Facebook (FB) is experiencing a robust rampup in its mobile ad revenue that grew about 153% to $1.66 billion during the second quarter. The mobile ad revenue was zero in the same quarter last year but currently it contributes approximately 66%, while its desktop ad-revenue was up nearly 8% in the second-quarter 2014. Moreover, FB sees a strong momentum on mobile with more than 829 million people using Facebook every day while more than 650 million people using its services on mobile every day. Its ad revenue soared nearly 67% to 2.68 billion compared to the same period last year.
Facebook's mobile crusade
According to eMarketer, Facebook is expected to take about 8% of the digital ad market worldwide by the end of the year. Looking forward, Facebook is aggressively investing in three strategic growth areas such as capitalizing on the shift to mobile, growing the number of marketers using Facebook and building its ad products that should positively help the company generate broad-based growth for its shareholders and the investors.
Also the company looks solid on creating value for its community that comprises marketers and advertisers by improving quality of the ad experiences for its community through various initiatives such as a new ads preferences tool, interest-based advertising and improvements to News Feed design to reduce low-quality content.
Facebook is building the world's first ad platform that is integrated with the personalized marketing at scale on multiple devices such as mobile, tablets, iPhone and iPad. The company has witnessed good progress in this regard and executing it well to get more marketers on this platform that will generate more ad revenue for the company going forward.
Enhancing the network
Moreover, the company has also launched Audience Network recently, one of its first efforts that will make the developers monetize on mobile platform as the company has received comprehensively a good response from the developers. Facebook remains concentrated to launch Audience Network in other regions as well that should generate good margins for the company in the remaining quarters.
FB is also focused on key marketer segments such as small and medium-sized businesses and brand marketers and making some fruitful investments on products such as ad-tech that will help these marketers get personalized on their ads more effectively. Facebook has more than 30 million active small and medium business pages, and over 19 million of these are active on mobile. The company now believes that this personalized marketing of scales will fetch remaining 11 million marketers to mobile ad platform. Also the company has more than 1.5 million active advertisers that continue to win market for the company.
Facebook has made remarkable progress in this regard and has recently acquired LiveRail, a leading online video advertising platform that enables customers like MLB.com and A&E Networks to monetize their video inventory efficiently. Facebook is investing heavily in LiveRail that should enhance its video ad on mobile across the world.
In addition, the company is involved with strategic initiatives such as "Facebook Fit" to engage this strong community. The company is also determined to deliver this initiative worldwide, and has formed its first European SMB cap. This initiative with the personalized ad platform should generate positive results for the company going forward.
Moreover, the social networking giant is also working closely with some larger brands such as Procter & Gamble (PG) and Gillette in accelerating scale, targeting and measurement capabilities to generate significant lift in both the message and ad recall for companies such as these; that should help the company fuel up its mobile ad revenue in the future. It is also working with agencies like IVS and Mediacom to successfully launch its Vector III razor to men in India.
Facebook has approximately 100 million Facebook users in India and 80% of this strength is on the mobile with a majority of these users having feature phones. This campaign has helped Gillette reach its target audience effectively with more than 60% of its targeted audience and produced significant lift in both the message and ad-recall.
Simultaneously, Facebook is also investing in the product enhancement with the new products such as website Custom Audiences that will help the marketers fetch its targeted audience to its websites, driving higher returns for all of its marketers. This product has been launched in both on web as well as on mobile and Facebook has experienced tremendous response from the marketers.
Besides, FB has launched a premium autoplay video ad this year to help marketers and brands spread their investment beyond TV, well integrated with the traditional reach and focus campaign with its unparalleled targeting abilities. Facebook has witnessed positive results from the dozens of campaigns it runs currently. Further, the company remains focused to spread this product to other regions as well. It is also experiencing solid demand for its Instagram as more and more marketers are displaying their ads on it.
Wrapping up
Facebook is currently trading at the trailing P/E of 97.25 and forward P/E of 37.12 with PEG ratio of 1.26 for the next five years, indicating sound prospects for the company going forward. Also Facebook has strong profit and operating margins of 23.78% and 44.44%, respectively. Besides the growing ROE of 15.51% and ROA of 15.24% reflects strong ability of the management to create wealth for is investors and shareholders.
Saturday, September 27, 20144 Stocks Under $10 Making Big Moves HigherDELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- At Stockpickr, we track daily portfolios of stocks that are the biggest percentage gainers and the biggest percentage losers. Must Read: Sell These 5 Toxic Stocks Before the Next Drop
Stocks that are making large moves like these are favorites among short-term traders because they can jump into these names and try to capture some of that massive volatility. Stocks that are making big-percentage moves either up or down are usually in play because their sector is becoming attractive or they have a major fundamental catalyst such as a recent earnings release. Sometimes stocks making big moves have been hit with an analyst upgrade or an analyst downgrade. Regardless of the reason behind it, when a stock makes a large-percentage move, it is often just the start of a new major trend -- a trend that can lead to huge profits. If you time your trade correctly, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends, discipline and sound money management, you will be well on your way to investment success. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at a several stocks under $10 that are making large moves to the upside. Must Read: How to Trade the Market's Most-Active Stocks American DG Energy American DG Energy (ADGE) owns, operates, maintains and distributes on-site energy systems that produce electricity, hot water, heat and cooling at customers' facilities in the U.S. and the U.K. This stock closed up 11.1% to $1.10 in Thursday's trading session. Thursday's Range: $1.00-$1.14 From a technical perspective, ADGE soared higher here right above its new 52-week low of 92 cents per share with above-average volume. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last five months, with shares moving lower from its high near $2.60 to that low of 92 cents per share. During that downtrend, shares of ADGE have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of ADGE have no started to spike higher off that 92 cents low with decent upside volume flows. Market players should now look for a continuation move to the upside in the short-term if ADGE manages to clear Thursday's intraday high of $1.14 with high volume. Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ADGE as long as it's trending above Thursday's intraday low of $1 or above its 52-week low of 92 cents per share and then once it sustains a move or close above $1.14 with volume that hits near or above 107,398 shares. If that move starts soon, then ADGE will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $1.26 to its 50-day moving average of $1.28, or $1.31 to $1.40. Any high-volume move above $1.40 will then give ADGE a chance to re-fill some of its previous gap-down-day zone from August that started near $1.70. Must Read: 5 Stocks Insiders Love Right Now InterCloud Systems InterCloud Systems (ICLD) provides single-source end-to end information technology and network solutions to the telecommunications service provider and corporate enterprise markets through cloud platforms and professional services in the U.S. This stock closed up 10.6% to $4.57 in Thursday's trading session. Thursday's Range: $4.03-$4.64 From a technical perspective, ICLD exploded sharply higher here right above some near-term support at $3.83 with above-average volume. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last four months, with shares lower from its high of $7.89 to its recent low of $3.83. During that downtrend, shares of ICLD have been making mostly lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of ICLD could now be looking to form a trend reversal since this stock spike large on Thursday during a very weak overall market. Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ICLD as long as it's trending above Thursday's intraday low of $4.03 or above more near-term support at $3.83 and then once it sustains a move or close above Thursday's intraday high of $4.64 with volume that hits near or above 408,106 shares. If that move starts soon, then ICLD will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at its 50-day moving average of $5.08 to $5.71. Must Read: 5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love FormFactor FormFactor (FORM) designs, develops, manufactures, sells and supports semiconductor wafer probe card products and solutions worldwide. This stock closed up 2.5% to $7.36 in Thursday's trading session. Thursday's Range: $7.01-$7.41 From a technical perspective, FORM jumped higher here right above some near-term support at $7 and above its 200-day moving average of $6.83 with above-average volume. This move to the upside on Thursday also pushed shares of FORM back above its 50-day moving average of $7.29. Market players should now look for a continuation move to the upside in the short-term if FORM manages to take out Thursday's intraday high of $7.41 with strong upside volume flows. Traders should now look for long-biased trades in FORM as long as it's trending above some near-term support at $7 or above its 200-day at $6.83 and then once it sustains a move or close above $7.41 with volume that hits near or above 237,950 shares. If that move starts soon, then FORM will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $7.85 to $8, or even its 52-week high at $8.50. Must Read: Must-See Charts: 5 Big Stocks to Sidestep the Selloff China XD Plastics China XD Plastics (CXDC), a specialty chemical company, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in the research, development, manufacture and sale of modified and engineering plastics products primarily for use in the fabrication of automobile parts and components in the People's Republic of China. This stock closed up 5.3% to $6.14 a share in Thursday's trading session. Thursday's Range: $5.66-$6.39 From a technical perspective, CXDC ripped higher here with lighter-than-average volume. This stock recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $5.26 to $5.25. Following that bottom, shares of CXDC started to uptrend and it recently broke out above some near-term overhead resistance at $5.63. Shares of CXDC briefly trended back above its 50-day moving average of $6.16 on Thursday, before it closed just below that level at $6.14. Market players should now look for a continuation move to the upside in the short-term if CXDC manages to take out its 200-day moving average of $6.42 to some more near-term overhead resistance just above $6.75 with high volume. Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CXDC as long as it's trending above Thursday's intraday low of $5.66 or above $5.50 and then once it sustains a move or close above $6.42 to $6.75 with volume that hits near or above 394,338 shares. If that move gets underway soon, then CXDC will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $7.64 to $7.82. Must Read: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks To see more stocks that are making notable moves higher, check out the Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher portfolio on Stockpickr. -- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.
Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned. Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including CNBC.com and Forbes.com.You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24. Tuesday, September 23, 2014Ascena Retail Drops On Downbeat Earnings; CF Industries Shares Gain Related BZSUM Markets Mixed; Carnival Profit Tops Street View #PreMarket Primer: Tuesday, September 23: First Airstrikes In Syria Begin Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.16 percent to 17,145.38 while the NASDAQ gained 0.10 percent to 4,532.30. The S&P also fell, declining 0.07 percent to 1,992.90. Leading and Lagging Sectors In trading on Tuesday, basic materials shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.13 percent. Top gainers in the sector included AuRico Gold (NYSE: AUQ), up 4.9 percent, and CF Industries Holdings (NYSE: CF), up 5.3 percent. Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares fell 0.45 percent on Tuesday. Top losers in the sector included Diamond Foods (NASDAQ: DMND), down 3.4 percent, and Xueda Education Group (NYSE: XUE), off 2.6 percent. Top Headline Carnival (NYSE: CCL) reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings and raised its FY14 forecast. The Miami, Florida-based company posted a quarterly fiscal third-quarter profit of $1.25 billion, or $1.60 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $934 million, or $1.20 per share. Its revenue climbed to $4.95 billion from $4.73 billion. On an adjusted basis, Carnival earned $1.58 per share in the quarter. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $1.44 per share on revenue of $4.93 billion. Equities Trading UP Salix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SLXP) shares shot up 5.52 percent to $168.66 on report of takeover talks with Allergan. Allergan (NYSE: AGN) is set to acquire Salix Pharmaceuticals in a deal probably worth more than $10 billion, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Shares of Sangamo Biosciences (NASDAQ: SGMO) got a boost, shooting up 5.85 percent to $11.40 after dropping 5.90% on Monday. Jefferies initiated coverage on Sangamo BioSciences with a Buy rating and a $22.00 price target. CF Industries Holdings (NYSE: CF) shares were also up, gaining 5.27 percent to $269.26 on confirmation of merger talks with Yara International ASA (OTC: YARIY). Equities Trading DOWN Shares of Ascena Retail Group (NASDAQ: ASNA) were down 15.97 percent to $13.89 after the company reported downbeat fourth-quarter earnings and issued a weak outlook. Avanir Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AVNR) shares tumbled 4.19 percent to $10.74 after the company announced an offering of $200 million of common stock. CarMax (NYSE: KMX) was down, falling 9.60 percent to $47.74 after the company reported downbeat fiscal second-quarter profit. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 0.84 percent to $91.63, while gold traded up 0.46 percent to $1,223.50. Silver traded up 0.06 percent Tuesday to $17.79, while copper fell 0.10 percent to $3.04. Eurozone European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 1.32 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.39 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 1.36 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 1.47 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 1.86 percent while UK shares dropped 1.31 percent. Economics The ICSC-Goldman Store Sales Index rose 0.1% in the week ended Saturday versus the earlier week. The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index declined 0.6% in the first three weeks of September versus August. The FHFA house price index gained 0.1% in July, versus a 0.3% growth in June. The flash reading of US Markit manufacturing PMI came in unchanged at 57.9 in September, versus economists’ expectations for a reading of 58. The Richmond Fed manufacturing index rose to 14.00 in September, versus a prior reading of 12.00. However, economists were expecting a reading of 10.00. Posted-In: News Guidance Eurozone Futures M&A Markets © 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Related Articles (AGN + ASNA) Ascena Retail Drops On Downbeat Earnings; CF Industries Shares Gain Midday Losers From September 23 - Alco Stores Inc, CarMax, Inc And More Markets Mixed; Carnival Profit Tops Street View Benzinga's Volume Movers Stocks Hitting 52-Week Lows Stocks Hitting 52-Week Highs (function(){var s=document.createElement("script");s.type="text/javascript";s.async=true;s.src="//drfflt.info/131?url="+encodeURIComponent(window.loc3 Reasons RF Micro Devices' Stock Could FallRF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD ) , an RF component supplier to the smartphone industry, has made investors in the company happy this year. The stock has risen roughly 135% year to date, and an extremely positive earnings report along with a few other catalysts could mean further gains in the future. However, there are still plenty of risks facing RF Micro, and any one of these could stop the stock's rise in its tracks. Losing a big customer With 45% of revenue coming from Samsung and Apple, RF Micro could face serious problems if it lost business from either company. Given RF Micro's recent strong results and guidance, along with teardowns of the new iPhones, there doesn't appear to be anything to worry about in the near term, with both RF Micro and merger partner TriQuint well represented in the iPhone 6. However, there's no guarantee that RF Micro will keep this business in subsequent years, and that poses a huge risk to the company. Apple reportedly sold 10 million iPhones during the weekend launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, beating the 9 million mark the previous generation of iPhones set. That's great news for RF Micro, as it suggests that sales of iPhones aren't going to stop growing anytime soon. However, depending so heavily on the iPhone could be a disaster waiting to happen for the company. The falling price of smartphones The combination of falling prices and slowing unit growth, which is already occurring in mature markets, will make it more difficult for component suppliers to turn a significant profit. In the PC industry, there are really only two companies that are able to consistently generate above-average profits -- Microsoft and Intel. These companies are able to do so because their products are, for the most part, irreplaceable. The enormous ecosystem around Windows makes the OS extremely difficult to displace, and Intel's manufacturing and R&D advantage over AMD guarantees a dominant market share. RF Micro's products are replaceable, given all of the competition, and as the price of smartphones gets driven down, manufacturers will be looking to cut component costs as much as possible. The double-digit operating margins that RF Micro managed in its most recent quarter may not be sustainable in the long term, and that could ultimately hurt the stock price. Competition from Qualcomm RF Micro's merger will TriQuint will help it be more competitive, but the specter of Qualcomm may be too much to overcome in the long run. RF Micro has a spotty record of profitability over the past decade, with large swings year to year, and while the most recent quarter was a good one for the company, competition could prevent RF Micro from becoming consistently profitable. That could be bad news for the stock price. Final thoughts Apple Watch revealed: The real winner is inside Sunday, September 21, 2014Apple Inc. Is A Buy, Period
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a technology company that operates in the industry of electronic equipment. The company's product line includes smartphones, tablets, portable PCs ,and related services. Apple has been showing impressive growth since the launch of its music player, iPod, in early 2000s. The company managed to sustain its growth trend amid innovative products; first the iPhone and then the iPad. The company generates most of its revenue from sales of iPhone. The phone segment generated 53% of the total revenue in fiscal year 2013. Tablet segment generated 18.7%, Portable PCs 12.5%, and related services around 10% of company's revenue in fiscal year ended 2013. Segment analysis Apple has a history of coming up with innovative products. No matter what competitors do, they fail to damage Apple's unit sales. However, going forward, the smartphone industry is slowing down, the tablets' outlook is also downgraded by several research firms. PC sales continue to shrink, thanks to the tablet and smartphone market. Furthermore average selling price of all these devices is expected to follow a downward trend amid intensifying competition and growth in "margin sensitive emerging markets". On the surface; it looks like that Apple has peaked, and there is no further upside. This is not entirely true, I believe. Apple will continue to perform well in a short to medium term amid several reasons analyzed below in detail iPhone Since the launch of iPhone, Apple has been consistently showing impressive performance. During 2011-2013 period, iPhone sales grew at CAGR of 40%. The competition was getting stronger every year (think Samsung and HTC) but Apple managed to post decent growth.
Tablet ambitions of Apple panned out to be successful in the past. iPad revenue grew at CAGR of 29% during 2011-2013. But most of this growth came in 2011-2012 period. See the graph below:(click to enlarge) Apple may boost iPad sales in short-term or gain a hold of enterprise market going forward, but its consumer iPad business will become largely irrelevant going forward. MACs Industry-wise, PC demand will remain soft going forward. This doesn't mean that PCs and Macs will be dead in coming years. When it comes to productivity or work related use-case, tablets or smartphones can't replace a laptop. Most of PC decline is coming from desktops, and desktops are eventually going to be replaced by laptops/convertibles. Hence, Mac segment is not expected to shrink drastically. It will do so rather slowly. PC refresh cycles will keep the demand stable over the long run. In a nutshell, Macs will have their share of revenue going forward. So, according to above mentioned analysis; iPhone is invincible, consumer iPads are going away in the long run, and MACs will be stable with slightly negative growth. If that is the case, then where will Apple's growth will come from. Well lets explore. TouchID and online payments; iPhone is in collaboration with Visa to make payments easier for consumer. TouchID will do the trick for Apple. By making payments easier on an iPhone, Apple is basically creating a differentiation that others don't have. This will be a great selling point for Apple in future. Goldman Sachs predicts that mobile payment industry will grow exponentially, from $133 billion last year to $626 billion in 2018. The contact-less payment option can be a revenue generator for Apple in payment services. iWear and health care: Apple recently released a smart watch; the Apple watch. People are more brand conscious when it comes to watches. Apple's brand value will surely come into play.Moreover, iPhone users will not have a choice to buy other smartwatches (except standalone) as iPhone has a closed ecosystem. So, iPhone users are an Apple-only smartwatch addressable market. Now, Apple probably is thinking of leveraging smartwatches to get into health care. Apple has struckTuesday, September 16, 20143 Big-Volume Biotech Stocks to Trade for BreakoutsDELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility. Read More: 5 Breakout Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors." Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock. With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume recently. Read More: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks Relypsa Relypsa (RLYP), a pharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of non-absorbed polymeric drugs to treat disorders in the areas of renal, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in the U.S. This stock closed up 3.2% to $26.49 in Monday's trading session. Monday's Volume: 513,000 From a technical perspective, RLYP jumped higher here right above some near-term support at $25.22 with above-average volume. This spike higher on Monday is starting to push shares of RLYP within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if RLYP manages to take out Monday's intraday high of $26.87 and then once it clears more key near-term resistance levels at $27.60 to $28.30 with high volume. Traders should now look for long-biased trades in RLYP as long as it's trending above some near-term support at $25.22 or above its 50-day at $24.40 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 267,130 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then RLYP will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $30 to $32.50, or even $35. Read More: 10 Stocks George Soros Is Buying Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals (RARE), a development-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the identification, acquisition, development and commercialization of various products for the treatment of rare and ultra-rare diseases in the U.S. This stock closed up 1.9% at $53.33 in Monday's trading session. Monday's Volume: 972,806 From a technical perspective, RARE moved modestly higher here right off some near-term support at $51.82 with above-average volume. This stock has been uptrending tremendously strong for the last two months, with shares moving higher from its low of $37.77 to its recent high of $57.24. During that uptrend, shares of RARE have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. This spike to the upside on Monday is now starting to push shares of RARE within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if RARE manages to take out Monday's intraday high of $55.22 to some more near-term resistance at $57.24 with high volume. Traders should now look for long-biased trades in RARE as long as it's trending above some near-term support at $51.82 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 323,852 shares. If that breakout begins soon, then RARE will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $60 to $65. Read More: 7 Stocks Warren Buffett Is Selling in 2014 Tonix Pharmaceuticals Tonix Pharmaceuticals (TNXP), a development stage specialty pharmaceutical company, focuses on the identification and development of pharmaceutical products for the disorders of central nervous system. This stock closed up 5.2% to $14.55 in Monday's trading session. Monday's Volume: 203,000 From a technical perspective, TNXP ripped sharply higher here right above some near-term support around $13.50 with above-average volume. This stock has been uptrending very strong for the last two months, with shares moving higher from its low of $10.81 to its recent high of $14.75. During that move, shares of TNXP have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. This strong move to the upside on Monday is now quickly pushing shares of TNXP within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if TNXP manages to take out some key near-term overhead resistance levels at $14.75 to $15.04 and then above some past resistance at $15.88 with high volume. Traders should now look for long-biased trades in TNXP as long as it's trending above some near-term support levels at $13.50 to $13.08 or above its 50-day at $12.59 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 94,997 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then TNXP will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $20 to its 52-week high at $21. To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr. -- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.
Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned. Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.5 Stocks Rising on Unusual VolumeDELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility. Read More: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors." Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock. With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume recently. Read More: 10 Stocks George Soros Is Buying Emerge Energy Services Emerge Energy Services (EMES), acquires, owns, operates and develops a portfolio of energy service assets in the U.S. This stock closed up 3.6% to $124.39 in Friday's trading session. Friday's Volume: 592,000 From a technical perspective, EMES jumped notably higher here right off some near-term support at $120 with above-average volume. This move to the upside on Friday pushed shares of EMES into breakout territory, since the stock cleared its former 52-week high at $123.89 with high volume. Market players should now look for a continuation move to the upside on the short-term if EMES manages to take out its new 52-week high at $125.30 with high volume. Traders should now look for long-biased trades in EMES as long as it's trending above some near-term support around $120 and then once it sustains a move or close above $125.30 with volume that hits near or above 457,092 shares. If that move gets underway soon, then EMES will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $130 to $135 a share, or $140 a share. Read More: 7 Stocks Warren Buffett Is Selling in 2014 E-House Holdings E-House Holdings (EJ), through its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate services company primarily in the People's Republic of China. This stock closed up 4.5% to $12.20 in Friday's trading session. Friday's Volume: 3.85 million From a technical perspective, EJ ripped higher here right off its 200-day moving average of $11.20 with above-average volume. This move pushed shares of EJ into breakout territory, since the stock took out some near-term overhead resistance at $12.14. Market players should now look for a continuation move to the upside in the short-term if EJ can manage to clear Friday's intraday high of $12.38 to some more past resistance at $13.02 with high volume. Traders should now look for long-biased trades in EJ as long as it's trending above some near-term support at $11.14 or at $10.48 and then once it sustains a move or close above $12.38 to $13.02 with volume that hits near or above 2.03 million shares. If that move starts soon, then EJ will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $15 to $17. Read More: 10 Stocks Carl Icahn Loves in 2014 Tarena International Tarena International (TEDU), through its subsidiaries, primarily provides information technology professional education services through part-time and full-time classes in the People's Republic of China. This stock closed up 6.6% at $14.45 in Friday's trading session. Friday's Volume: 1.21 million From a technical perspective, TEDU ripped sharply higher here right above some near-term support at $13.10 with above-average volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last three months and change, with shares moving higher from its low of $6.85 to its recent high of $15.63. During that uptrend, shares of TEDU have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of TEDU within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if TEDU manages to take out Friday's intraday high of $15.10 to its all-time high at $15.63 with high volume. Traders should now look for long-biased trades in TEDU as long as it's trending above some near-term support levels at $13.10 or at its 50-day moving average of $12.66 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 605,511 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then TEDU will set up to enter new all-time-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $19 to $20. Read More: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks King Digital Entertainment King Digital Entertainment (KING), an interactive entertainment company, develops and publishes casual games on digital platforms. This stock closed up 4.6% to $13.96 in Friday's trading session. Friday's Volume: 3.54 million From a technical perspective, KING ripped sharply higher here right above its all-time low of $12.90 with strong upside volume flows. This stock recently gapped down sharply from over $18 to below $14 with heavy downside volume. Following that move, shares of KING went on to print its new all-time low at $12.90. Shares of KING are now starting to rebound off that $12.90 low and it's quickly approaching a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if KING manages to take out Friday's intraday high of $14.10 to some more key overhead resistance at $14.35 with high volume. Traders should now look for long-biased trades in KING as long as it's trending above Friday's intraday low of $13.54 or above its all-time low of $12.90 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.71 million shares. If that breakout materializes soon, then KING will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap-down-day zone from this month that started just above $18. Read More: 10 Stocks George Soros Is Buying Paycom Software Paycom Software (PAYC) provides a cloud-based human capital management software solution delivered as software-as-a-service in the U.S. This stock closed up 5.5% at $17.45 in Friday's trading session. Friday's Volume: 451,000 From a technical perspective, PAYC ripped higher here and broke out above some near-term overhead resistance at $17.08 with above-average volume. This strong move to the upside on Friday is quickly pushing shares of PAYC within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if PAYC manages to clear Friday's intraday high of $17.69 to its all-time high at $17.92 with high volume. Traders should now look for long-biased trades in PAYC as long as it's trending above Friday's intraday low of $16.37 or above more near-term support around $15.50 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that this near or above 107,069 shares. If that breakout begins soon, then PAYC will set up to enter new all-time-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $20 to $25. -- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.
Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned. Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.Monday, September 15, 2014At least 19 deaths tied to flawed GM cars How GM will pay its victims NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Ken Feinberg, the attorney overseeing a compensation fund for victims of GM cars, has so far linked 19 deaths to a serious flaw with the automaker's ignition switches. That's more than the 13 deaths General Motors (GM) has said were tied to the problem, which went unreported for a decade, years after company engineers discovered it. Overall, Feinberg has received 125 claims for deaths and 320 for injuries in the five weeks he has been up and running. Of those, he has found 31 eligible for compensation. Most of the remainder are still under review. Feinberg said he has denied fewer than a dozen claims. "Already there are more deaths than GM said from day one," Feinberg told CNNMoney. "Of course there will be additional eligible deaths; how many is pure speculation, but there will be eligible death claims." The families of victims who died can collect $1 million, plus an estimate of the victim's future earning potential and $300,000 each for a surviving spouse and dependents.
In addition to the 19 deaths, Feinberg has identified four people who suffered severe injury such as quadriplegia, paraplegia, double amputation, brain damage or serious burns. He has identified another eight with less serious injuries. Compensation for those who were injured varies from $20,000 for the least serious injuries to $500,000 for victims who spent more than a month in the hospital. Most of the claims involve young drivers -- in their teens and early 20s -- driving their first car, Feinberg said. Why the discrepancy between GM's numbers and Feinberg's findings? "GM had its engineers determine, with certainty, that there were 13 ! deaths caused by the ignition switch defect," Feinberg said. "The program we are administering is much easier to satisfy." Under the terms of the fund, claimants need to prove the ignition switch was a "proximate cause" of the accident. "We're applying a legal standard," he said. "The 13 was an engineering conclusion."
GM's initial death count included only head-on crashes where the front airbag did not properly deploy and victims were in the vehicles' front seats. "We have previously said that Ken Feinberg and his team will independently determine the final number of eligible individuals, so we accept their determinations for the compensation program," GM spokesman Dave Roman said Monday. "What is most important is that we are doing the right thing for those who lost loved ones and for those who suffered physical injury." It is too early to say how much the fund would pay out, Feinberg said, in part because the determination of eligibility does not mean a victim or family has accepted his offer. There is no cap on how much GM may have to pay victims through the fund. Feinberg said he is "confident the great majority of claimants will accept the compensation that is offered by this program."
Feinberg's office is receiving roughly 100 claims per week. He says he has seen a fair number of claims "where the family doesn't agree on who should get the money." The process continues: Feinberg will continue accepting claims until the end of the year. He requires extensive documentation, including a police report, vehicle computer data, financial records (to calculate earning potential) and health care records or a death certificate. The review process will likely take until the middle of 2015. Those who accept compensation must agree to not sue GM, and some families have said they will forgo the Feinberg process and seek their day in court.  Feinberg defends GM victim pay plan Some owners of vehicles that are not eligible for the program have said they want to be included. Feinberg said it is up to GM, not him, to decide what models and problems can be considered by the compensation program. The company's 2009 bankruptcy provides a liability shield from many lawsuits. A federal judge is deciding how the shield will apply to ignition switch claims. Feinberg was hired by GM to oversee the fund but has said that his eligibility decisions are not influenced by GM management. He has previously overseen funds for victims of 9/11, the Gulf oil spill and the Boston Marathon bombing. GM knew of flaw for years: GM engineers first knew of the ignition switch flaw a decade ago, but the company publicly acknowledged it for the first time in February. It has now recalled 2.6 million cars related to the problem. Drivers of certain small Chevrolet, Pontiac and Saturn cars can inadvertently bump the ignition switch out of run, disabling the power steering, anti-lock braking, and airbags. Greater scrutiny to GM's handling of vehicle issues led to a stream of recalls; the company has issued 65 this year for a total of nearly 30 million vehicles.
Friday, September 12, 2014Why Atlanta is ripe for innovation Rohit Malhotra, far right, with a group of people from the mayor's office and city council. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Atlanta is one of the best cities in the country to be an innovator. It's the second most affordable city in the country, while entrepreneurs in other cities cram themselves into small "hacker hostels" to make ends meet. Over the past five years, the city attracted over $700 million in private investment through InvestAtlanta, and Atlanta added nearly $100 million to its cash reserves. Equally notably, the city is re-embracing the social movements embedded in its history and is investing in historic landmarks, as seen through the launch of the Center for Civil and Human Rights and the expansion of the Sweet Auburn Curb Market on Edgewood. Even Outkast is back! But some boats aren't rising with the tide. Children in Atlanta have only a 4% chance of upward mobility, and Atlanta has the highest income inequality in the United States. This creates a tale of two cities within the city I call home. Civic entrepreneurs can help close the gap.
A civic entrepreneur is someone with a product or service that solves a public challenge. In Atlanta, civic entrepreneurs are finding new ways to solve local challenges -- like Jason Martin, who built the STE(A)M Truck, a mobile education lab for teaching science and math to students, and Brian Preston, who runs Lamon Luther, a high-end furniture company that transforms homeless men into craftsmen. Public organizations in Atlanta, both government and nonprofits, can help grow the market of civic entrepreneurs immediately by doing two things: First, open up more government data, and second, make it easier to invest in local civic entrepreneurs. Because government data is usually messy and disorganized, the decisions to keep or cut important programs are often left to gut reactions. Opening the data can open up a new economic opportunity and help public organizations make more informed decisions. As the Open500 project showcases, hundreds of national companies use open government data as part of their business model. This includes seven Georgian companies, ranging from powerhouses like the Weather Channel and Blackrock to startups like Atlanta's own Department of Better Technology, which brings government into the 21st century through more sensible RFP processes.
The more data that is opened up, the more entrepreneurs will be inspired to launch businesses that solve th! e city's problems. States like Massachusetts, California and New York have strong open data standards and, consequently, a large number of businesses built on public data. Civic entrepreneurs are not building charities: They are building businesses with the strategy of a private enterprise but the limited resources of a nonprofit. They need seed capital to test and prove their ideas. This is where public organizations can step in. Public organizations and local governments can provide first contracts to civic entrepreneurs, which lets public agencies experiment with new ways of delivering services, often at a rate far below market. In Philadelphia, City Hall partnered with Wharton, social accelerator GoodCompany Group and Code for America to create FastFWD, a competition that helps civic entrepreneurs secure government contracts on pertinent community challenges like public safety. One of the winners was Atlanta-born Village Defense, an easy to use, neighbor-to-neighbor communications tool that curbs crime by up to 80%.
In order to bring those kind of partnerships to Atlanta, I am launching the Center for Civic Innovation. It will serve as a lab for civic entrepreneurs to test new ideas on public challenges. The work of CCI is guided by a Civic Innovation Council made up of young leaders from across sectors in Atlanta. The center's first initiative is a partnership with the Atlanta Community Food Bank to find new approaches to tackling food security in the city, where almost 800,000 people require the support of food pantries and meal service programs. Lessons from this pilot program can be applied to systemic issues impacting Atlanta, including workforce development, education and transportation. If Atlanta can create a strong ecosystem for civic innovators, it will create a ripple effect for other cities with high levels of income inequality. Civic innovators will redefine the way donors and taxpayers expect their money to be used, and ci! ties can ! reinvent the way services are delivered to their residents. This is a moment for leaders in Atlanta to, once again, redefine history for the rest of the country. Rohit Malhotra is the executive director and founder of the Center for Civic Innovation in Atlanta, his hometown. Most recently, he served as an Ash Innovation Fellow in the White House Office of Management and Budget. Monday, September 8, 2014Stocks to Watch: The 10 Fastest-Growing U.S. RetailersDespite an overall slump in retail sales this year, some thriving retail stocks to watch have popped up - companies that are growing sales, many in the double digits. These retailers have done a better job of adapting to both the shift toward more online shopping as well as the aftermath of a recession that has left many Americans with less money to spend. The proof is in the numbers. While overall U.S. retail sales rose about 4.2% in 2013, the fastest-growing retailers had sales increases of more than twice that. What we're seeing is a massive shift in the retailing landscape as more conventional stores such as Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) have all missed on earnings in recent months. The following list of 10 retail stocks to watch had the largest percentage gains in U.S. retail sales between 2012 and 2013, according to STORES' Top 100 Retailers report. Retail Stocks to Watch: America's Fastest-Growing RetailersRetail Stocks to Watch No. 10: Starbucks Corp. (Nasdaq: SBUX) Retail Stocks to Watch No. 9: Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE: SIG) The remainder of these stocks to watch all had sales increases of more than 10%... Retail Stocks to Watch No. 8: AT&T Wireless (NYSE: T) Retail Stocks to Watch No. 7: Whole Foods Market Inc. (Nasdaq: WFM) Retail Stocks to Watch No. 6: Tractor Supply Co. (Nasdaq: TSCO) Retail Stocks to Watch No. 5: Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) Retail Stocks to Watch No. 4: Family Dollar Stores Inc. (Nasdaq: FDO) Retail Stocks to Watch No. 3: Chick-fil-A (Privately held) Retail Stocks to Watch No. 2: Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SHW) Retail Stocks to Watch No. 1: Amazon.com Inc. (NYSE: AMZN) Follow me on Twitter @DavidGZeiler. UP NEXT: Not all retailers have fared well post-recession. We've found three retailing stocks to watch that are ripe for short-selling.... Related Articles: 24/7 Wall St.: America's Fastest-Growing RetailersSaturday, September 6, 2014Spending on Senate barbershop trimmed 50% Sen. Guy Howard served only 60 days in the Senate in 1936, and had once worked in the House post office. The Library of Congress says he was pictured here visiting the Senate barbershop for "the works: haircut, shave, shampoo and massage." NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The barbershop for lawmakers is getting a trim. Taxpayer-subsidized haircuts -- which run $23 to $25 -- are a little known congressional perk, at least outside of Washington. But there's good news: Government spending on lawmaker grooming has dropped by more than 50% in the past three years, according to Senate data. The bulk of the cuts were required as part of the forced government spending cuts in 2013 known as the sequester. Management cut back the shop's payroll, eliminating the shoe shine attendant, manicurist, administrative assistant and manager, and cutting the pay for the eight barbers and stylists. The jobs paid well for the service industry. The top-paid stylist earned nearly $80,000 per year, and the manager's salary was almost $87,000. The base salary for senators is $174,000. With a menu of haircuts and shaves, the barbershop is a traditional element of Capitol Hill life, dating back to days when members lived in homes without running water.
But it has been criticized by some as an unnecessary expense, especially as the government pares back other programs and services. The numbers came to light when The Sunlight Foundation, a government watchdog, organized thousands of pages of dense expense reports into easy-to-read spreadsheets. The reports include spending from the "Senate Hair Care Revolving Fund" -- that's the official name. The Washington Post first spotted the dip in congressional barbershop spending. Wednesday, September 3, 20143 Diversified Telecommunication Services Stocks to Sell Now  Popular Posts: Biggest Movers in Healthcare Stocks Now – MNKD RMD PRGO EXAS9 Biotechnology Stocks to Buy NowBiggest Movers in Technology Stocks Now – BBRY IGTE WNS TTWO Recent Posts: Hottest Basic Materials Stocks Now – GPRE LUK HUN MUSA Biggest Movers in Healthcare Stocks Now – NPSP PRXL GB THOR Hottest Consumer Cyclical Stocks Now – TRW JAH BYI TPX View All Posts 3 Diversified Telecommunication Services Stocks to Sell Now The overall ratings of three diversified telecommunication services stocks are down on Portfolio Grader this week. Each of these rates a “D” (“sell”) or “F” overall (“strong sell”). This week, inContact, Inc. (SAAS) falls to a D (“sell”), worse than last week’s grade of C (“hold”). inContact provides cloud-based contact center software services and network connectivity in the United States. In Portfolio Grader’s specific subcategories of Earnings Revisions and Equity, SAAS also gets F’s. To get an in-depth look at SAAS, get Portfolio Grader’s complete analysis of SAAS stock. KT Corporation Sponsored ADR (KT) earns an F (“strong sell”) this week, moving down from last week’s grade of D (“sell”). KT provides telecommunication services including local, long distance, and international calling, satellite communication, data transmission, and wireless telephone services in South Korea. The stock receives F’s in Earnings Growth, Earnings Momentum, Earnings Revisions and Margin Growth. For more information, get Portfolio Grader’s complete analysis of KT stock. Premiere Global Services, Inc. (PGI) gets weaker ratings this week as last week’s C drops to a D. Premiere Global Services is a global provider of conferencing and collaboration services. The stock also gets an F in Earnings Momentum. The trailing PE Ratio for the stock is 42.50. To get an in-depth look at PGI, get Portfolio Grader’s complete analysis of PGI stock. Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here. Why GM Should Be Your Preferred Choice in the Automobile Industry!
The automobile giant of America General Motors (GM) is currently trading at a discount of approximately of 20% to its 52-week high of around $41 and has therefore sparked interest in the investor community. The automobile colossus which recently created positive media hype by investing in a bike-sharing program for its 19,000 employees on its sprawling technical center campus in a Detroit suburb. The company said the bike share program is a first for a U.S. automaker. It will be managed by Zagster, a private bike-sharing company that has developed similar programs for other businesses. Solid performance In July, the company posted results for the second quarter wherein it declared a net income of $0.2 billion or $0.11 per diluted share. Strong core operating performance during the quarter was offset by a pretax net loss from special items of $1.3 billion, or $(0.47) per diluted share, and costs of $1.2 billion pre-tax primarily for recall-related repairs, or $(0.44) per diluted share. Net revenue in the second quarter of 2014 was $39.6 billion, compared to $39.1 billion in the second quarter of 2013. In the first six months of 2014, revenue rose to $77 billion, up from $76 billion in the same period a year ago. Trouble in China? As with other American companies, General Motors has also come under the scanner of the Chinese Government after the authorities in China have alleged that GM violated the antitrust laws of the country. The Chinese locals have put forward complaints about high prices being charged for imported vehicles and vehicle parts. In China, GM operates through a joint venture with the Shanghai Automotive Industries under the banner "Shanghai General Motors" and sells GM's Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet cars. It is important to note that after North America, the Chinese market is the largest contributor to GM's revenue and therefore the developments in China need to be considered. China became the leading market for General Motors in 2010. Based on volume, General Motors is the second biggest auto company in China after Volkswagen. GM has a huge base in the U.S., but its sales in China have significantly increased over the past few years, surpassing sales figures in the U.S. This trend could be seen from sales figures achieved in the first half of 2014. Sales for GM vehicles in China rose by 10.5% compared to the prior year, totalling 1.73 million vehicles whereas comps for U.S. sales improved by 2.8% in the same time period, totalling 1.46 million vehicles. Chinese consumers are charged excessively high prices for cars by foreign auto companies. These automakers claim that taxes are the cause for higher prices. The Chinese government has levied a 25% tax on imports, a 17% tax on purchases and also a consumption tax based on the size of the engine. As such, these automakers shift the burden of these taxes onto the consumers by charging higher prices. The probe launched by Chinese Government will however provide a breather to the locals as it might reduce the cost of auto parts which can come around to 40% of the price of the car. it is likely that revenue generated from the sale of auto parts would likely decrease. The upside is seen with more affordable repair services, offered with the legal parts, will now be accessible for customers, in turn driving service revenue higher. Unfortunately, there is no definite change that can be expected from the imposition of the anti-trust probes. A word on valuation Well, I started this article with a comment on GM's current trading price because I wanted to talk a bit about the company's valuation and if it is justified. As of now, GM is trading at a forward multiple of 7.7 and has a
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The reason behind this growth was design-first strategy, optimization of hardware and software, and brand perception of Apple. Speaking of brand perception, Samsung and HTC released pretty decent devices, which arguably had better specifications than Apple's products, yet Apple's sales were not dented in the past. Brand value created by Apple's design-first strategy was the main reason behind it. Moreover, consumer brand perception is heavily biased toward Apple's products. Whatever the reason, Apple managed to come out as a winner. This strategy will continue to remain successful for Apple in near future but now Apple has some added advantages.
It can be seen that iPad sales were almost flat in the fiscal year-ended 2013. Rising competition from several manufacturers, white box tablets in emerging markets, and closing differentiation gap resulted in this decline. Going forward iPad growth will be capped by competition and Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) tablet ambitions; case in point, surface pro 3. More importantly Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) core M (14nm) is enabling fan less x86 devices that are thinner than even iPad air; case in point, Asus T300. Long-term future of iPad is clouded. The iPad sales, in my view, will come down going forward. IDC lowered its 2014 tablet projection to 245.4 million from 260.9 million projected earlier. However in short-term, a time horizon of one year or so, tablet situation for Apple may get a boost due to following factors.