Sunday, June 14, 2015

Top Building Product Companies To Invest In Right Now

Quanex Building Products (NYSE: NX  ) reported earnings on June 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 30 (Q2), Quanex Building Products beat expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew significantly. GAAP loss per share dropped.

Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
Quanex Building Products reported revenue of $232.5 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $224.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 20% higher than the prior-year quarter's $194.4 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at -$0.20. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.08 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.20 for Q2 against -$0.34 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Hot Wireless Telecom Companies For 2016: CVR Partners LP(UAN)

CVR Partners, LP engages in the production of nitrogen fertilizers including ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Sugar Land, Texas. CVR Partners, LP operates as a subsidiary of CVR Energy, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Cameron Swinehart]

    Going forward I will be looking to add investments on my watchlist and trim other positions. It will be interesting to see how an overweight commodity portfolio will perform relative to the rest of the market.

     Cost Basis# SharesCurrent Price% of PortfolioCurrent ValueReturnMetal/Miners      Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS)$12.4985$11.043.75%$938.40-13.13%Sprott Physical Silver Trust (PSLV)$7.95125$8.744.37%$1,092.509.04%FreePort-McMoran (FCX)$31.6731$33.874.20%$1,049.976.50%Ishares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF (RING)$13.0695$10.644.04%$1,010.80-22.74%Energy      Statoil ASA(STO)$21.7940$22.683.63%$907.203.92%Vanguard Natural Resources LLC (VNR)$27.5636$27.874.01%$1,003.321.11%ConocoPhillips (COP)$63.6822.43$71.006.37%$1,592.5310.31%Agriculture      CVR Partner LP (UAN)$26.3630.9$18.932.34%$584.94-39.25%Adecoagro$6.78125$7.443.72%$930.008.87%Archer-Daniels Midland (ADM)$34.8030$37.244.47%$1,117.206.55%Mixed Commodity      Powershares DB Commodity Index (DBC)$26.3540$25.954.15%$1,038.00-1.54%Sprott Resource Corp$3.34400$2.714.34%$1,084.00-23.25%    Total % of portfolio49.40%               Cost Basis12,666.00      Current Value12,348.86      Return-2.50%  Source: Investing For The Future Surge In Commodity Prices

    Disclosure: I am long ADM, FCX, UAN, AGRO, RING, VNR, SCPZF.PK, COP, DBC, PHYS, PSLV. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

Top Building Product Companies To Invest In Right Now: Aflac Incorporated(AFL)

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiary, American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (Aflac), provides supplemental health and life insurance. The company offers various voluntary supplemental insurance products, including cancer plans, general medical indemnity plans, medical/sickness riders, care plans, living benefit life plans, ordinary life insurance plans, and annuities in Japan. It also provides loss-of-income products, such as life and short-term disability plans; and products designed to protect individuals from depletion of assets, which comprise hospital indemnity, fixed-benefit dental, vision care, accident, cancer, critical illness/critical care, and hospital intensive care plans in the United States. The company sells its products through sales associates and brokers, affiliated corporate agencies, independent corporate agencies, and individual agencies. Aflac Incorporated was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Columbus, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Chuck Saletta]

    Who showed us the money?
    On Monday, supplemental insurance giant AFLAC (NYSE: AFL  ) paid $9.45 in dividends to the IPIG portfolio. This was the company's third consecutive dividend at $0.35 per share. If it follows its previous trends, we can expect another payment at that level before it gets reviewed for potential increase.

Top Building Product Companies To Invest In Right Now: Coronado Biosciences Inc (CNDO)

Coronado Biosciences, Inc., incorporated on June 28, 2006, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel immunotherapy biologic agents for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer. The Company�� two principal pharmaceutical product candidates in clinical development include Trichuris suis ova or CNDO-201 (TSO) a biologic comprising of the microscopic eggs of the porcine whipworm, for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as Crohn�� disease (Crohn��), ulcerative colitis (UC) and multiple sclerosis (MS), and CNDO-109, a compound that activates natural killer (NK) cells of the immune system to seek and destroy cancer cells, for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In January 2011, the Company acquired the OvaMed GmbH License.

TSO

TSO is the microscopic eggs of a parasitic helminth, or worm, that is found in pigs. In September 2011, the Company filed an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and it initiated a single dose, dose escalation study in patients with Crohn�� in February 2012. The Phase 1 clinical trial was a multi-center, sequential dose-escalation, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the primary objective of which was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of TSO. The trial enrolled 36 patients with Crohn�� ranging in age from 20 to 54 with an equal distribution of male and female patients in three single dose cohorts of orally administered 500, 2500 and 7500 ova. Each cohort had 12 patients, with nine patients receiving TSO and three receiving placebo.

CNDO-109

CNDO-109 is a lysate (disrupted CTV-1 cells, cell membrane fragments, cell proteins and other cellular components) that activates donor NK cells. CTV-1 is a leukemic cell line recently re-classified as a T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). The Company has worldwide rights to develop and commercialize CNDO-109 activated NK cells for the treatment of cancer fro! m UCLB. In February 2012, the Company submitted an IND for the CNDO-109 activated NK cell product in the United States. The treatment of patients with CNDO-109 activated NK cells involves several steps. The activated NK cells are infused into the patient after resting NK cells are incubated with CNDO-109 for at least eight hours. Preparation of CNDO-109 activated NK cells takes about 24 hours from start to finish.

The Company competes with Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc.�� Remicade , UCB S.A.�� Cimzia, Abbott Laboratories��Humira, Biogen Idec�� Avonex, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals��Betaseron, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd.�� Copaxone and Novartis AG�� Gilenya.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    One under-$10 biopharmaceutical player that's quickly moving within range of triggering a major breakout trade is Coronado Biosciences (CNDO), which is focused on novel immunotherapy biologic agents for autoimmune diseases and cancer. This stock has been hit hard by the bears in 2013, with shares off by 43%.

    If you take a look at the chart for Coronado Biosciences, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong since it double bottomed in November, with shares moving higher from its low of $1.25 to its intraday high of $2.58 a share. During that uptrend, shares of CNDO have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of CNDO within range of triggering a major breakout trade.

    Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CNDO if it manages to break out above some key overhead resistance at $2.70 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 1.97 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CNDO will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from October that started near $7 a share. Some possible upside targets if CNDO gets into that gap with volume are $4 to $5 a share.

    Traders can look to buy CNDO off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right around some key near-term support at $2 a share. One can also buy CNDO off strength once it takes out $2.70 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    Coronado Biosciences (CNDO) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on novel immunotherapy biologic agents for autoimmune diseases and cancer. This stock closed up 4.9% to $8.22 in Thursday's trading session.

    Thursday's Range: $7.84-$8.29

    52-Week Range: $4.00-$12.70

    Thursday's Volume: 323,000

    Three-Month Average Volume: 390,192

    From a technical perspective, CNDO spiked higher here right above its 200-day moving average of $7.63 with decent upside volume. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last three months, with shares falling from its high of $12.70 to its recent low of $7.32. During that move, shares of CNDO have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. Shares of CNDO now look ready to reverse that trend and potentially trigger a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if CNDO manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $8.56 to $8.94 with high volume.

    Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CNDO as long as it's trending above its 200-day at $7.63 or above more support at $7.32 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 390,192 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CNDO will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $9.50 to $10.35. Any high-volume move above those levels will then put its next major resistance level at $11 into range for shares of CNDO.

Top Building Product Companies To Invest In Right Now: Nektar Therapeutics(NKTR)

Nektar Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing a pipeline of drug candidates that utilize its PEGylation and polymer conjugate technology platforms. The company?s product pipeline consists of drug candidates across various therapeutic areas, including oncology, pain, anti-infectives, anti-viral, and immunology. Its research and development activities involve small molecule drugs, peptides, and other potential biologic drug candidates. The company?s proprietary drug candidates in clinical development comprise NKTR-118, a peripheral opioid antagonist, which has completed Phase II clinical trail for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation; BAY41-6551 that has completed Phase II clinical trail to treat gram-negative pneumonias; NKTR-102, a topoisomerase I inhibitor-polymer conjugate, which is in Phase II clinical trail for multiple cancer indications, including breast, ovarian, and colorectal; and NKTR-105 that is in Phase I clinica l trail to treat solid tumors. Its preclinical products consists of NKTR-119 (Opioid/NKTR-118 combinations) for the treatment of pain; NKTR-181 (abuse deterrent, tamper-resistant opioid) to treat pain; NKTR-194 (non-scheduled opioid) for the treatment of mild to moderate pain; NKTR-171 (tricyclic antidepressant) to treat neuropathic pain; and NKTR-140 (protease inhibitor candidate) to treat HIV. The company has collaboration with Bayer Healthcare LLC to develop BAY41-6551 (NKTR-061, Amikacin Inhale), which is an inhaled solution of amikacin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic; and a license agreement with AstraZeneca AB for the development and commercialization of Oral NKTR-118 and NKTR-119. In addition, Nektar Therapeutics has various license, manufacturing, and supply agreements for its technology with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, such as Affymax, Amgen, Baxter, Roche, Merck, Pfizer, and UCB Pharma. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in San Franc isco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sean Williams]

    Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR  ) delivered a double-digit gain for shareholders this week after reporting positive top-line data for NKTR-181, its oral chronic pain-treatment drug. NKTR-181 is an opioid-based compound that's designed to enter the brain slower than traditional opiates like oxycodone without sacrificing effectiveness and ultimately reducing addiction-like qualities to the medication. In trials, the data demonstrated that NKTR-181 had a statistically significant lower "drug liking" and "feeling high" score than oxycodone. While I'd certainly exercise caution in getting too excited, as the Food and Drug Administration is very harsh with regard to its regulation of opioid-based drugs, it's nonetheless good news for Nektar.

  • [By Rich Bieglmeier]

    Wednesday, June 11, 2014 could be a happy or sad day for event traders who follow the Food and Drug Association's (FDA) calendar. Two biotechs with considerable potential are slated to hear from the regulatory body regarding their applications for approval.

    Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OREX)

    The duo hopes to see �thumbs up from the FDA in a little more than a week. If all things go well, it could be party time for shareholders too.

  • [By Sean Williams]

    Levadex's approval or rejection could also mean a good or bad day for Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR  ) , which looks to gain from royalty rights based on its contributions to Levadex's development. While impossible to predict, I'm going to go out on a limb and project an approval for Allergan.

Top Building Product Companies To Invest In Right Now: Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp.(RPTP)

Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. operates as a biotechnology company in the United States. The company is dedicated to speeding the delivery of new treatment options to patients by working to improve existing therapeutics through the application of highly specialized drug targeting platforms and formulation expertise. Its clinical stage development products include DR Cysteamine, which is in phase IIb for the treatment of cystinosis; phase IIa for the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; and phase II for the treatment of Huntington?s disease. Raptor?s clinical-stage products also include Convivia that is in Phase IIa stage for the potential management of acetaldehyde toxicity due to alcohol consumption; and Tezampanel and NGX 426, which completed phase I stage for the treatment of migraine and pain. Its preclinical product candidates comprise HepTide for the treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Hepatitis; WntTide for the treatment of breast cancer; NeuroTrans for the treatmen t of neurodegenerative diseases; and Tezampanel and NGX 426 for the treatment of Thrombosis and Spasticity Disorder. Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. is headquartered in Novato, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sean Williams]

    Veloci-Raptor time?
    First up is Raptor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RPTP  ) with Procysbi (previously known as RP-103), its oral delayed and extended-release medication to treat nephropathic cystinosis. In trials, Procysbi proved to be non-inferior to the only other FDA-approved treatment for nephropathic cystinosis, known as Cystagon from Mylan (NASDAQ: MYL  ) .

  • [By John Udovich]

    Recent IPO�FibroGen Inc (NASDAQ: FGEN) surged 22.96% today, reportedly after the journal Hepatology published the results of a workshop between the FDA and the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) which laid out criteria for a phase three study of a treatment for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)���meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with the performance of potential small cap or mid cap liver disease stock peers like Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: CNAT), Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ICPT) and Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp (NASDAQ: RPTP) which rose 24.35%, 10.98% and 2.02%, respectively. According to Investors Business Daily, NASH (the more serious version of fatty liver disease) is potentially an enormous market with about 6 million�US patients but the�lack of previous treatments had left it unclear how the FDA would measure success against the disease while FibroGen Inc doesn't yet have a NASH human trial in the works, it has said it hopes to start one for its lead candidate FG-3019 (its in mid-stage trials for pulmonary fibrosis and liver fibrosis due to hepatitis B infection).

  • [By Sean Williams]

    Raptor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RPTP  ) also gave shareholders something to cheer about when, on Tuesday, the company announced that the Food and Drug Administration had granted Procysbi, its nephropathic cystinosis drug, U.S. orphan drug status. Although FDA-approved drugs are protected by patent for a period of 20 years, the U.S. orphan drug status will keep biosimilar competition from competing against Raptor's Procysbi through April 30, 2020. In addition, on Friday Procysbi received a positive opinion from the European Medicine Agency's panel that the drug be recommended for approval in the EU. However, I'd caution calmer heads prevail here as the total market for the drug is only about 2,000 people worldwide and peak sales estimates in the U.S. are a mere $60 million.

Top Building Product Companies To Invest In Right Now: Stone Energy Corporation(SGY)

Stone Energy Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation, development, and operation of oil and gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico and the Appalachia region. As of December 31, 2010, it had estimated proved oil and natural gas reserves of approximately 473.9 billion cubic feet of gas equivalent. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana with additional offices in New Orleans, Louisiana; Houston, Texas; and Morgantown, West Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Udovich]

    While the Bakken formation is already on most investor radars,�few American investors may realize that the formation stretches North into the oil and gas rich Canadian province of Saskatchewan where�stocks like Surge Energy Inc (TSE: SGY), Questerre Energy Corp (TSE: QEC), Crescent Point Energy Corp (TSE: CPG), Keyera Corp (TSE: KEY) and Centor Energy Inc (OTCBB: CNTO) have been pumping out a good flow of newsworthy news in recent weeks. I should mention that Canada�� oil reserves are ranked #3 after to Venezuela and Saudi Arabia with over 95% of these reserves being the oil sands of Alberta while the neighboring province of Saskatchewan (which the Bakken formation stretches into from South Dakota and Montana) along with offshore areas of Newfoundland also contain substantial production and reserves (Note:�Excluding oil sands, Alberta would have 39% of Canada�� remaining conventional oil reserves,�followed by�offshore Newfoundland with�28% and Saskatchewan with 27%).

  • [By Caiman Valores]

    But its reserves are lower than U.S. domiciled small-cap Stone Energy (SGY) and mid-cap Whiting Petroleum (WLL). However, in the case of Stone Energy a larger portion of its proved and probable reserves are lower margin and less profitable natural gas, with natural gas making up 51% of its reserves and oil and NGLs the remaining 49%.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Leading and Lagging Sectors
    In trading on Tuesday, energy shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.41 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Stone Energy (NYSE: SGY), up 9 percent, and Westmoreland Coal Co (NYSE: WLB), up 7.8 percent. Industrials services shares gained by just 0.02 percent in Tuesday's trading.

Top Building Product Companies To Invest In Right Now: Transocean Ltd (RIGN)

Transocean Ltd. (Transocean) is an international provider of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. The Company operates in two segments: contract drilling services and drilling management services. Contract drilling services, the Company�� primary business, involves contracting its mobile offshore drilling fleet, related equipment and work crews primarily on a dayrate basis to drill oil and gas wells. Its drilling management services segment provides oil and gas drilling management services on either a dayrate basis or a completed-project, fixed-price (or turnkey) basis, as well as drilling engineering and drilling project management services. As of February 14, 2012, it owned or had partial ownership interests in and operated 134 mobile offshore drilling units. On October 4, 2011, the Company acquired Aker Drilling ASA (Aker Drilling). In February 2011, it sold the subsidiary that owns the High-Specification Jackup Trident 20.

During the year ended December 31, 2011 (during 2011), the Company completed the sale of its 50% ownership interest in ODL to Siem Offshore Inc. In October 2011, the Company completed the sale of Challenger Minerals (North Sea) Limited. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� fleet consisted of 50 High-Specification Floaters (Ultra-Deepwater, Deepwater and Harsh Environment semisubmersibles and drillships), 25 Midwater Floaters, nine High-Specification Jackups, 49 Standard Jackups and one swamp barge. In addition, it had two Ultra-Deepwater Floaters and four High-Specification Jackups under construction.

Drilling Fleet

The Company engaged in both types of drilling activity: floaters, including drillships and semisubmersibles, and jackups. Also included in its fleet is a swamp barge drilling unit. It categorized the drilling units of its fleet as High-Specification Floaters, consisting of its Ultra-Deepwater Floaters, Deepwater Floaters and Harsh Environment Floaters, Midwater Floaters, High-Specification Jackups, St! andard Jackups and a swamp barge. High-Specification Floaters are specialized offshore drilling units that it categorize into three sub-classifications based on their capabilities. Ultra-Deepwater Floaters are equipped with mud pumps and are capable of drilling in water depths of 7,500 feet or greater. Deepwater Floaters are generally those other semisubmersible rigs and drillships capable of drilling in water depths between 7,500 and 4,500 feet. Harsh Environment Floaters are capable of drilling in harsh environments in water depths between 10,000 and 1,500 feet and have displacement, which offers variable load capacity, more useable deck space and motion characteristics. Midwater Floaters are generally consists of those non-high-specification semisubmersibles that have a water depth capacity of less than 4,500 feet.

As of February 14, 2012, the Company�� fleet was located in the Far East (27 units), Middle East (16 units), West African countries other than Nigeria and Angola (14 units), United States Gulf of Mexico (13 units), United Kingdom North Sea (12 units), India (12 units), Brazil (10 units), Nigeria (10 units), Norway (eight units), Angola (four units), Australia (three units), the Mediterranean (two units), Canada (two units), and Romania (one unit).

Contract Drilling Services

The Company specializes in offshore drilling business with a particular focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services. Its contract drilling operations are geographically dispersed in oil and gas exploration and development areas throughout the world.

Drilling Management Services

The Company provides drilling management services primarily on a turnkey basis through Applied Drilling Technology Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary, which primarily operates in the United States Gulf of Mexico, and through ADT International, a division of one of its United Kingdom subsidiaries, which primarily operates in the North Sea (together, ADTI). As part o! f its tur! nkey drilling services, the Company provides planning, engineering and management services. Under turnkey arrangements, it designs and executes of a well and delivers a logged or cased hole to an agreed depth. In addition to turnkey drilling services, Transocean participates in project management operations that include providing certain planning, management and engineering services, purchasing equipment and providing personnel and other logistical services to customers.

Integrated Services

Transocean provides well and logistics services in addition to its normal drilling services through third party contractors and the Company�� employees. These other services include integrated services. As of February 10, 2011, it was performing such services in India.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Corinne Gretler]

    Nestle, which makes up 21 percent of the benchmark Swiss Market Index by weight, slid 2.6 percent after reporting the slowest first-half revenue growth in four years. Adecco SA jumped to a two-year high as the biggest provider of temporary workers posted income that exceeded projections. Transocean Ltd. (RIGN), the largest offshore-rig contractor, added 1.1 percent after posting a second-quarter profit.

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