With Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) reporting earnings after the bell tomorrow (Tuesday, May 2), investors will be closely watching the Apple cash reserves.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Apple cash pile should total more than $250 billion, with more than 90% (or $225 billion) stashed overseas. That would further cement Apple’s status as the richest company on the planet. For comparison, those cash reserves are more than double Microsoft Corp.’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) $113 billion cash pile, according to Moody’s.
Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald stopped by FOX Business’ “Varney & Co.” to identify the three areas of Apple’s business where the company could put some of that cash to work if it brings it back into the United States.
Here’s more on what Fitz-Gerald calls Apple’s “three-pronged attack”…
This “Secret” Helped Transform Two Teachers into Millionaires: Today Donna and Dave R. are retired millionaires who are also earning $10,000 a month in income. Much of their wealth is due to a Great Depression-era “program” most have no idea exists. Learn more…
Top Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Lithium X Energy Corp. (LIXXF)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By SEEKINGALPHA.COM]
The other producing lithium miners, and soon to be producers. I have discussed these previously in detail here, here and here. Needless to say, the top 3 producers are non-pure plays (SQM (NYSE:SQM), Albemarle (NYSE:ALB), and FMC Corp. (NYSE:FMC)). The top pure play currently producing miners are Orocobre (ASX:ORE) (OTCPK:OROCF), Tianqi Lithium (SHE:002466), Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium, Galaxy Resources, Mineral Resources [ASX:MIN] (OTC:MALRF), and Neometals [ASX:NMT] (OTC:RRSSF). The near-term producers include Altura Mining [ASX:AJM] (OTCPK:ALTAF), Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) (OTC:PILBF), Kidman Resources (ASX:KDR), Critical Elements, Nemaska Lithium (OTCQX:NMKEF) [TSX:NMX], Lithium Americas (OTCQX:LACDF) [TSX:LAC], Lithium X (OTCQX:LIXXF) (TSXV:LIX), Neo Lithium, and Bacanora Minerals (OTC:BCRMF) [TSXV:BCN], Advantage Lithium (OTCQB:AVLIF) [AAL], European Metals (OTCPK:MNTCF, ASX:EMH, AIM:EMH) and Pure Energy (OTCQB:PEMIF) [PE].
- [By Tom Bishop]
Lithium X Energy NPV (LIXXF) owns 50% of the Sal de los Angeles lithium brine project in the prolific “Lithium Triangle” in mining friendly Salta province, Argentina.
Top Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Western Union Company (The)(WU)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Western Union (WU) soared to the top of the S&P 500 today after MoneyGram International (MGI) received a bid from Euronet Worldwide (EEFT).
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Shares of Western Union gained 3.5% to $20.27 today, while the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 2,365.45.MoneyGram International surged 25% to $15.77, while Euronet Worldwide advanced 0.3% to $83.22.
Normally, two competitors linking up to take on the dominant player in the industry might be considered bad news. BTIG’s Mark Palmer and Giuliano Bolognaexplain why the Western Union reaction”makes sense”:
While the surge in shares of MoneyGram (MGI, Not Rated) in response to the announcement by Euronet Worldwides (EEFT, Not Rated) that it had offered to buy the company for $15.20 per share in cash was easy to understand the bid trumped the bid of $13.25 per share that MoneyGram received from Alibaba (BABA) affiliate Ant Financial in late January what may have been surprising to some was the positive reaction of shares of MGI remittance competitor Western Union (WU, Buy, $23 PT) to the news.
With that said, we believe the uptick in WU shares makes some sense insofar as the competitive threat posed by EEFT may be perceived as less imposing than that represented by Ant, especially following reports in February that the latter was planning to raise as much as $3bn to fund global investments.
We also believe the second bid for MGI serves to underline the attractiveness and potential of the global remittance space, an industry in which WU is the clear leader. Moreover, we think the bid may have given rise to the notion that WU could be an acquisition candidate for another deep-pocketed firm that could lever off its global footprint and the strength of its brand.
Western Union’s market capitalization rose to $9.8 billion today, from $9.4 billion yesterday. It reported net income of $253 million on sales of $5.4 billion in
- [By WWW.THESTREET.COM]
You don’t need to be an expert technical trader to figure out the price action in shares of $10 billion payment services stock Western Union (WU) . Instead, the price action is more or less as simple as it gets. Since January, Western Union has been a “buy the dips stock”, bouncing its way higher in a well-defined uptrend. And shares are showing traders another buyable dip this week.
- [By Chris Lange]
The stock posting the largest daily percentage gain in the S&P 500 ahead of the close Tuesday was The Western Union Co. (NYSE: WU) which jumped 3.6% to $20.28. The stocks 52-week range is $18.07 to $22.70. Volume was 11 million which is well above the daily average of around 5.8 million shares.
- [By Brian Mathews]
Western Union Co. (NYSE: WU) is the leading independent provider of consumer money transfer services. After a rough couple of years and dealing with compliance and regulatory issues, WU has finally weathered the storm. Market share has stabilized and revenues have been slowly growing. One of Western Union’s strengths is its size in the industry. The money-transfer business is highly scalable because the incremental costs of processing additional transactions are minimal. This allows WU to have operating margins that are twice as large as its closest competitor. Also, since WU is a highly recognizable brand, consumers flock to use its services in comparison to its peers. Western Union submitted a bid to buy the Australian company OzForex. If this deal goes through, it will provide additional scale to WU, especially to a market clientele that is more affluent. With the troubling times behind the company and expansion on the horizon, expect WU stock to appreciate to $24.
Top Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Endologix, Inc.(ELGX)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Paul Ausick]
Endologix Inc. (NASDAQ: ELGX) dropped about 9.3% on Wednesday to post a new 52-week low of $4.78 against a 52-week high of $14.50 and a Tuesday close of $5.27. Volume of about 6 million was more than 3 times the daily average of around 1.7 million. The company on Tuesday announced a temporary shipping hold on its best-selling heart device, saying there was a manufacturing issue.
- [By Lisa Levin]
Endologix, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELGX) shares dropped 23 percent to $7.59 as the company issued an update on Nellix PMA process. Endologix disclosed that the FDA has requested the company to provide a two-year patient follow-up data from the EVAS-FORWARD IDE study of Nellix System.
Top Stocks To Invest In Right Now: WPX Energy, Inc.(WPX)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Money Morning News Team]
WPX Energy Inc. (NYSE: WPX) is a natural gas and oil company based in Oklahoma. WPX focuses on the exploration and development of natural gas and oil fields in North America, including the Permian Basin in Texas and the Williston Basin in North Dakota.
- [By Ezra Schwarzbaum]
Matador has grown its reserves throughout the commodity cycle, as well as its production and cash flow. Haas also likes the company’s history of identifying and acquiring acreage early and cheaply. Much of the analyst’s positive outlook is derived from Matador’s successful monetization of midstream assets and pattern of reinvestment.
WPX Energy Inc (NYSE: WPX), $18 Price Target
Haas praised WPX’s production base, which is “well balanced” between three major basins, and its production mix of 51 percent oil, 13 percent natural gas liquids and 36 percent natural gas.
Top Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Transdigm Group Incorporated(TDG)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Ben Levisohn]
TransDigm Group (TDG) tumbled to the bottom of the S&P 500 today after Citron Research doubled down on its assertion that the company is a manufacturing version of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX).
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
TransDigm Groupdropped 4.2% to $231.37, while the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 2,372.60.
From Citron’s report on TransDigm:
Citron predicts that after this report makes its rounds, TransDigms (NYSE:TDG) days of exploiting and deceiving the Federal Government are numbered.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals has recently hit prices lower than some ever thought was imaginable. As Citron observes today, at $12 per share, that stock is down over 95% from its highs just months prior to Citrons reporting on Philidor. The questions then turn to: How did so many smart people get it so wrong? and When could this possibly happen again?”
While we are sure there will be many books written on these questions, we can narrow it down to a small checklist. The smart money got Valeant wrong by:
Disregarding a roiling political climate disrupting “business as
usual” Underestimating the financial frailty of a roll up Discounting the dangers of a small customer base (PBMs) Putting too much trust in the companys CEO…All points in the above checklist apply directly to TransDigm.
TransDigm Group’s market capitalization fell to $12.2 billion today from $12.8 billion yesterday. It reported net income of $583 million on sales of $3.2 billion in 2016.
- [By Lee Jackson]
Transdigm Group Inc. (NYSE: TDG) had a director at the company step in and buy stock in a big way last week. That director purchased a total of 91,000 shares of the stock at prices ranging from $247.16 to $247.89. The total for the trade came in near $22.7 million.The company designs, produces and supplies aircraft components in the United States. Its stock closed trading last Friday at $251.488.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
TransDigm Group (TDG) soared to the top of the S&P 500 today after beating earnings and sales forecasts.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
TransDigm gained 6.5% to $245.88 today, while the S&P 500 finished little changed at2,293.08.
TransDigm reported a profit of $2.57, beating forecasts for$2.47, on sales of $814 million, topping the Street consensus for $804.5 million.
TransDigm’s market capitalization rose to $13.1 billion today from $12.3 billion yesterday.
- [By Lee Jackson]
Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway were big buyers this week, as they added shares of aircraft components maker Transdigm Group Inc. (NYSE: TDG), forwhich they also serve as a director. Berkshire Hathaway bought 104,967 shares of the stock at prices that ranged from $231.18 to $234.40 per share. The total for the trade came in at a massive $25 million. The shares closed trading last Friday at $240.05, so the timing looks good. The 52-week trading range for the stock is $214.65 to $294.38. The Wall Street consensus price target is pegged at $295.24.
- [By Mitchell Clark]
This firm is not a household name. This Cleveland-based company, in the aerospace parts business, has approximately $12.0 billion in market capitalization on the stock market.
TransDigm Group Incorporated (NYSE:TDG) doesn’t pay a regular dividend, but often pays out one-time, special dividends. In the past, they’ve been pretty hefty.
Selling pumps, motors, power systems, and basically anything you can image that’s part of an aircraft, TDG’s been growing its financial results at a good clip.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
TransDigm (TDG) sunk to the bottom of the S&P 500 today after its earnings topped the Street consensus but its guidance disappointed.
Shares of TransDigm fell 7.1% to $$252.96 today, while the S&P 500 finished little changed.
TransDigm reported a profit of $3.29 a share, better than the $3.20 expect by analysts, on sales of$875.2 million, below forecasts for $884.26 million. Worse still, the airplane-part manufacturer said it would earn $11.84 to $12.12 a share in fiscal 2017, below forecasts for$12.80.
TransDigm’s market cap fell to $13.5 billion today, from $14.5 billion on Friday.
