I’ve been predicting for a while that e-commerce leader Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) would soon make a bid for Weibo (NASDAQ:WB), often called the Twitter of China, due to an increasingly cozy relationship between the two. But the latest results from Weibo could prompt me to revise my earlier prediction, with the revelation that Weibo actually appears to be weaning itself from its heavy dependence on Alibaba.
This story has a number of threads, underpinned by a landmark tie-up that saw Alibaba buy 18 percent of Weibo three years ago, and then later increase that to the current level of 30 percent. The idea was that Weibo, which was losing money at the time of the original tie-up, could milk Alibaba’s connections with thousands of online merchants to find new business opportunities. Such a development did indeed occur, and last year business from Alibaba accounted for a whopping 30 percent of Weibo’s total.
That increasingly interdependent relationship, combined with some other signals coming from Weibo parent Sina (NASDAQ:SINA), were the main factors prompting me to speculate that Alibaba was preparing to make an offer for Weibo, and possibly Sina as well (previous post). But the latest results from Weibo show that its dependence from Alibaba is dropping sharply, even as the company continues to post impressive growth.
top stocks to invest in today: AAON Inc.(AAON)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By WWW.MONEYSHOW.COM]
Aaon Inc. (AAON) is an Oklahoma-based, family-owned and operated firm, with 23.54% insider ownership. It is an excellent business to own for the long term.
top stocks to invest in today: Canon, Inc.(CAJ)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Dan Carroll]
Nikon’s story is similar to what’s plaguing its Japanese rival, Canon (NYSE: CAJ ) . Canon’s stock has nosedived by 20% year to date, but the stock’s recovered nearly 3% over the past month. Don’t let appearances fool you: The company slashed its full-year sales and profit forecasts back in July, as the worldwide camera market has slumped, and as smartphones continue to take over this aging niche. Canon’s route back to respectability looks like a treacherous climb.
- [By Paul R. La Monica]
Miscellaneous shorts. Lamensdorf is also betting against Japanese printer and camera giant Canon (CAJ) since he believes the company still hasn’t figured out a way to compete with smartphones.
top stocks to invest in today: Phillips 66 Partners LP(PSXP)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Matthew DiLallo]
The other highlight this quarter was the midstream business. That segment benefited from a full quarter of Phillips 66’s recently completed Freeport LPG Export Terminal as well as a turnaround in results at DCP Midstream (NYSE:DCP). After causing the company to record a loss on its investment last quarter, the DCP Midstream investment was back in the green this quarter, benefiting from hedging and lower costs. Meanwhile, the company’s other MLP investment, Phillips 66 Partners (NYSE:PSXP), delivered another steady quarter thanks to that entity’s focus on owning stable fee-based assets.
- [By Dustin Parrett]
In 2016, PAA partnered with Phillips 66 Partners LP (NYSE: PSXP) to build a $15 million pipeline expansion between Oklahoma and Canada. The new pipeline adds capacity for 100,000 more barrels of oil a day.
- [By Matthew DiLallo]
While the company continues to invest in midstream projects on its balance sheet, however, Garland reiterated that its MLP,Phillips 66 Partners (NYSE:PSXP), remains an important part of our midstream growth strategy.” Garland reaffirmed the expectation that Phillips 66 Partners will “reach its growth goal of $1.1 billion in run-rate EBITDA by the end of 2018.” That will require completing additional dropdown transactions between the two companies as well as the pursuit of new organic growth projects at the MLP.
top stocks to invest in today: Rex Energy Corporation(REXX)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Our peer group is up an average of 46% over the past 4 weeks in response to a 30% rebound in the 12-month strip NYMEX oil price. Some of the largest gainers include Hold and Sell rated stocks that we would not chase such asDenbury Resources (Sell, +138%), Halcon Resources (HK) (Sell, +147%), Jones Energy (JONE) (Hold, +166%), Rex Energy (REXX) (Sell, +60%), Sanchez Energy (SN) (Hold, +93%), Ultra Petroleum (UPL) (Sell, +61%), andWhiting Petroleum (Hold, +103%), which have outperformed the E&P Index (+32%) over the same time period. Balance sheets and/or well level returns remain challenged for these companies despite improved oil prices. While we believe oil markets should re-balance over the next 12 to 15 months, the recent recovery to $40 could reverse during 2Q16 as bloated inventories continue to rise, new volumes from Iran pressure an oversupplied market, and a highly anticipated decline in non-OPEC supply (especially in the U.S.), is not as steep as expected. The risk of an oil price retracement, which would significantly pressure the recent out-performers, outweighs the upside in these stocks, in our view. However, we are raising our target prices on Buy ratedAnadarko Petroleum ($54 from $48), Concho Resources (CXO) ($120 from $109), Matador Resources (MTDR) ($22 from $21),Noble Energy (NBL) ($40 from $34), SM Energy (SM) ($22 from $15), Rice Energy ($14 from $12), Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) ($155 from $135),Continental Resources ($32 from $28), and Parsley Energy (PE) ($24 from $23). We believe our Buy-rated stocks are better positioned to weather challenging oil markets.
