The parent company of Sears and Kmart, which has been paring costs and hoarding cash in a bid to survive, said Tuesday that it will put off repaying much of a $500 million loanto help shrink its debt.
Subsidiaries of Sears Holdingnow have a deal that will allow them to pay back $100 million of a $500 million loan in July, the initial date of maturity. But the remaining $400 million will not come due until January, 2018, with Sears having the option to push the maturity date out even further to July of next year.
The iconic retailerhas been taking numerous steps to restore its bottom line, which has suffered amid management stumbles, and a retail landscape full of more nimble retailers and shoppers increasingly more interested in shopping online.
After announcing at the start of the year that it would shutter 150 under performing stores, it has recently added at least 30 more locations to the list. The retailer has also been selling off chunks of its extensive real estate holdings, borrowing money, and even putting some of its cherished brands up for sale.
stock market screener: Biotricity (BTCY)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Robert J. Smith]
Biotricity (OTCBB: BTCY) is a comer in the rapidly growing medical device market and is a small cap to take notice of. Driving this lucrative market are; IoT-driven device connectivity, governmental pressure to cut healthcare costs, escalating hospital costs, a need to reduce hospital readmission rates, an aging population, and a high rate of people with chronic disease. The largest factor driving this market is the rapidly growing rate of those afflicted with chronic disease.
- [By Matthew Briar]
In October, medical technology developer Biotricity Inc. (OTCMKTS:BTCY) announced part of its heart-monitoring hardware received the necessary 501k clearance from the Food & Drug Administration. It was a not-so-subtle reminder that the company is nearing the end of the R&D journey with its bioflux device, which provides caregivers round-the-clock monitoring of a heart patient’s vital stats. BTCY could have the device on the market within a matter of weeks, putting the organization into a multi-billion dollar market with a platform like no other.
And yet, heart-monitoring is only going to be a part of what the company does.
Another news later that same month was a not-so-subtle reminder…. Biotricity Inc. is already eyeing the entry into other markets aside from the cardiac market that would benefit from remote monitoring.
One has to back-track to the September 29th press release to set the stage. That’s when the company announced it would take the same basic remote-monitoring technology and apply it to fetal monitoring and sleep apnea, at least. The way the PR read left open the possibility to even more medically-related uses.
For some it may have been a read-it-and-forget-it affair. Lots of companies announce their intentions, and then get around to doing it whenever they feel like it, IF they feel like it. Biotricity wasn’t just blowing smoke though. In October the company announced that its primary development partner — the University of Calgary — and it laid out specific plans to create ‘remote monitoring mobile devices in a number of clinical settings, including peri-operative medicine, maternal/fetal medicine and acute and chronic care medicine in order to facilitate the application of “smart” medical grade wearables to the hospital and out-patient settings.’
This second mention of the idea suggests it’s going to happen sooner than later, even as the company continues to push bioflux to
- [By James E. Brumley]
While the economy’s natural — and recurring — cycles favor different kinds of stocks at different times, not every great trend is necessarily a cyclical one. Sometimes, a trend is rooted in a technological development that changes cultural norms. The advent of the smartphone, for example, has made constant connectivity to the world around part of how we live our daily lives.
These mega-trends present tremendous opportunities for investors too, provided they’re savvy enough to see them coming and play them the right way.
One such mega-trend newly underway right now is the proliferation of wearables… devices that meld clothing (often a wrist-worn device) and technology to perform a function that couldn’t be performed otherwise. Much of the same technology that made the smartphone possible are now ushering in wearables.
It’s not been a smooth beginning. however.
While the buzz was strong and expectations reached a peak two years ago when Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) was all the rage and in the wake of its IPO, the company’s growth wasn’t to be sustained. The company is struggling to muster any growth now, and FIT shares have fallen to a tenth of their value seen in late-2015, when the euphoria was strongest.
Fitbit’s slowdown has been mirrored by other companies in the space. The wearables market only grew 3.1% in Q3 of 2016.
On the flipside, while the debacle of Fitbit — the wearable industry’s iconic company — has been a painful, it’s also been a learning experience. And, it’s not as if the slowdown is unfurling without the wearables market never reaching a respectable size. International Data Corporation estimates were 23 million ‘wearables’ delivered in the third quarter of last year alone.
Moreover, the fizzling of the market hasn’t turned into a reason to swear off wearables as an investment opportunity… quite the opposite, actually. It’s just now become considerably clearer what consumers want an
- [By James E. Brumley]
These are two of the key stumbling blocks Fitbit hit, and the two big stumbling blocks Biotricity Inc (OTCMKTS:BTCY) has completely sidestepped.
For the unfamiliar, Biotricity is the developer of two different but related wearable, 24/7 heart monitoring technologies. The device called bioflux is for use by caregivers in a clinical setting, remotely transmitting detailed information about the heart’s functioning which can then be analyzed by caregivers. The device known as biolife serves individuals outside of a clinical setting, largely doing the same chore. The advantage of the technology is mobility, without sacrificing accuracy.
- [By Peter Graham]
On the other hand, small cap wearables stock Biotricity (OTCQB: BTCY)is a different wearables play as theCompanys mission is to revolutionize chronic care management by developing innovative solutions that bridge the gap between diagnostic care and disease management. A medical technology company, Biotricity is focused on delivering innovative, remote biometric monitoring solutions to the healthcare and consumer markets, including diagnostic and post-diagnostic solutions for chronic conditions and lifestyle improvement. Biotricitys R&D continues to focus on the preventative healthcare market, with a vision of putting health management into the hands of the individual. The Company aims to support the self-management of critical and chronic conditions with the use of innovative solutions to ease the growing burden on the healthcare system.
stock market screener: Tobira Therapeutics, Inc.(TBRA)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Benzinga News Desk]
Allergan (NYSE: AGN) acquired Akarna Therapeutics global rights to AKN-083 for up-front payment of $50 million. This came just hours after Allergan bought Tobira Therapeutics (NASDAQ: TBRA) for upfront Payment of $28.35 share in cash, up to $49.84 per share in CVRs.
stock market screener: Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc.(BCEI)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Lisa Levin]
Bonanza Creek Energy Inc (NYSE: BCEI) shares dropped 53 percent to $0.929 after the company reported that it has entered into a restructuring support agreement with bondholders holding more than $400 million in unsecured debt. The company also disclosed that it will commence its prepackaged bankruptcy case on or before January 5, 2017.
- [By Dustin Parrett]
As a service to our readers, we’ve put together a list of 10 cheap oil stocks under $5. Here are the stocks, share prices, and year-to-date (YTD) returns for each:
Vallourec Sp (OTCMKTS ADR: VLOWY); $1.42; +13.6% YTDIthaca Energy Inc. (TSE: IAE); $1.93; +14.5% YTDSandRidge Permian Trust (NYSE: PER); $3.45; +16.95% YTDGeopark Ltd. (NYSE: GPRK); $5.06; +17.4% YTDGastar Exploration Inc. (NYSEMKT: GST); $1.89; +22.26% YTDAscent Resources Plc. (LON: AST); $2.11; +25.53% YTDErin Energy Corp. (NYSEMKT: ERN); $3.94; +29.1% YTDChesapeake Granite Wash Trust (NYSE: CHKR); $3.25; +38.3% YTDSouthcross Energy Partners LP (NYSE: SXE); $2.27; +68.15% YTDBonanza Creek Energy Inc. (NYSE: BCEI); $2.27; +122.55% YTD
This list of oil stocks contains some highly speculative plays, so we can’t recommend buying them.
stock market screener: Canadian National Railway Company(CNI)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Brett Hershman]
The Swiss bank said it was raising first-quarter estimates on four of the six rails it covers, with updated estimates above consensus on Canadian National Railway (USA) (NYSE: CNI), CSX Corporation (NASDAQ: CSX) and Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU), which is seen to show upside against low expectations.
- [By Monica Gerson]
Canadian National Railway (USA) (NYSE: CNI) is estimated to post its quarterly earnings at $0.92 per share on revenue of $3.08 billion.
Container Store Group Inc (NYSE: TCS) is expected to post its quarterly earnings at $0.21 per share on revenue of $230.53 million.
