premium to the current level. The second resistance point is at $18.34, about 1.25% premium to its current market price. On the other hand, inability to breach the immediate hurdles can drag it down to $17.66, the lower end of the range. TSEM’s 14-day MACD is -0.02 and this negative figure indicates a downward trading trend. The company’s 14-day RSI (relative strength index) score is 58.39, which shows that its stock has been neutral. The 20-day historical volatility for the stock stands at 23.47 percent, which is low when compared to that of the 50-day’s 38.22 percent.

The shares of Cellectis S.A. (NASDAQ:CLLS) has increased by 1.62%, and now trading at $20.11 on the Wall Street in the intra-day deal, with their shares traded now around 84,186. This is a decline of -54,666 shares over the average 138,852 shares that were traded daily over the last three months. The stock that is trading at $20.11 went higher by 31.1% from its 52-week low of $15.34 that it attained back on 2019-01-23. The stock recorded a 52-week high of $31.57 nearly 342 days ago on 2018-05-23.

CLLS stock has performed well over the past 30 days, as it added 10.86% while its price climbed by 20.78% year-to-date (YTD). Looking at the last few days, it has been tough for the stock, as it tumbled -1.18% over the last week. The stock’s 12-month potential target price is now at $41.9. This means that the stock price might likely increase by 108.35% from its current trading price. 7 out of 10 Wall Street analysts which represents 70% rated the stock as a buy while the remaining 30% rated it as a hold, with 0% of analysts rating it as a sell.

Cellectis S.A. (NASDAQ:CLLS) has been utilizing an ROE that is roughly 0%, with stock analysts predicting that the company’s EPS for the next five years will go down by 0% per year, following the -21.2% drop that was witnessed during the past five years. The stock at the moment is on a uptrend, trading 2.42% above its 20-day SMA, 6.89% above its 50-day SMA, and -11.67% below its 200-day SMA. In percentage terms, the aggregate Cellectis S.A. shares held by institutional investors is 30.1%. 11 institutions jumped in to acquire Cellectis S.A. (CLLS) fresh stake, 31 added to their current holdings in these shares, 47 lowered their positions, and 27 left no stake in the company.

The stock’s 9-day MACD is -0.2 and this negative figure indicates a downward trading trend. The company’s 9-day RSI score is 57.96, which shows that its stock has been neutral. The 20-day historical volatility for the shares stand at 26.67 percent, which is less when compared to that of the 50-day’s 39.59 percent. On the daily chart, we see that the stock could reach the first level of resistance at $20.34, sporting a 1.13% premium to the current level. The next resistance point is at $20.57, representing nearly 2.24% premium to the current market price of Cellectis S.A. (CLLS). On the other hand, failure to breach the immediate hurdles can drag it down to $19.61, the lower end of the range.

After new canola markets

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Canada is looking for new Asian customers for its canola to answer China’s ban on many shipments of the product, says International Trade Minister Jim Carr.

The Canadian government is also still pushing China to allow a Canadian delegation to visit the People’s Republic to verify complaints that Canadian canola is contaminated with pests, Carr said in an interview.

So far, China hasn’t agreed to requests for a Canadian delegation to test its unproven concerns. China has rejected Canadian canola-seed shipments in recent months and has suspended the licences of two major Canadian exporters.

The government requested permission on April 1 for inspectors from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to visit China, but so far there has been no response.

The CFIA has twice inspected the shipments in question and found no impurities, Carr told The Canadian Press on Saturday, prior to the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“We want to have a science conversation with the Chinese to verify any allegations that the very high quality Canadian canola has any impurities at all. We’re looking to have that proven to us,” the minister said. “We will send a high-level delegation as soon as that invitation is sent to us. Meanwhile, it’s important that we look for other markets for our canola and certainly the Asia-Pacific is among them, including Japan.”

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has also written to her Chinese counterparts to press the issue, he added.

Asked why he thinks the Chinese have been delaying, Carr replied: “I can’t speak for them.”

On Monday, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to pressure China by pulling hundreds of millions of dollars Ottawa has committed to Beijing’s multilateral development bank.

The Liberal government has committed $256 million over five years to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, in the hopes that Canada can help guide its decisions and that Canadian companies will get business from the development projects it promotes. Dozens of countries outside Asia are participants in the bank, from Madagascar to Ireland to Norway.

Scheer also demanded Trudeau take several more-immediate steps, including appointing a new ambassador to China, launching a complaint about the canola dispute with the World Trade Organization and increasing financial support for farmers caught in the crossfire of what has become a broader diplomatic spat between the two countries.

“By doing nothing, this policy of appeasement that Justin Trudeau has pursued with the government in China has clearly not worked,” Scheer said.

China’s decision to cut off Canadian canola-seed shipments is widely viewed as an attempt to apply economic pressure on Canada following the December arrest of senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the behest of the United States. China is the usual destination for about 40 per cent of Canadian canola, a major source of oil used for cooking and some industrial purposes.

In the days following Meng’s arrest, China arrested two Canadian citizens on allegations of engaging in activities that have endangered Chinese national security. Michael Kovrig, a Canadian diplomat on leave, and Michael Spavor, an entrepreneur, are still being held by Chinese authorities in what the Trudeau government has called arbitrary detentions.

Weeks later, Trudeau fired Canada’s former ambassador to China, John McCallum, for going off-script in the government’s efforts to win the release of the two men. Before his posting in Beijing, McCallum was a longtime Liberal MP and cabinet minister.

Scheer tried to cast the canola fight as just one example of the Liberals’ failures on the foreign-policy front.

“There’s been no reaction, there have been no consequences to the government of China for detaining our citizens and blocking our exports,” Scheer said.

“I believe that when a country stands up for itself and shows that there are consequences to mistreating our citizens and blocking our exports that that will be when China recognizes that they should not pursue this course of actions.”

BMO fined 1.25M euros

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The Bank of Montreal’s Irish subsidiary has been fined 1.25 million euros by Ireland’s central bank for breaching a condition of its banking licence.

The central bank says the Bank of Montreal Ireland plc. failed to establish and maintain processes and controls to ensure the submission of certain reports regarding operational risk.

It said BMO has admitted the breaches in full.

BMO was not immediately available for comment.

The central bank says the appropriate fine amounted to 1.78 million euros but this was reduced by 30 per cent, as per its procedures for early settlements.

It added that this was the Canadian lender’s second reprimand and fine for deficiencies in regulatory reporting.

Spotify hits 100M mark

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Music streaming service Spotify said Monday that its paying subscribers have reached 100 million for the first time, up 32% on the year and almost twice the latest figures for Apple Music.

The Stockholm-based company called the figure, which was reached during the first three months of 2019, “an important milestone.”

The growth was driven, among other things, by “a better-than-planned promotion in the U.S. and Canada.” Spotify said it had reached “the high end of our guidance range of 97-100 million.”

By comparison, archrival Apple Music had about 50 million paying subscribers at the end of 2018, the latest available figures. Apple is expected to release new figures with its earnings report on Tuesday.

The number of Spotify’s total monthly users, which includes those who do not pay a monthly subscription fee but use the service with intermittent ads, rose to 217 million in the first quarter.

The strong growth in its user base led to a 33% rise in revenue, to 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion). Yet like many tech companies focusing on building market share, the company continued to lose money, reporting an operating loss of 47 million euros.

Spotify says that voice speakers like Google Home and Alexa are a “critical area of growth” and is looking to invest more in podcasts to supplement its offering of music.

Financials help TSX climb

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Strength in the heavyweight financial sector helped Canada’s main stock index edge higher in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also crept upward.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 8.28 points at 16,621.74.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 2.04 points at 26,545.37. The S&P 500 index was up 2.89 points at 2,942.77, while the Nasdaq composite was up 11.94 points at 8,158.34.

The Canadian dollar traded for 74.28 cents US compared with an average of 74.29 cents US on Friday.

The June crude contract was down 22 cents at US$63.08 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was down 1.5 cents at US$2.56 per mmBTU.

The June gold contract was down US$7.20 at US$1,281.60 an ounce and the July copper contract was down 0.35 of a cent at US$2.89 a pound.