Top Insurance Stocks To Invest In 2018


Who Should Pay More for Insurance: Smokers or Significantly Overweight?

Trump Efforts to Kill ACA Elicit Court Actions, Investigations

25 Best Countries for Retirement Security: 2017

Employers are looking to their health insurance brokers to keep health care costs under control as the health care landscape is beset by turmoil. 

That’s according to a report from DirectPath, in which 83 percent of brokers report that employers are expecting them to assist in keeping down what they spend on health care. Brokers, for their part, are responding with a range of new products and services. In fact, 78 percent of brokers have introduced something new in the past year to help their employer customers control health care costs.

Originally published on BenefitsPro. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


You are signed up!

ThinkAdvisor’s TechCenter is an educational resource designed to give you a competitive edge by keeping you abreast of new tech innovations and need-to-know information that can be applied to your business. padding: 0px 81px;width: inherit; Retirement Wire

Your resource for news, research and analysis to help you deliver more effective outcomes to your clients. Resources [Advisor Tool] Survivor Income and Cash Needs Analysis Worksheet


Help your clients secure their loved ones’ future with this useful worksheet.

Top Insurance Stocks To Invest In 2018: Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(PTLA)

Advisors’ Opinion:

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: PTLA) shares dropped 23 percent to $21.92 after announcing Phase III Betrixaban results.

    Shares of Spark Energy Inc (NASDAQ: SPKE) were down 16 percent to $20.43. Spark Energy reported Q4 GAAP EPS of $(0.01) and adjusted EBITDA of $16.3 million.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: PTLA) shares dropped 30 percent to $20.08 after announcing Phase III Betrixaban results.

    Shares of Spark Energy Inc (NASDAQ: SPKE) were down 14 percent to $20.96. Spark Energy reported Q4 GAAP EPS of $(0.01) and adjusted EBITDA of $16.3 million.

  • [By Todd Campbell]

    Portola Pharmaceuticals’ (NASDAQ:PTLA)could have two commercial-stage drugs on the market next year, but turning them into top-sellers will require a lot of money. Is Portola Pharmaceuticals’ balance sheet flush enough with cash to get its drugs across the finish line?

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: PTLA) shares were also up, gaining 46 percent to $55.68 after the company disclosed that the FDA has approved Bevyxxa, a blood-thinner for acutely ill patients not undergoing surgery. BevyxXa is the first oral drug of its kind to be approved to help prevent deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms..

Top Insurance Stocks To Invest In 2018: TripAdvisor, Inc.(TRIP)

Advisors’ Opinion:

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are:

    Wall Street expects Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) to report quarterly earnings at $0.10 per share on revenue of $1.62 billion before the opening bell. Avon Products shares rose 2.39 percent to $6.00 in after-hours trading.
    Analysts expect MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) to report quarterly earnings at $0.20 per share on revenue of $2.44 billion before the opening bell. MGM shares rose 1.01 percent to $29.90 in after-hours trading.
    Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.29 per share. Cisco shares rose 2.13 percent to $33.52 in the after-hours trading session.
    Before the markets open, Dean Foods Co (NYSE: DF) is projected to report its quarterly earnings at $0.41 per share on revenue of $2.01 billion. Dean Foods shares rose 0.49 percent to $20.55 in after-hours trading.
    Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ: TRIP) posted weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Wednesday. Tripadvisor shares dropped 5.60 percent to $49.75 in the after-hours trading session.
    Analysts are expecting Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) to have earned $0.77 per share on revenue of $3.42 billion in the latest quarter. Waste Management will release earnings before the markets open. Waste Management shares rose 2.27 percent to $72.97 in after-hours trading.


    Find out what's going on in today's market and bring any questions you have to Benzinga's PreMarket Prep.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    TripAdvisor (TRIP) tumbled to the bottom of the S&P 500 today after reporting earnings that came in well below the Street consensus.

    Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

    TripAdvisordropped 11% to $46.92 today, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.1% to2,347.22.

    Susquehanna’s Shyam Patil and team write that TripAdvisor’s “challenges persist.” They explain why:


    4Q highlights another challenging quarter. Total revenue was $316m (up 2% y/y), 1% below our estimate of $320m and 3% below consensus of $327m. EBITDA of $58m (18.4% margins) was ~25% below our and the consensus estimate of $77m, caused by the revenue miss and higher opex (specifically S&M and G&A) vs. our model…

    While we like TRIPs leading audience reach (on both mobile and desktop) and breadth of travel content, we believe the traffic mix shift to mobile combined with the transition to instant book (IB) will continue to weigh on monetization and cause near-term volatility in the numbers. TRIP is prioritizing revenue growth over profits this year, and management expects to drive double-digit revenue growth but at the expense of significant margin deleverage and absolute EBITDA declines. Additionally, EBITDA could decline further, if TRIP decides to do TV advertising, which is currently not in our estimates or managements outlook. Given these issues, forecasting remains challenging and we continue to have little confidence in estimates.


    TripAdvisor’s market capitalization fell to $6.8 billion today from $7.6 billion yesterday.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    TripAdvisor (TRIP) tumbled to the bottom of the S&P 500 today, a reversal of yesterday’s big gain following the news thatExpedia (EXPE) would participate in its Instant Booking program.

    Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

    TripAdvisordropped 5.1% to $46.28 today, while the S&P 500 declined 0.3% to 2,265.18.

    In a note published yesterday, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey’s Rodney Hull and team called the announcement a “positive for [the] platform” but worried about the fact that “shopper growth and monetization have been muted.” They explain:


    Ultimately, TripAdvisor is seeking to improve its revenue per shopper which trails its OTA peers who earn 4-5x more per shopper by driving booking and repeat booking activity on their sites. On a positive note, TripAdvisor stated that US trends improved through the third quarter and that transaction revenue and rev/shopper turned positive in October. Further, green shoots in app bookings and vaulted credit cards are noteworthy. However, the dual headwinds of mobile and the IB transition continue to negatively impact financials as well as the “flywheel” for shopper growth and visibility into improving growth remains limited, aside from easing comps. We have a positive view of the company’s longer-term monetization opportunity, but we await further signs of inflection in growth and profitability, which may follow a larger ad campaign. Recall, the company reduced its margin outlook for 2017 on the 3Q call as it will likely look to increase paid marketing spend and invest revenue per shopper gains to restart the flywheel


    TripAdvisor’s market capitalization fell to $6.7 billion today from $7.1 billion yesterday. It reported net income of $198 million on sales of $1.5 billion in 2015.

  • [By Chris Lange]

    The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Tuesday was TripAdvisory, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) which traded down about 23% at $30.35. The stocks 52-week range is $30.21 to $65.56. Volume was roughly29 million versus the daily average 3.1 million shares.

Top Insurance Stocks To Invest In 2018: Oil States International Inc.(OIS)

Advisors’ Opinion:

  • [By Wayne Duggan]

    Instead, Genargo prefers oil services stocks with the most exposure to the U.S market. Loop names Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) as its top large-cap stock pick and Oil States International, Inc. (NYSE: OIS), Newpark Resources Inc (NYSE: NR) and Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE: SPN) as its top small- and mid-cap stocks.

  • [By Michael J. Carr]

    Einhorn selects investments with a traditional value approach, although he may not be as patient as a typical value investor. Einhorn took Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) to court in an effort to force the company to return cash to shareholders, and more recently challenged Oil States International (NYSE: OIS) to unlock shareholder value.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.