Archives for May 8, 2019

Android Pie hits 10 percent adoption two months ahead of its ancestors

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Google’s efforts to improve updates have had modest success.

Google left people in the dark regarding Android Pie’s adoption for more than half a year, but it’s finally lifting the curtain — and Pie is doing better than its predecessors. Updated stats supplied to VentureBeat show that 10.4 percent of active users were using Pie after eight months. That may not sound like much, but it took about 10 months each for Oreo and Nougat to reach the 10 percent milestone. Google’s efforts to spur Pie’s uptake appear to have paid off, even if it’s not a night-and-day difference.

The fresh stats also bode well for efforts to move people on from particularly ancient versions of Android. Oreo is still the most common release and jumped nearly 7 points to 28.3 percent, while Nougat dropped just shy of 10 points to hit 19.2 percent. Most of the older versions saw many users jump ship, too, although that still left KitKat with a 6.9 percent slice roughly six years after its arrival.

Just don’t expect frequent updates on Pie’s progress. Google is ditching its earlier habit of monthly adoption updates in favor a more relaxed pace, most likely once a quarter. You will get more context, though, so it might be clearer as to why a given version of Android is thriving or struggling.

Google trains its AI to accommodate speech impairments

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This could help people with conditions like ALS communicate via voice assistants.

For most users, voice assistants are helpful tools. But for the millions of people with speech impairments caused by neurological conditions, voice assistants can be yet another frustrating challenge. Google wants to change that. At its I/O developer conference today, Google revealed that it’s training AI to better understand diverse speech patterns, such as impaired speech caused by brain injury or conditions like ALS.

Through Project Euphoria, Google partnered with ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) and ALS Residence Initiative (ALSRI). The idea was that if friends and family of people with ALS can understand their loved ones, then Google could train computers to do the same. It simply needed to present its AI with enough examples of impaired speech patterns.

So, Google set out to record thousands of voice samples. One volunteer, Dimitri Kanevsky, a speech researcher at Google who learned English after becoming deaf as a child in Russia, recorded 15,000 phrases. Those were turned into spectrograms — visual representations of sound — and used to train the AI to understand Kanevsky.

This is still a work in progress, and for now, Google is working to bring it to people who speak English and have impairments typically associated with ALS. It’s calling for volunteers, who can fill out a short form and record a set of phrases. Google also wants its AI to translate sounds and gestures into actions, such as speaking commands to Google Home or sending text messages. Eventually, it hopes to develop AI that can understand anyone, no matter how they communicate.

Stocks to Watch: American Outdoor Brands Corporation (AOBC) and Polarityte, Inc. (PTE) on the Marquee

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The price of American Outdoor Brands Corporation (NASDAQ:AOBC) went up by $0.01 now trading at $9.86. Their shares witnessed a 9.19% increase from the 52-week low price of $9.03 they recorded on 2019-04-03. Even though it is still -61.76% behind the $15.95 high touched on 2018-09-19. The last few days have been rough for the stock, as its price has decreased by 0% during the week. It has also performed poorly over the past three months, as it lost around -18.44% while it has so far retreated around -7.5% during the course of a year. The stock of AOBC recorded -23.33% downtrend from the beginning of this year till date. The 12-month potential price target for American Outdoor Brands Corporation is set at $14. This target means that the stock has an upside potential to increase by 41.99% from the current trading price.

33 institutions entered new American Outdoor Brands Corporation (NASDAQ:AOBC) positions, 78 added to their existing positions in these shares, 80 lowered their positions, and 28 exited their positions entirely.

American Outdoor Brands Corporation (AOBC) trade volume has decreased by -61.43% as around 356,642 shares were sold when compared with its 50-day average volume of traded shares which is 924,716. At the moment, AOBC is witnessing a uptrend, as it is trading 1.16% above its 20-day SMA, -2.69% below its 50-day SMA, and -18.49% below its 200-day SMA. The company runs an ROE of roughly 3.8%, 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 -30.7% decrease witnessed over the past five years.

The first technical resistance point for American Outdoor Brands Corporation (NASDAQ:AOBC) will likely come at $12.56, marking a 21.5% premium to the current level. The second resistance point is at $13.39, about 26.36% premium to its current market price. On the other hand, inability to breach the immediate hurdles can drag it down to $10.91, the lower end of the range. AOBC’s 14-day MACD is -0.07 and this negative figure indicates a downward trading trend. The company’s 14-day RSI (relative strength index) score is 39.75, which shows that its stock has been neutral. The 20-day historical volatility for the stock stands at 52.39 percent, which is high when compared to that of the 50-day’s 47.62 percent.

The shares of PolarityTE, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTE) has increased by 0.82%, and now trading at $8.64 on the Wall Street in the intra-day deal, with their shares traded now around 183,855. This is a decline of -260,241 shares over the average 444,096 shares that were traded daily over the last three months. The stock that is trading at $8.64 went higher by 14.74% from its 52-week low of $7.53 that it attained back on 2019-05-03. The stock recorded a 52-week high of $41.22 nearly 320 days ago on 2018-06-21.

PTE stock hasn’t performed well over the past 30 days, as it lost -19.25% while its price plunged by -35.95% year-to-date (YTD). Looking at the last few days, it has been tough for the stock, as it tumbled -5.16% over the last week. The stock’s 12-month potential target price is now at $34.33.

PolarityTE, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTE) 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 up by 15% per year, following the 43.6% raise that was witnessed during the past five years. The stock at the moment is on a downtrend, trading -4.87% below its 20-day SMA, -23.79% below its 50-day SMA, and -46.23% below its 200-day SMA. In percentage terms, the aggregate PolarityTE, Inc. shares held by institutional investors is 49.7%. 17 institutions jumped in to acquire PolarityTE, Inc. (PTE) fresh stake, 43 added to their current holdings in these shares, 33 lowered their positions, and 14 left no stake in the company.

The stock’s 9-day MACD is -0.02 and this negative figure indicates a downward trading trend. The company’s 9-day RSI score is 40.19, which shows that its stock has been neutral. The 20-day historical volatility for the shares stand at 68.04 percent, which is less when compared to that of the 50-day’s 99.15 percent. On the daily chart, we see that the stock could reach the first level of resistance at $8.84, sporting a 2.26% premium to the current level. The next resistance point is at $9.03, representing nearly 4.32% premium to the current market price of PolarityTE, Inc. (PTE). On the other hand, failure to breach the immediate hurdles can drag it down to $8.05, the lower end of the range.

Stocks to Watch: Columbia Property Trust, Inc. (CXP) and Kingold Jewelry, Inc. (KGJI) in the spotlight

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The price of Columbia Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CXP) went up by $0.06 now trading at $22.62. Their shares witnessed a 25.11% increase from the 52-week low price of $18.08 they recorded on 2018-12-26. Even though it is still -10.83% behind the $25.07 high touched on 2018-09-06. The last few days have been good for the stock, as its price has grew by 0.49% during the week. It has also performed better over the past three months, as it added around 1.48% while it has so far climbed around 4.19% during the course of a year. The stock of CXP recorded 16.9% uptrend from the beginning of this year till date. The 12-month potential price target for Columbia Property Trust, Inc. is set at $24.75. This target means that the stock has an upside potential to increase by 9.42% from the current trading price.

31 institutions entered new Columbia Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CXP) positions, 93 added to their existing positions in these shares, 127 lowered their positions, and 43 exited their positions entirely.

Columbia Property Trust, Inc. (CXP) trade volume has decreased by -37.44% as around 387,040 shares were sold when compared with its 50-day average volume of traded shares which is 618,642. At the moment, CXP is witnessing a downtrend, as it is trading -0.09% below its 20-day SMA, 1.11% above its 50-day SMA, and 2.22% above its 200-day SMA. The company runs an ROE of roughly 0.4%, with financial analysts predicting that their earnings per share growth will be around 0% per annum for the next five year. This will be compared to the -16.6% decrease witnessed over the past five years.

The first technical resistance point for Columbia Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CXP) will likely come at $22.78, marking a 0.7% premium to the current level. The second resistance point is at $22.93, about 1.35% premium to its current market price. On the other hand, inability to breach the immediate hurdles can drag it down to $22.17, the lower end of the range. CXP’s 14-day MACD is 0.07 and this positive figure indicates an upward trading trend. The company’s 14-day RSI (relative strength index) score is 51.67, which shows that its stock has been neutral. The 20-day historical volatility for the stock stands at 15.94 percent, which is high when compared to that of the 50-day’s 14.35 percent.

The shares of Kingold Jewelry, Inc. (NASDAQ:KGJI) has decreased by -2.84%, and now trading at $0.83 on the Wall Street in the intra-day deal, with their shares traded now around 62,994. This is a rise of 10,410 shares over the average 52,584 shares that were traded daily over the last three months. The stock that is trading at $0.83 went higher by 13.7% from its 52-week low of $0.73 that it attained back on 2019-01-25. The stock recorded a 52-week high of $1.45 nearly 354 days ago on 2018-05-18.

KGJI stock has performed well over the past 30 days, as it added 2.46% while its price climbed by 5.06% year-to-date (YTD). Looking at the last few days, it has been tough for the stock, as it tumbled -4.6% over the last week. The stock’s 12-month potential target price is now at $0.

Kingold Jewelry, Inc. (NASDAQ:KGJI) has been utilizing an ROE that is roughly 11.2%, with stock analysts predicting that the company’s EPS for the next five years will go down by 0% per year, following the 11.1% raise that was witnessed during the past five years. The stock at the moment is on a downtrend, trading -5.32% below its 20-day SMA, -2.61% below its 50-day SMA, and -12.23% below its 200-day SMA. In percentage terms, the aggregate Kingold Jewelry, Inc. shares held by institutional investors is 0.2%. 2 institutions jumped in to acquire Kingold Jewelry, Inc. (KGJI) fresh stake, 5 added to their current holdings in these shares, 5 lowered their positions, and 3 left no stake in the company.

The stock’s 9-day MACD is -0.02 and this negative figure indicates a downward trading trend. The company’s 9-day RSI score is 40.22, which shows that its stock has been neutral. The 20-day historical volatility for the shares stand at 46.99 percent, which is less when compared to that of the 50-day’s 56.42 percent. On the daily chart, we see that the stock could reach the first level of resistance at $0.84, sporting a 1.19% premium to the current level. The next resistance point is at $0.84, representing nearly 1.19% premium to the current market price of Kingold Jewelry, Inc. (KGJI). On the other hand, failure to breach the immediate hurdles can drag it down to $0.8, the lower end of the range.

Stocks to Watch: KushCo Holdings Inc – Ordinary Shares (OTCQB:KSHB) Up +5.63%

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At close of market on Monday, KushCo Holdings Inc – Ordinary Shares (OTCQB:KSHB) stock finished trading at +5.63%, bringing the stock price to $5.26 on the OTCQB – U.S. Registered. The stock price saw a low of $4.75 and a high of $5.34.

The company’s stock was traded 1,695 times with a total of 966,937 shares traded.

KushCo Holdings Inc – Ordinary Shares has a market cap of $463.02 million, with 88.02 million shares in issue.

KushCo Holdings Inc is a wholesale distributor of packaging supplies and customized branding solutions for the cannabis industry. The company markets and sells customized bottles, bags, grinders, tubes, and containers for local urban farmers, greenhouse growers, for medical and recreational cannabis industry in the United States.

Stocks to Watch: Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:AP.UN) Up +1.13%

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At close of market on Monday, Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:AP.UN) stock finished trading at +1.13%, bringing the stock price to $48.17 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The stock price saw a low of $47.44 and a high of $48.33.

The company’s stock was traded 2,652 times with a total of 598,899 shares traded.

Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust has a market cap of $5.26 billion, with 109.1 million shares in issue.

Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust is a real estate investment trust engaged in the development, management, and ownership of primarily urban office environments across Canada’s major cities. Most of the total square footage in the company’s real estate portfolio is located in Toronto and Montreal. Allied Properties derives nearly all of its income in the form of rental revenue from tenants in its properties. The majority of this revenue comes from its assets located in Central Canada. Allied Properties’ major tenants include IT, banking, government, marketing, and telecommunications firms. The company also controls a number of telecommunications/IT and retail properties within its real estate portfolio.