Stock futures opened slightly higher Sunday evening, even as coronavirus cases continued to march higher globally and domestically.

PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) is an industry leader in arson and manslaughter. They also do something with electricity. PCG filed for bankruptcy in January of 2019 after they were unable to pay billions in claims. To call the bankruptcy process a klusterfuk, is generous to all involved. However, that’s all in the rearview mirror. A bunch of […]

(Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett finally found his next crisis-era deal.His Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which has stayed relatively quiet during the tumult of the coronavirus pandemic, broke its silence at the end of a holiday weekend with its biggest acquisition in more than four years. The agreement for Dominion Energy Inc.’s natural gas pipeline and storage assets signaled to the market that Buffett is willing to pounce despite his cautious tone in May about the pandemic, according to David Kass, a professor of finance at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.“He’s willing to make investments now, of a fairly sizable amount,” Kass said. “It’s very positive that he’s sending a signal for the right deal at the right price, $10 billion or more, ‘We’re ready to go, we’re ready to invest.’”Buffett, who has crafted Berkshire into a conglomerate valued at $434 billion, built his reputation as an investor able to swoop in during volatile markets to strike unique and complicated deals in past crises. After being stymied on the acquisition front during the recent bull market for stocks, Buffett still wasn’t striking any deals during the initial stages of the pandemic and even dumped his stakes in the major U.S. airlines.His inability to make a major acquisition recently has drawn scrutiny from his critics who have argued that Buffett has lost his ability to pull off the game-changing transactions that helped vault Berkshire into the ranks of the most valuable U.S. public companies. Now, the deal to buy substantially all of Dominion Energy’s natural gas transmission and storage assets for $4 billion, along with the assumption of $5.7 billion in debt, shows that Buffett is willing to put his money to work, Kass said.“We are very proud to be adding such a great portfolio of natural gas assets to our already strong energy business,” Buffett, who is chief executive officer and chairman of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway, said in a statement Sunday.“I’m inspired to see that, given that he’s bearish, he’s still willing to make acquisitions where he thinks it makes sense and where it meets Berkshire’s hurdle points,” said Darren Pollock, a portfolio manager at Cheviot Value Management, which invests in Berkshire shares.Buffett has considered its energy business one of the “lead dogs” of Berkshire’s non-insurance operations alongside its railroad. Berkshire’s purchase expands its hold in the sector, adding more infrastructure to handle natural gas to its already sprawling energy operations across states such as Nevada and Iowa. Berkshire also struck the deal at a low point in the market. Natural gas futures in the U.S. dropped last month to their lowest point in 25 years and have recovered just slightly since then.“This looks like confirmation that commodities like energy are undervalued,” Bill Smead, chief investment officer at Smead Capital Management, which owns Berkshire shares, said in an emailed comment. “At the bottom, assets move from weak hands to strong hands.”Berkshire is digging deeper into a business that’s been facing increasing scrutiny amid the push for energy companies to shift away from fossil fuels. In its own statement on Sunday, Dominion Energy cited its target to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.The deal also highlights the work of one of Buffett’s key deputies, Greg Abel, who led the energy business for years and is now chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Energy alongside his role as Berkshire’s vice chairman for all non-insurance businesses. Abel has gained a reputation as a key dealmaker for Berkshire with the 2013 purchase of NV Energy and even the battle to buy Oncor Electric Delivery Co., which didn’t ultimately come together. Abel is viewed as a potential successor to Buffett, 89.The Dominion deal is set to be Berkshire’s largest acquisition ranked by enterprise value since its purchase of Precision Castparts Corp. in 2016. Still, Buffett ended the first quarter with a record $137 billion on hand and has been hankering for an “elephant-sized acquisition” to put a chunk of his cash pile to work. The Dominion agreement’s total enterprise value would account for about 7% of that total.“It’s not something that’s going to move the needle from a balance sheet standpoint, but it’ll produce several hundred million dollars a year in net income to Berkshire,” said Cheviot’s Pollock. “That’s no paltry sum. That adds up over time.”(Updates with shareholder comment in seventh paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Musk has often taken umbrage at short-sellers and in 2018 sent a box of shorts to hedge fund owner and Tesla short-seller David Einhorn. The "Short Shorts" on the Tesla shop website feature gold trim and “S3XY” in gold across the back, which also happens to be formed from Tesla model names.

Journal Editorial Report: The week's best and worst from Jillian Melchior, Jason Willick, Mary O'Grady and Dan Henninger. Images: Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly

Up, up and away they go. Kicking off the second half of the year with a bang, the S&P 500 followed up its best quarter in over 20 years by extending its winning streak to four sessions. That said, given the current climate of uncertainty, predicting what the remainder of 2020 holds can feel like a guessing game. So, maybe it’s time to look at what the insiders are doing. Company owners, presidents and other officers, board members – have a direct line to information that the rest of us don’t usually see. Their positions put them in place to know what is about to impact their companies, and they have access to better legal and regulatory advice than the general public. It’s only natural – and very human – for them to use this information in their personal trading activities. To keep the playing field a bit more level, these people in the know are required to disclose their inside trades quarterly. TipRanks collects that insider trading data, and puts it in the context of the larger markets. The Insiders’ Hot Stocks tool lets you follow the insiders, sorting the data by stock or by trading strategy. It’s a smart way to get an inside track, and to demonstrate, we’ve picked three stocks that have recently skewed strongly positive on the strength of insider trades. T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS) The first stock is a company you know. T-Mobile is the country’s third largest wireless carrier, by customer base, and the company started Q2 by taking ownership of competitor Sprint. This past quarter marked the first full quarter of activity by the combined entity, and TMUS shares rose an impressive 24% during the period. Along with strong share appreciation in Q1, TMUS posted unexpectedly solid earnings. The earnings, reported back in May, showed EPS coming in at $1.23, which beat the forecast by 23%. Looking forward, T-Mobile has strong prospects for growth due to its commitment to increasing 5G coverage. As part of the Sprint merger, the company had to commit to expanding rural coverage and making 5G service available to 97% of the US population within three years. In the wake of the successful Sprint merger, TMUS has seen a major insider buy. The purchase, by Director Ronald Fisher, was for 350,000 shares, for which he shelled out more than $36 million. It was a big move, and it swung the insider sentiment on the stock deep into positive territory. Writing on T-Mobile and its prospects, 5-star analyst from Wells Fargo, Jennifer Fritzsche, says, “…in our view the true value of Sprint’s platform is access to greater scale and a deeper spectrum portfolio. With the combined Sprint asset mix, we believe TMUS has a 1-2 year head start for 5G relative to its peers. And despite the recent outperformance, we believe the valuation is more than justified considering the significant growth opportunity ahead to expand margins and grow market share.” To this end, Fritzsche rates the stock a Buy, and her new $120 price target, up from $110, indicates a potential for 13% upside growth in the coming year. (To watch Fritzsche’s track record, click here) Do other analysts agree with Fritzsche? As it turns out, most do. With 10 Buys and 2 Holds assigned in the last three months, the word on the Street is that TMUS is a Strong Buy. Its recent share appreciation has pushed the stock price close to the average price target in recent weeks. The stock is selling for $106.01, and the average price target of $111.61 implies room for another 5% growth this year. (See T-Mobile stock analysis on TipRanks) Arcimoto, Inc. (FUV) The next company on our list, Arcimoto, is an Oregon-based ‘green economy’ player. Arcimoto has developed, and is marketing, a series of low-weight, high-efficiency electric vehicles. The company’s name for the line, Fun Electric Vehicle, is also the source of its stock ticker, FUV. Over the past year, Arcimoto has expanded its EV designs to include delivery vehicles and rental fleet options. The company was forced to suspend manufacturing operations during the coronavirus crisis, but has since reopened its assembly facilities. In a move to raise capital and expedite recovery from the pandemic’s impact, Arcimoto put 1.7 million shares of common stock on the market at the end of June. The move grossed $8.5 million, the proceeds of which will be used for general working capital, including acceleration of manufacture and delivery of pre-ordered vehicles. The offering was an opportunity for insiders, as well as the public, and three company officers made significant purchases in recent days. Mark Frohnmayer, company President, bought 78,531 shares for an estimated $334,000, and two board members, Jesse Grant Eisler and Joshua Scherer, also made six-figure purchases. These were informative buys, the first in a year, and have moved the company’s insider sentiment far more positive than its sector average. Amit Dayal, 4-star analyst with H.C. Wainwright, is bullish on Arcimoto, rating the stock a Buy and writing, “We once again reiterate the 'multiple shots on goal' aspect of the company's market positioning, where one vehicle platform has the flexibility to serve multiple applications and markets. Accordingly, pushouts in vacation oriented sales should, in our opinion, be compensated with pickup in delivery applications... The company's cash burn was lowered during the lockdown but should be expected to ramp with production picking up.” Dayal’s $7 price target suggests that FUV has room for 3% growth over the next 12 months. (To watch Dayal’s track record, click here) Recent share appreciation – the stock rose an eye-opening 378% in Q2 – has pushed FUV above the average price target, too fast for most analysts to adjust their outlooks. Shares are currently selling for $6.82, so the $5.38 average price target puts the downside potential at 21%. The Strong Buy analyst consensus rating is unanimous, based on 4 recent positive reviews. (See Arcimoto stock analysis on TipRanks) Principal Financial (PFG) Last on our list is Iowa-based Principal Financial Group, an $11 billion asset management and insurance company. PFG shares are still down 26% year-to-date, having only partially recovered from losses in February and March. One thing the ‘corona quarter’ could not do was derail the company’s dividend. PFG paid out a generous sum in both Q1 and Q2, giving an annualized payment of $2.18 per share and an impressive yield of 5.4%. There has been one recent informative insider purchase of this stock in recent weeks. Board member Daniel Gelatt bought a block of 28,148 shares, paying a disclosed $999,823. His move pushed overall insider sentiment on PFG into positive territory, just above the sector average. Piper Sandler analyst John Barnidge covers this stock, and points out that PFG has so far managed to avoid a direct blow to its insurance operations from the COVID-19 epidemic – and in a curious way, its vision and dental policies have brought a benefit to the company. Barnidge writes, “As of 1Q20, the company has not yet experienced any known CV19 deaths in its life insurance products and only a limited amount of claims on benefit products, primarily short-term disability. PFG continues to benefit from dental & vision claim tailwinds from a lack of ability to make appointments… PFG could potentially see more of a benefit from a lack of claims in dental & vision than actual direct impact from CV19 claims.” Barnidge’s Buy rating on the stock is supported by his $43 price target, suggesting a one-year upside potential of 5%. (To watch Barnidge’s track record, click here) While Barnidge is bullish, Wall Street is still cautious here. The analyst consensus rating on PFG is a Hold, based on 7 reviews. The reviews break down as 2 Buys, 4 Holds, and 1 Sell. Shares are currently priced at $40.79, and the average price target of $43.57 implies a modest 7% upside potential. (See Principal Financial stock analysis on TipRanks)

We know that hedge funds generate strong, risk-adjusted returns over the long run, which is why imitating the picks that they are collectively bullish on can be a profitable strategy for retail investors. With billions of dollars in assets, professional investors have to conduct complex analyses, spend many resources and use tools that are not […]

(Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. has agreed to acquire Postmates Inc. in a $2.65 billion all-stock takeover expected to be announced as soon as Monday morning in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.Uber Eats head Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty is expected to continue to run Uber’s combined delivery business, according to a person who asked not to be identified discussing a private deal. Under their agreement, Postmates Chief Executive Officer Bastian Lehmann and his team will stay on to manage Postmates as a separate service, another person said.The takeover would help Uber gain ground against privately-held DoorDash Inc., the current market leader in U.S. food delivery. While Postmates hasn’t kept pace with DoorDash, it maintains a strong position in Los Angeles and the American Southwest, both of which could be valuable to Uber Eats.Representatives for Uber and Postmates declined to comment.Read more: Uber, Posting First-Ever Decline in Rides, Says Worst Is OverUber and Postmates had held discussions on and off for about four years but the talks accelerated about a week ago after Uber approached the latter firm, one of the people said. The move for Postmates comes on the heels of Uber’s failed bid to acquire publicly traded GrubHub Inc., which was scooped up by Europe’s Just Eat Takeaway.com NV for $7.3 billion. Uber’s board of directors has approved the deal, a person said, though the plans could still be subject to change.Uber closed at $30.68 on Friday, after it had gone up more than 4% on initial reports of its bid for Postmates.Founded in 2011, Postmates was one of the first to let customers in the U.S. order meal delivery using a mobile app. However, competition has intensified in recent years and Postmates has fallen to a distant fourth. The company said in February 2019 that it had filed paperwork confidentially for an initial public offering but never went public. It raised private capital last year in a deal that valued the business at $2.4 billion.(Updates with Lehmann’s new role from the second paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

We know that hedge funds generate strong, risk-adjusted returns over the long run, which is why imitating the picks that they are collectively bullish on can be a profitable strategy for retail investors. With billions of dollars in assets, professional investors have to conduct complex analyses, spend many resources and use tools that are not […]

Jul.06 -- Gautam Bambawale, former Indian Ambassador to China and Bhutan, talks about the political tensions between India and China following the bitter border standoff in the Himalayan region. Bambawale, who was also India's High Commissioner to Pakistan, speaks with Rishaad Salamat and Haslinda Amin on "Bloomberg Markets: Asia."

The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey is again at the forefront when it comes to making use of this gold mine of data. We at Insider Monkey have plowed through 821 13F filings that hedge funds and well-known value investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F […]

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese stocks extended their recent rapid climb, aided by an enthusiastic chorus from the nation’s influential state media.The CSI 300 Index jumped as much as 4.2% on Monday morning, the most since February 2019. That’s after it surged almost 7% last week. Turnover on the gauge was more than three times the average for this time of day. Brokerages led the gains after China International Capital Corp. hiked target prices for the industry, predicting the stock market will double in value in the next 5-10 years.A front-page editorial in the Securities Times on Monday said that fostering a “healthy” bull market after the pandemic is now more important to the economy than ever. The article pinned the accelerating gains on stock market reforms and excess global liquidity, while saying the struggle between the “world’s powers” underscores the importance of a mature financial market.China’s state media have long guided investors during key points in markets, whether talking up stocks or seeking to cool overheated speculation. While a strong domestic stock market would send a positive signal about China’s resilience to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as aid company fundraising, it also risks inviting bubbles -- such as five years ago, when the equity market crashed after a debt-fueled rally.“The state is very cautious about creating another boom-bust as seen in 2015, realizing the harm to confidence that comes from the bust is greater than the good from the ride up,” said Wang Zhuo, fund manager at Shanghai Zhuozhu Investment Management Co. “We are still staying in the sectors we already hold, which are largely undervalued, because we profit from the alpha more than the beta in the market.”The CSI 300 is up 12% this year, the biggest gain among major global benchmarks, to trade at a five-year high. Its 14-day relative strength has climbed to 86, the highest since December 2014.Signs of investor exuberance are mounting, with daily turnover on the mainland surpassing 1 trillion yuan ($141 billion) on Thursday and Friday and heading for a similar level Monday, which would be the longest such run since March. Surging risk appetite has led to a rout in China’s sovereign bonds, with the yield on the 10-year note rising as much as 7 basis points Monday.The number of mainland commentaries and retweets containing the term “bull market” over the weekend was about more than 10 times the average over the past 90 days, according to the Baidu Index.In another illustration of sentiment, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. is set to hold the mainland’s largest stock sale in a decade, as China’s top homegrown chipmaker raises capital while the U.S. tightens restrictions on technology sales to the nation. SMIC could sell as much as 53.2 billion yuan of shares, as it released offering details in a Sunday statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Stanphyl Capital letter to investors for the month ended June 30, 2020, discussing their short thesis for Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and other positions in several small-cap stocks. For June 2020 the fund was down 3.9% net of all fees and expenses. By way of comparison, the S&P 500 was up 2.0% while the Russell 2000 was up […]

We know that hedge funds generate strong, risk-adjusted returns over the long run, which is why imitating the picks that they are collectively bullish on can be a profitable strategy for retail investors. With billions of dollars in assets, professional investors have to conduct complex analyses, spend many resources and use tools that are not […]

Wynn Resorts is bleeding cash at a rapid pace despite the reopening of Macao and Las Vegas hotels and casinos.

Mortgage rates fall to a new record low, bringing sub-3% into play. Concerns over COVID-19 and its impact on the economy led rates downwards.

(Bloomberg) -- Luckin Coffee Inc.’s chairman, Charles Zhengyao Lu, was ousted by shareholders from the scandal-plagued Chinese company, just days after surviving an effort by some directors to strip him of control, local media reports said, citing unidentified sources.Three other board directors including Sean Shao were also removed at an extraordinary shareholders meeting in Beijing on Sunday, according to the reports from 21st Century Business Herald and Sina, while Ying Zeng and Jie Yang will be added as independent board directors.A company representative didn’t respond to requests for comment.The removal of Lu is the culminating step in a major shakeup of top management since fabricated transactions dating back to April 2019 came to light earlier this year. The coffee chain already fired its chief executive and chief operating officers, among other employees, in May as it came under investigation by Chinese and U.S. regulators.The voting result ended a temporary reprieve for Lu, who remained chairman after a proposal to remove him from the startup he founded wasn’t approved by the required two-thirds of directors at a special meeting last week. According to Luckin’s Articles of Association, a director can be removed by shareholders or other board directors.Luckin’s executive shakeup is an unusual case in China, where it’s rare for a private startup to oust a founder and chairman, who is considered the soul of the firm. Lu and others were removed in a bid to distance the company from the financial scandal and allow it to continue operating more normally.Lu’s dismissal comes after Luckin said it substantially completed an internal investigation into the financial irregularities. Once considered among China’s brightest growth stories, the chain has seen its stock become almost worthless, plunging 94% this year.The company said last week its internal investigation concluded that net revenue last year was inflated by about 2.12 billion yuan ($300 million) while costs and expenses were boosted by 1.34 billion yuan. After the conclusion of the investigation, a majority of directors had requested Lu’s resignation.Banks Face $300 Million Shortfall on Luckin Margin LoansLuckin’s fall has ensnared banks including Credit Suisse Group AG and Morgan Stanley as they face a $300 million shortfall on margin loans made to Lu. The scandal is also a black eye for China Inc. as the U.S. Congress moves closer to passing legislation that could bar Chinese companies from trading on U.S. stock exchanges.Luckin said it would fire a dozen workers and discipline 15 others following the internal investigation. It already dismissed CEO Jenny Zhiya Qian, COO Jian Liu and some employees who reported to them in May after uncovering the scheme that funneled funds to the company from several third parties with links to the participants. The board said it fired the executives based on evidence showing their participation in the false transactions.Lu became a billionaire after his fast-growing Chinese chain went public in the U.S., but much of his wealth was wiped out by the plunge in Luckin’s stock. Lu last month resigned as chairman of Car Inc., China’s biggest rental-car fleet operator, as scrutiny increased over Luckin and the accounting scandal. A Beijing court has frozen Lu’s entire stake in Car Inc.’s parent, UCAR Inc., for judicial reasons.He has drawn criticism for applying an aggressive cash-burning expansion strategy to all his startup projects, as the model helps quickly expand the businesses and gain market share at the expense of profitability.Luckin, founded in 2017, raised $645 million in its U.S. IPO last year and counted BlackRock Inc. among its backers. It took direct aim at Starbucks Corp. in China, with a strategy to open more stores in two years than the Seattle-based heavyweight has in two decades.(Updates on attribution of media reports)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

If you are looking to hit a home run in the stock market, the NASDAQ Composite is a good place to start. The index is home to surging technology, internet, and biotech stocks. Despite the adverse effects from COVID-19, the index is up 25% over the past year, and recently hit a new all-time high. Now comes the hard part. How are investors supposed to determine which stocks are poised to take off? Will the current winners continue climbing, or will new high-flyers emerge? Finding the next big one is challenging to say the least. On top of this, there are numerous and sometimes conflicting investing strategies to consider. Bearing this in mind, Wall Street analysts can provide some inspiration. The experts possess extensive knowledge about the stocks they cover, and offer insights on compelling names that don’t always get the same attention as other heavyweights. To this end, we used TipRanks’ database to pinpoint three micro-cap stocks that have earned a “Strong Buy” consensus rating from the analyst community. Not to mention each boasts excellent upside potential. We’re talking about over 120% here. Immunic, Inc. (IMUX) The first stock on our list is New York-based Immunic, a pharmaceutical company developing drugs to treat chronic autoimmune, inflammatory and viral diseases, with its market cap landing at only $182.9 million. The company’s lead prospect is IMU-838, an orally-dosed DHODH (an enzyme in humans that is encoded by the DHODH gene on chromosome 16) inhibitor. IMU-838 is currently being tested in four Phase 2 studies for multiple indications including COVID-19. Other promising drugs that Immunic is developing include IMU-935, a treatment for autoimmune diseases and MU-856, a treatment for gastrointestinal disorders. On June 15, Immunic announced that the first patients in its Phase 2 CALVID-1 clinical trial of IMU-838 in COVID-19 had been dosed. Ladenburg Thalmann analyst Matthew Kaplan explained, “The CALVID-1 study is a prospective, multicenter (10-35 centers in Germany, USA, and half a dozen European countries), randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind Phase 2 clinical trial in approximately 230 patients with moderate COVID-19, and will evaluate efficacy, safety, and tolerability of IMU-838.” The development marked an important milestone in advancing the candidate. Commenting on this, Kaplan stated, “An interim analysis is planned after 200 patients have completed treatment, which could lead to an expansion to a confirmatory Phase 3 trial with an adaptive trial design…We are encouraged by the preclinical data and clinical plan and look forward to future updates.” Speaking to the strength of Immunic’s other possible catalysts, Kaplan noted, “We also believe the earlier stage pipeline programs (IMU-935 and IMU-856) provide for significant additional potential upside.” Based on all of the above, Kaplan reiterated his Buy recommendation. He also has a $50 price target on the stock, which indicates significant upside potential of 307%. (To watch Kaplan’s track record, click here) All in all, other analysts agree with Kaplan. 3 Buys and no Holds or Sells add up to a Strong Buy consensus rating. Meanwhile, the $51 average price target, which is more aggressive than Kaplan’s, represents a huge 315% potential increase from the share price of $12.30. (See Immunic stock analysis on TipRanks) Benefytt Technologies, Inc. (BFYT) Next up we have Benefytt Technologies, (previously called Health Insurance Innovations, Inc.) which sells a range of Medicare-related health insurance plans as well as other health and life insurance products. Last year, management made a strategic shift towards targeting Medicare dollars rather than individual and family plans. Consequently, the company, which has a market cap of $310.8 million, is navigating its way through a transition year, negatively affecting its operating performance. In the first quarter of 2020, revenue fell to $71.6 million, from $87.3 million in the prior-year quarter. That said, a closer look at the results reveals a bright spot. Revenue from Benefytt’s Medicare segment, which is new to the company since June 2019, came in at $18.9 million. Management plans to grow the Medicare segment to between $190 million to $210 million in the coming year. Five-star analyst from Cantor Fitzgerald, Steven Halper, shares the company’s optimistic view. “We continue to believe the company is taking the necessary steps to grow its Medicare business. It still expects 2020 Medicare revenue to be $190-210 million,” he commented. Pointing to Benefytt’s stock price, the five-star analyst said, “We have made some modest changes to our estimates but our price target remains at $75. Either way, we believe the shares are compelling at current levels.” To this end, Halper has an Overweight (i.e. Buy) rating on the stock. His $75 price target suggests hefty upside potential of 244%. (To watch Halper’s track record, click here) Turning to the rest of the Street, other analysts are on the same page. 5 Buys and no Holds or Sells have been issued in the last three months, so BFYT gets a Strong Buy consensus rating. The average price target is $47.30, which implies sizable upside potential of 117%. (See Benefytt stock analysis on TipRanks) Scorpio Bulkers (SALT) Last but not least is Scorpio Bulkers, an international shipping company that provides marine transportation for dry bulk commodities such as coal, grains, and fertilizers. At $181.1 million, its market cap is the smallest on our list. It has been a trying period for Scorpio Bulkers shareholders. The company’s shares have significantly underperformed the broader market, plunging 76% year-to-date, compared to a 3% loss for the S&P 500. Nevertheless, BTIG analyst Gregory Lewis believes the stock is ripe for a bounce. In a recent research report, he noted, “The company has prepared itself for the enacted IMO 2020 fuel regulation by installing scrubbers on its fleet which should provide above market earnings and a way for investors to capture dislocations in the marine bunker fuel market.” Further adding to the analyst’s bullish sentiment, Lewis sees several upcoming catalysts that are set to bolster shipping rates and profitability. These include countries reopening their economies and undertaking a restocking cycle, and governments employing stimulus programs to jump-start their economies. In line with his optimistic take, Lewis rates the stock a Buy and maintains a $40 price target, which translates to substantial upside potential of 164%. (To watch Lewis’ track record, click here)   Do other analysts on the Street agree with Lewis? Yes, they do. The consensus rating is a Strong Buy, based on 5 Buys and 1 Hold. The average price target of $34.17 implies meaningful upside potential of 126%. (See Scorpio Bulkers stock analysis on TipRanks)

Jul.06 -- Abraar Karan, physician at Harvard Medical School as well as at Brigham and Women's Hospital, talks about the coronavirus pandemic. Global cases topped 11.4 million, deaths exceed 533,000, and the World Health Organization reported a one-day high in infections over the weekend. Karan speaks with Haslinda Amin and Yvonne Man on "Bloomberg Markets: Asia."

The deal has been approved by Uber's board and could be announced as soon as Monday, Bloomberg reported, adding that Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, head of Uber's food delivery business, Uber Eats, is expected to continue to run the combined delivery business. Uber and Postmates did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Last week, Reuters reported that Postmates had revived plans for an initial public offering following dealmaking in the U.S. online food delivery service sector that sparked acquisition interest in the company.

We know that hedge funds generate strong, risk-adjusted returns over the long run, which is why imitating the picks that they are collectively bullish on can be a profitable strategy for retail investors. With billions of dollars in assets, professional investors have to conduct complex analyses, spend many resources and use tools that are not […]

Does the July share price for BlackBerry Limited (TSE:BB) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the...

How do you pick the next stock to invest in? One way would be to spend days of research browsing through thousands of publicly traded companies. However, an easier way is to look at the stocks that smart money investors are collectively bullish on. Hedge funds and other institutional investors usually invest large amounts of […]

The precious metals miners took a beating when COVID first reared its ugly head in the US in March.

* Benzinga has examined the prospects for many investor favorite stocks over the past week. * This week's bullish calls the he electric vehicle leader and a car rental giant. * A financial giant and a COVID-19 vaccine play were among the bearish callsThe big three U.S. indexes ended the holiday-shortened week with gains of at least 3%. A big bankruptcy in the oil patch comes ahead of a possible rekindled oil price war, and jobs numbers were better than expected.Also, the leading electric vehicle maker trounced expectations last week and became the world's most valuable automaker. And the COVID-19 resurgence continues to wreak havoc on businesses large and small.Benzinga continues to examine the prospects for many of the stocks most popular with investors. Here are some of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.Bulls In "Tesla Analyst Sees 'Major Home Run' In Q2 Deliveries Despite Year-Over-Year Declines," Elizabeth Balboa shares why better-than-expected Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) deliveries are a "jaw dropper."Shanthi Rexaline's "Why Square Is A 'Need-To-Own' Stock For Years To Come" reveals why Square Inc (NYSE: SQ) revenue is likely to increase more than three times over the next five years."Avis Budget Benefits From Improving Used Car Market, Morgan Stanley Says In Upgrade" by Priya Nigam suggests that Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR) appears poised for share gains.Its first major acquisition brings Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ: LULU) a new revenue stream and new customers, according to Wayne Duggan's "Wall Street Weighs In On Lululemon's Mirror Acquisition."For additional bullish calls, also have a look at "2 Reasons Spiking COVID-19 Cases Doesn't Mean You Should Be Dumping Stocks" and Matt Maley On How To Profit When The Market's 'Dead Wrong.'" Bears "Morgan Stanley Option Traders Bet Millions On 25% Long-Term Downside" by Wayne Duggan discusses why the next year-and-a-half may not be as kind to Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) as the past three months.Jayson Derrick's "Uber's Ex-Chief Business Officer Isn't A Fan Of Reported Postmates Deal" looks at whether Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER) really benefits from its proposed acquisition of the food delivery business.Uncertainty about the Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: INO) COVID-19 vaccine candidate remains. So says "Inovio Analyst Downgrades COVID-19 Vaccine Developer, Says Risk Higher After Rally" by Shanthi Rexaline.In Priya Nigam's "BofA Downgrades iHeartMedia On Lower Visibility, Advertising, Event Headwinds," see why iHeartMedia Inc (NASDAQ: IHRT) lacks meaningful catalysts in the near term.Be sure to check out "BofA Cuts Macau Estimates After 97% Year-Over-Year Drop In Gross Gaming Revenue" and "How Hong Kong's New Security Law May Affect Local Investments" for additional bearish calls.At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.See more from Benzinga * Barron's Picks And Pans: Biden, ESG And Reopening Picks * Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Apple, Facebook, Tesla And More * Barron's Picks And Pans: Brunswick, Cloudflare, Gilead And More(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil is the world’s most important commodity, but it’s worthless without a refinery turning it into the products that people actually use: gasoline, diesel, jet-fuel and petrochemicals for plastics. And the world’s refining industry today is in pain like never before.“Refining margins are absolutely catastrophic,” Patrick Pouyanne, the head of Europe’s top oil refining group Total SA, told investors last month, echoing a widely held view among executives, traders and analysts.What happens to the oil refining industry at this juncture will have ripple effects across the rest of the energy industry. The multi-billion-dollar plants employ thousands of people and a wave of closures and bankruptcies looms.“We believe we are entering into an ‘age of consolidation’ for the refining industry,” said Nikhil Bhandari, refining analyst at Goldman Sachs Inc. The top names of the industry, which collectively processed well over $2 trillion worth of oil last year, are giants such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. There are also Asian behemoths like Sinopec of China and Indian Oil Corp., as well as large independents like Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. with their ubiquitous fuel stations.The problem for the refiners is that what’s killing them is the medicine that’s saving the wider petroleum industry.When U.S. President Donald Trump engineered record oil production cuts between Saudi Arabia, Russia and the rest of the OPEC+ alliance in April, he may have saved the U.S. shale industry in Texas, Oklahoma and North Dakota, but he squeezed refiners.A refinery’s economics are ultimately simple: it thrives on the price difference between crude oil and fuels like gasoline, earning a profit that’s known in the industry as a cracking margin.The cuts that Trump brokered lifted crude prices, with benchmark Brent crude soaring from $16 to $42 a barrel in the space of a few months. But with demand still in the doldrums, gasoline and other refined products prices haven’t recovered as strongly, hurting the refiners.The industry’s most rudimentary measure of refining profit, known as a 3-2-1 crack spread (it assumes three barrels of crude makes two of gasoline and one of diesel-like fuels), has slumped to its lowest level for the time of the year since 2010. Summer is normally a good period for refiners because demand rises with consumers hitting the road for their vacations. This time, however, some plants are actually losing money when they process a barrel of crude.Worst FearJust a few weeks ago, the outlook appeared to be improving for the world’s biggest oil consumers. Demand in China was almost back to pre-virus levels and U.S. consumption was gradually rebounding. Now, a second wave of infections has prompted Beijing to lock down hundreds of thousands of residents. Covid-19 cases are also on the rise in Latin America and elsewhere.With demand in the U.S. now showing signs of heading south again as coronavirus cases flare up in top gasoline-consuming regions including Texas, Florida and California, the margins are at risk of deteriorating in America, which accounts for nearly two in each ten barrels of oil refined worldwide.“The worst fear for refiners is a resurgence of the virus and another series of lockdowns around the world that would again significantly impact demand,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston.Another problem is that -- where it has been recovering -- the demand pickup has been uneven from one refined product to the next, creating significant headaches for executives who need to select the best crudes to purchase, and the right fuels to churn out. Gasoline and diesel consumption has surged back, in some cases to 90% of their normal level, but jet-fuel remains nearly as depressed as at the nadir of the coronavirus lockdowns, running at just 10% to 20% of normal in some European countries.Refiners had resolved the problem by blending much of their jet-fuel output into, effectively, diesel. But that, in turn, is creating a new challenge: too much of so-called middle distillates like diesel and heating oil.“Right now gasoline demand is barely keeping some plants alive,” said Stephen Wolfe, head of crude oil at consultant Energy Aspects Ltd. “And with jet production shifting over to diesel and gasoline production, that puts even more strain on product supply,” he added.In the U.S. refining belt, processing rates are being continually tweaked in response to potential fluctuations in demand. In April, during the height of U.S. lockdowns, Valero Energy Corp.’s McKee, Texas, refinery cut rates to about 70%. It then raised processing to near 79% in anticipation of the Memorial Day holiday, before finding a new low of 62% by mid June, according to people familiar with the situation.Ultimately, if refiners don’t make money, they buy less crude, potentially capping the oil-price recovery of the past few months for Brent and other benchmarks. Even so, the actions of Saudi Arabia, Russia and the rest of the OPEC+ group suggest that refiners will remain squeezed for longer, with oil prices outpacing the recovery in fuel prices.The immediate problem is compounded by a longer-term trend: the industry has probably overbuilt over the last decades, and older plants in places like Europe and the U.S. can’t compete with new ones popping up in China and elsewhere in the world.“Refinery margins in the next five years are going to be worse than the average for the last five years, and particularly bad in Europe,” said Spencer Welch, vice president of oil markets and downstream consulting at IHS Markit. “We already thought that refining was in for a tough time, even more so now.”Catalyst for ChangeThe weakness means that the industry’s collective earnings will plunge to just $40 billion this year, down from $130 billion in 2018, according to an estimate from industry consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. of 550 refineries around the world.That could be a catalyst for change. The demand hit from the virus is yet to cause any delays in a number of mega-refining projects, most of which are in China and the Middle East, that will start operations from 2021 to 2024, according to the analysts at Goldman Sachs. This will cause global utilization rates to be 3% lower over this period than in 2019. Plants are more likely to close in developed countries because the bulk of demand -- and new refining capacity -- is in developing nations, they said.Many of the refineries that are being built in the Middle East and China will also get government backing, a fact that only makes life more challenging for the plants in Europe and the U.S.The industry is already moving to resolve the overcapacity: oil trader Gunvor Group Ltd. has said it may mothball its refinery in Antwerp, and U.S. refining group HollyFrontier Corp. in June announced it was changing its Cheyenne plant from processing crude oil into a renewable diesel facility.For now though, there’s a more mundane reality to deal with: the market. OPEC and its allies can constrain the supply of crude -- squeezing refiners -- but they can’t make end users consume fuel.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Jul.06 -- Saehoon Kim, head of fuel cell center and senior vice president at Hyundai Motor Group, talks about the South Korean automaker's production of hydrogen fuel-celled vehicles and shipments of trucks to Switzerland. He speaks with Yvonne Man and Haslinda Amin on "Bloomberg Markets: Asia."

The spectacular jobs report for June could help to push rates higher.

The head of the French cybersecurity agency ANSSI said there would not be a total ban on using equipment from Huawei in the rollout of the French 5G telecoms network, but that it was pushing French telcos to avoid switching to the Chinese company. "What I can say is that there won't be a total ban," Guillaume Poupard told Les Echos newspaper in an interview. "(But) for operators that are not currently using Huawei, we are inciting them not to go for it."

At the end of February we announced the arrival of the first US recession since 2009 and we predicted that the market will decline by at least 20% in (see why hell is coming). In these volatile markets we scrutinize hedge fund filings to get a reading on which direction each stock might be going. […]

At the end of February we announced the arrival of the first US recession since 2009 and we predicted that the market will decline by at least 20% in (see why hell is coming). In these volatile markets we scrutinize hedge fund filings to get a reading on which direction each stock might be going. […]

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Real estate becomes a safe bet in uncertain times, and it’s proving true in China after months of pent-up demand from the pandemic runs into an outlook still filled with uncertainty.The problem, as we’ve seen time and again, is that anyone hoping for security from a market that’s heavily controlled may be in for disappointment, as the government will inevitably tighten limits when prices rise too much. Beijing should instead  ramp up secure options for investors, such as accelerating the offering of real estate investment trusts. Recent gains in mainland real estate prices have all the hallmarks of so-called revenge spending for big purchases after lockdowns eased. Prices rose in May at the fastest pace in seven months, and analysts think June will be even better. Sales by the 16 developers Bloomberg Intelligence tracks rose an average 13% in June versus a year earlier. It might look like a splurge, yet there are signs that these gains will be sustainable, even if capped by government policy that discourages speculation in favor of habitation. Expect selective rises where people feel their money is safe, like big tier-one cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, as well as Guangzhou and Shenzhen, part of the government-promoted Greater Bay Area that encompasses Hong Kong and Macau. There’s certainly a desire to scratch the spending itch. Much of China’s economy was shut in the spring as the government, keen to stop Covid-19 from spreading, halted land sales to developers and purchases of homes. Now developers have come back in with huge discounts. But there are deeper factors at play that should keep lifting prices.First, since the coronavirus hit, the government has been easing credit. Mortgage rates are at 33-month lows, with the average for a first-time home buyer at 5.28%. Many shut out from an increasingly unaffordable housing market are taking advantage, as are investors keen for something safer than volatile stocks.Second, the government is creating demand in some cities, loosening residency rules to encourage people to move in from rural areas. The theory is that a larger urban class boosts consumption — though what it has really lifted is buying homes. The reform of local residency permits includes easing access to these “hukou” for anyone with tertiary education in cities like Hangzhou, where Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is based.  The city of 10 million people added 554,000 residents last year, the biggest increase in permanent population of any city in China.Martin Wong, Greater China associate director at Knight Frank LLP  forecasts that home prices will rise between 2% and 3% this year in the first-tier cities, and between 3% and 5% in the Greater Bay Area cities. In contrast, urban areas not benefiting from hukou relaxation or lacking the kind of government-infrastructure spending drive to offset the pandemic’s economic impact should see prices stay flat or rise just around 2%, he says. In May, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen saw new home prices increase more than 1% for the second month in a row. The last time the tier-one cities experienced gains of this magnitude was in late 2016; since then, much of the climb in property prices has been in smaller cities that have fewer restrictions on buying for investment. Older homes rose around 0.6%, beating gains elsewhere. In China, unlike most countries, local authorities cap prices on the sale of new homes, so they can actually be cheaper than older ones.Still, these small percentages show that China is in no mood to allow a big housing boom, even though real estate spending and all its attendant construction and furnishings account for a quarter of the economy. Funding remains tight for developers. As an example, the one-year-loan prime rate is down 40 basis points to 3.85% since last August, but the five-year-loan prime rate on which mortgages are based has fallen just 20 basis points to 4.65%. Developers who want to build housing can only issue new onshore or offshore bonds to finance repaying existing bonds expiring in 12 months, according to Nomura Holdings Inc. analysts, and need approval for offshore loans. No wonder there’s a long queue spinning off their real-estate management arms — which tend to have better steady cash flow — for Hong Kong listings. One solution that would ease the debt burden on developers while giving investors safer diversification is to expand a real estate investment trust trial that China kicked off in April. It has been focused on pooling capital to fund infrastructure such as highways and airports — perhaps no surprise, as this could give the economy a faster boost. But at some point, why not include real estate, both commercial and residential? That would let Chinese families, who have around 70% of their wealth tied up in property — more than double the U.S. — invest in their favorite asset and still diversify into stocks. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Nisha Gopalan is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and banking. She previously worked for the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones as an editor and a reporter.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Some retailers in bankruptcy during the pandemic are attempting to pull off a high-wire act. Here’s where they stand.

Jul.05 -- Alan Dupont, founder and chief executive officer at Cognoscenti Group, discusses the relationship between the U.S. and China, his outlook for the U.S. election and how he manages risk when dealing with both countries. He speaks on “Bloomberg Markets: China Open.”

At the end of February we announced the arrival of the first US recession since 2009 and we predicted that the market will decline by at least 20% in (see why hell is coming). In these volatile markets we scrutinize hedge fund filings to get a reading on which direction each stock might be going. […]

How do you pick the next stock to invest in? One way would be to spend days of research browsing through thousands of publicly traded companies. However, an easier way is to look at the stocks that smart money investors are collectively bullish on. Hedge funds and other institutional investors usually invest large amounts of […]

At the end of February we announced the arrival of the first US recession since 2009 and we predicted that the market will decline by at least 20% in (see why hell is coming). In these volatile markets we scrutinize hedge fund filings to get a reading on which direction each stock might be going. […]

Dominion has more than 7 million energy customers across 20 states in the U.S. Berkshire Hathaway provides service to 12 million worldwide customers.

How do you pick the next stock to invest in? One way would be to spend days of research browsing through thousands of publicly traded companies. However, an easier way is to look at the stocks that smart money investors are collectively bullish on. Hedge funds and other institutional investors usually invest large amounts of […]

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Warren Buffett finally made a deal, but those fireworks you heard weren’t for him. As the U.S. closed out the Fourth of July holiday weekend, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said that it’s acquiring nearly $10 billion of natural-gas assets and associated debt from Dominion Energy Inc. It may not be the awe-inspiring mega-purchase that his followers have patiently awaited. Still, there’s much that can be gleaned from it about Buffett’s frame of mind as the nation enters month five of a pandemic that’s otherwise kept the famed investor on the sidelines. This is Berkshire’s biggest acquisition since 2015, yet it’s small by Berkshire standards — a relatively low-risk deal in the midst of a recession that’s set to change the outlook for some industries for good. Even though Buffett recently signaled little appetite to make any big bets so long as the end of Covid-19 remains entirely unknown, energy is one area where he’s been poised to make smaller, opportunistic purchases. During Berkshire’s unusually somber shareholder meeting in May, he cited the energy division, along with the BNSF railroad and insurance unit, as parts of his conglomerate that were less affected by the virus. “These businesses will produce cash even though their earnings decline somewhat,” he said. In his annual letter in February, the billionaire wrote of wanting to invest more of the energy unit’s retained earnings to take on large utility projects. The Dominion deal hands Berkshire more than 7,700 miles of gas pipelines and 900 billion cubic feet of gas storage. And it comes as Dominion and Duke Energy Corp. pull out of plans for a controversial pipeline project along the U.S. East Coast; other projects like it have been scrapped as well, and pipeline stocks have taken a beating. That confluence of factors created a rare chance in this environment for Buffett to get a deal at a price he likes in an industry he’s comfortable with — and at a time when he and seemingly everyone else is scared to do much else. It also happens to be an industry that Buffett’s successor-in-waiting, Greg Abel, knows well as the current head of Berkshire Hathaway Energy.What stood out as noteworthy in Berkshire’s deal announcement was that the first quote was from Buffett, not Abel. This says that Buffett, even as he is set to turn 90 years old next month, is still calling the shots and wants that known. It’s also a reminder that Berkshire’s history of striking sweetheart deals with favorable terms is very much because of Buffett’s celebrity and acclaim — there’s something to be said for selling your company to the Warren Buffett. That leaves the question: Will Abel be awarded the same preferential M&A treatment when Buffett’s gone? If not, what’s he to do with Berkshire’s more than $100 billion of cash that not even Buffett has been able to spend?With 2020 now marked by economic shutdowns, virus fears and a host of canceled trips, weddings and graduations, it hasn’t been a good year for anyone, not even the world’s sixth-richest man (he was fourth-richest before the crisis). Ideally, Buffett would be making a splash with one more giant deal right about now, and something more fascinating to the average investor than a bunch of underground pipes at that. (Costco Wholesale Corp. is one such example I speculated on recently.)Buffett may not seem much older than he did a year ago — he’s certainly just as sharp — but turning 90 is symbolic as a final chapter for the Oracle. He won’t want the last footnote of his legacy to be an unmemorable purchase of gas assets, even if it is a fine transaction. Then again, Covid-19 isn’t leaving him much choice. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Tara Lachapelle is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of entertainment and telecommunications, as well as broader deals. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey is again at the forefront when it comes to making use of this gold mine of data. We at Insider Monkey have plowed through 821 13F filings that hedge funds and well-known value investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F […]

As of April 17, the original filing deadline, the IRS had processed 24 million fewer returns than it had last year, the Taxpayer Advocate Service said

The 7 most powerful navies in the world have spared no expense in ensuring the safety of their seas, and by proxy, their nations. Any country which has a sea needs a navy in order to protect its shores from other nations and ensure the safety of their own nation. Navies are generally used to protect their […]

Ford sales hit hard while Explorer and Ranger make gains