Facebook Facebook closed above $40 a share for the first time today, banishing more than a year of deep doubts about the company�� prospects following its initial public offering of stock last year.
Technically, the closing price of $40.55, up more than 5% on the day, remains below the all-time high of $45. But that high came just seconds after the first day of trading on May 18, 2012, quickly falling back down to close just a little above the $38 offering price. But this is Facebook�� all-time closing high.
What pushed shares above that symbolic level? Nothing today beyond a positive analyst comment or two. But several reasons for the stock�� rapid rise, up more than 50% from the July 24 earnings announcement alone, stand out:
* The company�� growth has reignited on all fronts after a pause last year. In particular, second-quarter ad revenues shot up a surprisingly strong 61%. And despite persistent rumors that younger people are abandoning the site in favor of up-and-coming social services such as SnapChat, Facebook continues to grow its user base.
Top 10 Dividend Companies To Buy Right Now: Visa Inc.(V)
Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Associated Press]
Prom spending is expected to rise this spring to an average $1,139. That's among families who are planning to spend some money to attend the annual affair, according to a survey of 1,025 parents of prom age teens by payment processor Visa (NYSE: V ) and research company Gfk. Not included in the average were 12 percent who said they wouldn't spend anything on the prom. A majority of parents with teenagers surveyed were still unsure how much they'd spend.
- [By Don Miller]
By way of example, let's take a look at three solid companies with some of the best profit margins in their sectors:
By the very nature of their business, financials tend to have wide profit margins, and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is no exception. The fourth-largest bank in the country in terms of assets, with outstanding customer service and a strong brand, WFC has a current profit margin of 25.5%. WFC offers a broad range of banking services, including retail banking, asset management, and retirement planning. WFC carries a market cap of $219 billion and a price/earnings (P/E) ratio of 11.3; the overall return for the past 52 weeks is 20.5%. Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) holds an 80% share of the world's microprocessor market, giving them a moat as wide as any brand on the planet. Intel invested $12 billion in research and development last year, far more than any of its competitors. Even though it briefly lost its technology edge in the smartphone and tablet market, its Atom processors are becoming much more competitive. This should achieve more design wins and give Intel pricing power. Even though the stock is off 11% in the last year, its sheer scale and profit margins of 18.1% make Intel a sleeping giant that's about to wake up. Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) has a coveted gatekeeper's role in the financial services marketplace, with the bulk of its revenue coming from transaction fees. As e-commerce and mobile payments continue to grow, Visa and counterpart MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) are in the catbird seat. Visa sports a fat profit margin of 47.2%, and the stock has more than doubled over the past five years.� Earnings are projected to increase by 19.6% per year over the next five years. With a presence in virtually every country on the planet and the explosion of e-commerce payments, Visa is a great way to tap into a business with unlimited growth opportunities.Now that you know where to invest, find out how to prot
Top 5 Services Companies For 2014: eLong Inc.(LONG)
eLong, Inc. operates as an online travel service provider in the People?s Republic of China. The company provides its customers with travel information and the ability to book rooms, air tickets, vacation packages, and other travel related services utilizing call center and Web-based distribution technologies. It facilitates the customers to book rooms in approximately 10,000 hotels in 450 cities across China, and fulfills air ticket reservations in approximately 80 cities across China. In addition, the company offers the ability to book rooms at approximately 100,000 hotels outside of China; and provides the customers informative content relevant to hotel and air travel decisions, including tourist and event site destination information, hotel facility information, and photos. eLong markets its services through online marketing, traditional media advertising, co-marketing with established brands of other companies, and direct marketing. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China. eLong, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Expedia Asia Pacific Limited.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Shareholders Unite]
The main on-line competitors are:
Qunar.com, a travel website owned by Baidu (BIDU) and a few venture fundseLong (LONG), backed by Tencent (TCEHY.PK) and Expedia (EXPE). Analyst expect it to generate $163M in revenue next yearThat is pretty serious competition, needless to say. Having the backing of Baidu or Expedia offers several advantages, but Ctrip is the biggest and most established company. It's quite difficult to compare Qunar.com to Ctrip, for the simple sake that Qunar is a private company. However, there can be little doubt that it constitutes serious competition:
- [By Faisal Humayun]
Positive Clarification on eLong (LONG)
There were rumours in the recent past that Expedia is considering selling its 65% stake in eLong. On July 7, 2014, Expedia announced that the talk on selling the stake was indeed a rumour and Expedia remains a long-term investor in eLong to support eLong's drive to become the leading Chinese travel site.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
eLong (LONG) operates as an online travel service provider in the People's Republic of China. This stock closed up 7.5% to $19.79 in Wednesday's trading session.
Wednesday's Volume: 96,000
Three-Month Average Volume: 30,062
Volume % Change: 125%From a technical perspective, LONG spiked sharply higher here right off its 50-day moving average of $18.39 with above-average volume. This spike to the upside on Wednesday is now quickly pushing shares of LONG within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if LONG manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $20 to $21 and then above some past overhead resistance at $21.73 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in LONG as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $18.39 or above its 200-day at $17.40 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 30,062 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then LONG will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance level at its 52-week high of $24. Any high-volume move above $24 will then give LONG a chance to make a run at $30.
Top 5 Services Companies For 2014: HFF Inc (HF)
HFF, Inc. is a provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to both the users and providers of capital in the United States commercial real estate industry. It is a full-service commercial real estate financial intermediary in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated out of 20 offices nationwide. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company advised on approximately $35.6 billion of completed commercial real estate transactions. The Company offers debt placement, investment sales, distressed debt and real estate owned advisory services, structured finance, private equity placement, investment banking services, loan sales and commercial loan servicing. In October 2011, the Company sold Las Olas City Centre. In March 2012, the Company sold 801 9th Street, NW, a 236,054 square-foot, Class A office building in Washington, D.C. In July 2013, the Company announced that it has closed the sale of Washington Harbour, a 557,961-square-foot, mixed-use project located along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown submarket. In September 2013, the Company announced that it has closed the sale of Greenway Plaza, a 4.4 million-square-foot, Class A office complex in Houston, Texas, and 777 Main, a 980,374-square-foot Class A office property in Fort Worth, Texas. In November 2013, HFF Inc closed the sale of The Granary. In November 2013, the Company�� subsidiary, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. sold Avalon on the Sound East, a 588-unit, 39-story, Class A multi-housing tower in New Rochelle, New York. In December 2013, HFF Inc sold its Pacific Commons Shopping Center, an 865,783-square-foot center in Fremont. In January 2014, HFF Inc has closed the sale of 225 West Santa Clara, a 16-story, 349,318-square-foot, transit-oriented trophy office property in downtown San Jose, California. In January 2014, HFF, Inc. sold two Central Florida Publix-anchored retail properties in Orlando and suburban Tampa, and sold eight-property, fully leased industrial portfolio in! the Meadowlands submarket of New Jersey. In January 2014, HFF Inc closed the sale of 800 Madison, a 217-unit, Class A multi-housing community with ground floor retail in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Debt Placement Services
The Company offers its clients a range of debt instruments, including but not limited to, construction and construction/mini-permanent loans, adjustable and fixed rate mortgages, entity level debt, mezzanine debt, forward delivery loans, tax exempt financing and sale/leaseback financing. Its clients are owners of various types of property, including, but not limited to, office, retail, industrial, hotel, multi-housing, self-storage, assisted living, nursing homes, condominiums and condominium conversions, mixed-use properties and land. The Company�� clients range in size from individual entrepreneurs who own a single property to the large real estate funds and institutional property owners worldwide who invest globally, especially in the United States. Debt is or has been placed with capital funding sources, both domestic and foreign, including, but not limited to, life insurance companies, conduits, investment banks, commercial banks, thrifts, agency lenders, pension funds, pension fund advisors, real estate investment trusts (REITs), credit companies, opportunity funds and individual investors. In 2011, its transaction volume in debt placements was approximately $18.7 billion.
Investment Sales Services
The Company provides investment sales services to commercial real estate owners who are seeking to sell one or more properties or property interests. In 2011, it completed investment sales of approximately $12.6 billion.
Structured Finance and Private Equity Services
The Company offers an array of structured finance and private equity alternatives and solutions at both the property and ownership entity level. In 2011, it completed approximately $2 billion of structured finance and advisory services transactions.
Private Equity, Investment Banking and Advisory Services
The Company�� broker-dealer subsidiary, HFF Securities L.P. (HFF Securities), undertakes both discretionary and non-discretionary private equity raises, select property specific joint ventures and select investment banking activities for its clients. At December 31, 2011, it had $1.9 billion of active private equity discretionary fund transactions. Through HFF Securities, it offers its clients the ability to access the private equity markets for an identified commercial real estate asset and discretionary private equity funds, joint ventures, entity-level private placements and advisory services, as well as structured finance services. HFF Securities��services to its clients include joint ventures, private placements, advisory services, and marketing and fund-raising.
Loan Sales
The Company assists its clients to sell all or portions of their commercial real estate debt note portfolios, which can include performing, non-performing and distressed debt and/or real estate owned properties. It had consummated $2.3 billion in loan sales transactions in 2011.
Commercial Loan Servicing
The Company provides commercial loan servicing (primary and sub-servicing) for life insurance companies, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) through relationships with a range of delegated underwriting and servicing (DUS) lenders, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) originators, mortgage REITS and debt funds, groups that purchase performing and/or non-performing loans, as well as owners who sell commercial real estate subject to a purchase money mortgage. During 2011, it had approximately 35 correspondent lender relationships with life insurers.
The Company competes with CBRE Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield, Eastdil Secured, Jones Lang LaSalle, Northmarq Capital and Berkadia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Hilary Kramer]
2. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) The REIT is another alternative vehicle that's gone mainstream in recent years. Hundreds of broad-based and specialized real estate companies and ETFs are available, and after a correction a few months ago, many are on the cheap side. Like any other alternative, this should be a seasoning for your portfolio and not the sauce itself. For most retail investors, a stake in an indexed fund like the SPDR Dow Jones REIT (NYSE: RWR) should be more than adequate, or look into the companies that provide services to the REIT industry like HFF (NYSE: HF) and Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL).
Top 5 Services Companies For 2014: WellPoint Inc.(WLP)
WellPoint, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company offers various network-based managed care plans to large and small employer, individual, Medicaid, and senior markets. Its managed care plans include preferred provider organizations; health maintenance organizations; point-of-service plans; traditional indemnity plans; and other hybrid plans, including consumer-driven health plans, hospital only, and limited benefit products. The company also provides various managed care services comprising claims processing, underwriting, stop loss insurance, actuarial services, provider network access, medical cost management, disease management, wellness programs, and other administrative services to self-funded customers. In addition, it offers specialty and other products and services, including life and disability insurance benefits; dental, vision, and behavioral health benefit services; radiology benefit management; personal health care guidance; and long-term care insurance. Further, the company serves as an intermediary providing administrative service for the Medicare program that offers coverage for persons, who are 65 or older and for persons who are disabled or with end-stage renal disease. WellPoint, Inc. markets its products through a network of independent agents and brokers, consultants, in-house sales force, or Internet. The company, formerly known as Anthem, Inc., was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sean Williams]
Insurers have many of the same concerns. WellPoint (NYSE: WLP ) completely repositioned itself with its $4.5 billion purchase of AMERIGROUP in order to get a hold of as many of the 16 million soon-to-be newly qualified Medicaid-based members under Obamacare. If these members don't sign up because of technical problems with the state exchanges, or a lack of education informing them where to go to get the insurance they've qualified for, then insurers like WellPoint are going to be in a world of hurt. This uncertainty comes on top of the PPACA calling for an 80% medical loss ratio cap on insurers. In other words, they'll be required to spend at least 80% of premium money collected on patient care. With the odds stacked against insurers, it's not hard to see why they've been more cautious about giving the green light to Intuitive's costlier robotic procedures.
- [By Omar Venerio]
The company has a current ROE of 10.94% which is higher than the industry median and the ones exhibit by Universal American Corp. (UAM), Centene (CNC) and WellPoint (WLP). In general, analysts consider ROE ratios in the 15-20% range as representing attractive levels for investment. So for investors looking those levels or more, Cigna (CI) could be the option. It is very important to understand this metric before investing and it is important to look at the trend in ROE over time.
- [By Tom Rojas and Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]
WellPoint Inc.(WLP) on Wednesday became the latest health insurer to raise its outlook after posting higher-than-expected quarterly earnings. Shares gained 1.7% to $122 premarket.
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