Affimed N.V. (AFMD) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

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Affimed N.V.  (NASDAQ:AFMD)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallMarch 27, 2019, 8:30 a.m. ET

Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good day and welcome to Affimed Full Year 2018 Financial Results and Corporate Update Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. As a reminder, today's conference is being recorded. And I will now introduce your host for today's conference, Greg Gin, Head of Investor Relations at Affimed. Please go ahead.

Greg Gin -- Head of Investor Relations

Thank you, operator. Thank you for joining us today for Affimed conference call to discuss the Company's full-year 2018 financial results and operational progress. This morning, Affimed issued a press release, which is posted on the Company's website at www.affimed.com. On the call with me today are Adi Hoess, Chief Executive Officer of Affimed; Leila Alland, Chief Medical Officer; and Florian Fischer, Chief Financial Officer. We will begin today's call with opening remarks from Adi on our progress during the year. Leila will follow Adi and review the key data from our programs that represented at the ASH Annual Meeting. And then Florian will review the financial results.

Following the prepared remarks, we will host the Q&A session. Before we start, let me review our safe harbor statement. Today's discussion contains projections and forward-looking statements regarding future events. These statements represent our beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this discussion. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly or to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various factors, including but not limited to those identified under the section entitled Risk Factors in our filings with the SEC, and those identified under the form -- the section entitled Cautionary Statement regarding forward-looking statement in our Form 6-K filed with the SEC earlier today.

With that introduction, I will now turn the call over to Adi.

Adi Hoess -- Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Greg, and good morning, everyone. Thanks a lot for joining us what is the earnings call. Affimed made substantial progress throughout 2018, as we continued to transition our Company from its origin in antibody engineering to an immuno-oncology therapeutics company, committed to advancing our CD16A innate cell agents generated from our fit-for-purpose ROCK platform.

In 2018, we achieved tremendous clinical and cooperate milestones as we continue to focus on actualizing the untapped potential of the innate immune system to give back patients their innate ability to fight cancer.

Our clinical progress is highlighted by multiple data presentations at the 60th ASH Annual Meeting that supports the substantial opportunity for AFM13 as both monotherapy and combination therapy in CD30-positive tumors. In a few moments, Leila will provide a summary of our key data that represented at ASH. Leila will also review the US registrational pathway and update the clinical development plan for AFM13 that we announced at our R&D Day in December.

Our corporate progress is highlighted by the strategic collaboration that we entered into with Genentech in August 2018 for NK cell engager-based immunotherapeutics generated from our CD16A targeting ROCK platform. This partnership is a transformational accomplishment for Affimed, and has the potential to accelerate the understanding of the role of innate immune cell engagement and activation within an immuno-oncology.

We plan to leverage the respective strengths of Affimed and Genentech to advance the development of CD16A targeting innate cell engagers with the goal of achieving durable benefit for patients with cancer. We've recently announced that we will receive a payment and an undisclosed amount triggered by the achievement of a pre-clinical milestone under this collaboration. The funding that we've received to-date from the Genentech collaboration provides an important source of non-diluted financing for Affimed, supporting further development of our own pipeline.

A coming question that we hear from investors in industry is, what does Affimed bring to Genentech? We believe this partnership shows that the value of our ROCK platform -- shows the value of our ROCK platform, as well as our expertise in developing by specific antibodies in unique formats, and activating innate immunity with our CD16A targeting approach to eliminate cancer cells. Our ROCK platform enables us to pursue clinically validated tumor antigens, for which current therapies have shown limited efficacy, and or dose limiting toxicities. We believe this is a key strategic differentiator with our innate cell engager approach that Affimed can bring to Genentech in order to help address certain targets that they could not pursue with their existing technologies. This is indeed the same strategy that we're pursuing for AFM -- with AFM24 our second innate cell engager, and a potential treatment for multiple solid tumor malignancies. I will talk more about AFM24 later in the call. In short, we believe our clinical incorporate progress further demonstrates our expertise in innate immunity and the potential for therapeutics based on our novel CD16A-targeting innate cell engager approach to treat cancer.

Before I turn the call over to Leila, let me briefly comment on our focus moving forward. Looking ahead to the balance of 2019, our efforts are aimed as continuing to advance our development programs and achieving additional milestones with our collaboration partners, including moving our lead development candidate AFM13 into a market registration directive monotherapy study, reporting clinical data updates from the ongoing monotherapy study and completed combination study with Keytruda, and entering the clinic with AFM24.

Now, I will hand it over to Leila to review the ASH data, and outline our development plan for you AFM13. Leila?

Leila Alland -- Chief Medical Officer

Thank you very much, Adi. Before I review the key AFM13 data at ASH, I would like to start with an update on progress with AFM11, our CD19 targeting by specific T cell engager. AFM11 was being studied in two Phase 1 clinical studies for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory CD19 positive T cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia, respectively. As you may recall, AFM11 is on clinical hold after the occurrence of life threatening serious adverse events in three patients. As presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, AFM11 showed three complete remissions at dose levels of four, five and six in ALL patients. And overall, the safety profile of AFM11 appeared favorable in the ALL study.

We have worked closely with investigators to review all of the safety findings in detail. After having assessed all of the data from the AFM11 program, we recently submitted our response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with a request that the clinical hold be lifted and that clinical development of AFM11 may proceed in patients with ALL. I would like to take a moment to thank the Affimed team who worked hard to enable us to submit an extremely thorough response to the FDA that summarizes the clinical data from the two Phase 1 studies of AFM11 in detail.

Now, let's move on to AFM13. In December, we and our academic collaborators presented clinical data at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, supporting the potential of AFM13 as monotherapy, and in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor and cord blood-derived allogeneic NK cells respectively. The data at ASH increased our confidence that AFM13 holds significant therapeutic value for patients with CD30-positive lymphomas.

Dr. Ahmed Sawas of Columbia University and the principal investigator of the Phase 1b/2a a trial of AFM13 in CD30-posit

Compared With 2000, Tech Is Playable

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image ap size-large wp-image-bcf8d3115fbd4fdb83fd3adbf03ea47a&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/bcf8d3115fbd4fdb83fd3adbf03ea47a/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;618&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Photocredit: Associated Press.

My memory of carnage during the tech bubble of 2000-01 is indelible. Microsoft was the best of the worst, down just 20%. Shrinkage among the top 10 names in the Nasdaq 100 Index ranged up to 80% with Cisco down 77% and Intel minus 63%. Meantime, internet infrastructure providers like Akamai Technologies and Inktomi sold at 80 to 100 times revenues. Analysts employed 10-year discounted cash flow models to justify their picks.

Armchair investors coulda turned down tech then as overpriced just by looking at five-year comparisons of price-to-revenues metrics. Anyone who pays more than two times the growth rate for anything is bound to incur severe heartburn. Overvaluation in tech took some 25 years to correct. This sector now sells closer to parity with the S&a;amp;P 500 Index at 18 times earnings, itself a heady multiplier.

Yearend, 2001, Microsoft&a;rsquo;s market capitalization of $357 billion was the standout among top 10 technology stocks. Intel and IBM with market caps around $200 billion remained distant runners-up.

Microsoft then sold at 12 times next year&a;rsquo;s projected revenues with Intel at eight times. The most outlandish reading belonged to Qualcomm at 19 times. Hewlett Packard sold at one times sales with IBM at two times. Facebook was still a dormitory concept. Nobody talked much about Apple&a;rsquo;s computer while Cisco Systems at 17.7 times trailing three-year average price-to-sales stood egregiously rich but blessed by the analyst community.

Exodus Communications, where are you? Its market cap evaporated from $35 billion to $800 million or $1.41 a share. Exodus was never more than a string of computer server farms purveying capacity to web-hosting customers. It was strongly recommended by JPMorgan Chase, but its demise barely noted.

Fast forwarding to 2015, Microsoft held onto its primacy with a market cap of $349 billion. (Minimally changed during 14 years.) But, its defining metrics had diverged markedly. Microsoft now sold at 3.7 times projected forward year&a;rsquo;s revenues. Cisco rested at three times and Qualcomm fell back into the pack at four times revenues. Intel kicked off the nineties at 10 times earnings, perceived as a viciously cyclical operator. By 1998, it sold at 30 times earnings, accepted as a great growth story. Cisco at its peak sold over 80 times projected results.

When all else failed, The Street resorted to the metric of revenues to market capitalization. This is normally the darkest before dawn metric when companies show little or no earnings. Price-earnings ratios don&a;rsquo;t work on minimal numbers.

Speaking of volatility, average monthly price changes for Nasdaq ran above 11% in 2001. This was its high watermark since creation of the index in 1971. The 2001 technology rout stands as the striking metaphor for the shabby decadence of Wall Street&a;rsquo;s so-called star analyst system and their underwriting houses that flogged bad paper, riding down their picks 80% to 90% before turning &a;ldquo;neutral.&a;rdquo;

Don&a;rsquo;t be overly simplistic. Tech analysts never refer to liberal accounting standards most companies adhere to. Everyone uses non-GAAP earnings in shareholder reports. Nobody uses GAAP reporting because it accounts for stock issuance to key employees at no cost to them. Variance in earnings can range 20% to 40% between GAAP and non-GAAP.

Because stock grants are made year-after-year, Warren Buffett is right that these recurrent charges that should be expensed, annually. The Securities and Exchange Commission weasels out of this issue by just requiring publication of both methodologies in financial statements. Analysts never address GAAP earnings because they&a;rsquo;d have nothing to flog and managements could deny them access.

Today, when you look at big internet and e-commerce names like Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook and Alibaba, you are looking at $500 billion to $800 billion sized market capitalizations. Throw in Microsoft, now high man in the S&a;amp;P 500, dishing out Amazon. There&a;rsquo;s logic herein because Microsoft sells on earnings momentum, free cash flow and a price-earnings ratio no more than 1.5 times market valuation.

Amazon&a;rsquo;s earnings power is mainly on the come line, excepting its cloud computer service sector, a meaningful profit center so Jeff Bezos breaks out numbers in quarterly reports. I own Amazon, viewing it as the creative destruction lever in retailing. So far Walmart and Costco hold their own, their valuation at a steep premium.

Let&a;rsquo;s review price-to-revenues comparisons, currently vs. 2015. Amazon then traded at 1.7 times revenues, but now we&a;rsquo;re over three times. Facebook ticked then at a heady 12 times revenues, now closer to 5.5. Microsoft was at 3.7 times revenues, but this has moved up to 6.5 times as Microsoft is very profitable. The preferred metric is its price-earnings ratio, still playable. Alphabet, 2015 sold at six times revenues, now closer to five times. At least, on price-to-revenues comparisons, tech is no longer so pricey, excepting Amazon where everyone&a;rsquo;s waiting for e-commerce earnings to kick in.

I use operating cash flow as the preferred metric that at least defines wherewithal of the company in question to grow its footprint without leveraging itself. This can get me down to a mid-teens multiplier where at least as a player I can rationalize owning Facebook, Alibaba and Alphabet. It doesn&a;rsquo;t apply to Amazon.

Microsoft is my pick because you can work with traditional yardsticks like price-earnings ratios and the free cash-flow multiplier. It&a;rsquo;s my candidate to dominate the S&a;amp;P 500 Index for years to come. Still, there&a;rsquo;re elements in the income statements of Facebook and Alphabet that are undeniably powerful. Both spend 15% of revenues on R&a;amp;D and operating cash flow numbers are sizable relative to market capitalization. Shadows of government regulation do hover over Facebook and Alphabet. Coming operational controls could be more confining than what the banking sector faced after the 2008-09 meltdown.

The market has placed Microsoft&a;rsquo;s market valuation on Amazon which sports none of the numbers&a;rsquo; gratification carried by Microsoft. I see a run rate for Microsoft at $5 a share with $40 billion in free cash flow on a $875 billion market capitalization. In the growth sector, Microsoft is competitive with anything that walks and talks.

Facebook, in the midst of enormous management upheaval, is too sketchy to model definitively. Who knows what happens to viewer usage and thereafter its advertising rate structure? Zuck&a;rsquo;s vision for his company is as yet unsaid. I&a;rsquo;m underweighted, but operating cash flow numbers keep me interested. Past summer&a;rsquo;s high of $218 is a fond memory but Facebook did bounce up 30% from its $123 low.

Amazon is the other side of the coin. The analyst consensus sticks to its projection of $2,200 to $2,400 with a present tick of $1,797. Everyone&a;rsquo;s dealing with pie-in-the-sky, projecting huge earnings ahead for e-commerce here and abroad.

If you twisted my arm Facebook holds onto their 2 billion users with no diminution of advertising revenues, but no 20% growth rate. I&a;rsquo;m assuming $28 billion in net income which comes in at $10 a share. Facebook must carry its burden of disbelief and sell at a market multiplier until the dust settles.

I assume the enormous spend for R&a;amp;D and marketing continues, showing some productivity. Present free cash-flow yield looks like 4%, a non-dismissive number. Nor is its operating cash flow multiplier of 15 irrelevant. Last year, corporate head-count rose 42% to 35,000. I&a;rsquo;ve never seen such scale-up in employment, anywhere excepting an army on a war footing.

Summing up: &a;nbsp;We&a;rsquo;re not in tech bubble territory. Microsoft is preeminently investable. Amazon remains inscrutable, but still a fling kind of play. Apple ain&a;rsquo;t overpriced. Alphabet faces regulatory issues, but is a better-than-market-weight investment. Market weight Facebook.

In today&a;rsquo;s environment, the going rate for a screwup by management is at least 20%. Does anybody but me remember that Douglas Aircraft, whose DC-9 was Boeing&a;rsquo;s competition in 1960, rushed into production, but couldn&a;rsquo;t fulfill its order book that was too competitively priced. Douglas went out of business because it had too much business.

&a;nbsp;

&l;strong&g;&l;em&g;Sosnoff and / or his managed accounts own: Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Alphabet, Alibaba and Boeing.

&l;/em&g;&l;/strong&g;

&l;strong&g;msosnoff@gmail.com&l;/strong&g;&l;/p&g;

1607 Capital Partners LLC Has $518,000 Holdings in DE ENHANCED GLB/COM (DEX)

1607 Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of DE ENHANCED GLB/COM (NYSE:DEX) by 45.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,984 shares during the period. 1607 Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in DE ENHANCED GLB/COM were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in DE ENHANCED GLB/COM by 27.0% during the third quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 2,012,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,543,000 after buying an additional 427,918 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in DE ENHANCED GLB/COM by 17.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 174,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,959,000 after buying an additional 26,570 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in DE ENHANCED GLB/COM by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 84,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in DE ENHANCED GLB/COM during the fourth quarter worth about $636,000. Finally, Shaker Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in DE ENHANCED GLB/COM during the fourth quarter worth about $364,000.

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DEX opened at $9.66 on Friday. DE ENHANCED GLB/COM has a 1-year low of $8.08 and a 1-year high of $12.22.

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 22nd will be paid a $0.0886 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 21st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.01%.

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DE ENHANCED GLB/COM Company Profile

Delaware Enhanced Global Dividend and Income Fund is a closed ended balanced mutual fund launched by Delaware Management Holdings, Inc The fund is managed by Delaware Management Business Trust. It invests in public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. The fund seeks to invest in securities of companies operating across diversified sectors.

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Q1 2019 Earnings Estimate for HCP, Inc. (HCP) Issued By Capital One Financial

HCP, Inc. (NYSE:HCP) – Equities researchers at Capital One Financial increased their Q1 2019 earnings estimates for HCP in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, March 12th. Capital One Financial analyst D. Bernstein now expects that the real estate investment trust will post earnings per share of $0.43 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.42. Capital One Financial also issued estimates for HCP’s Q2 2019 earnings at $0.42 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $0.42 EPS, FY2019 earnings at $1.70 EPS, Q1 2020 earnings at $0.44 EPS, Q2 2020 earnings at $0.45 EPS, Q3 2020 earnings at $0.44 EPS, Q4 2020 earnings at $0.44 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $1.77 EPS.

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HCP (NYSE:HCP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.43 by $1.30. HCP had a return on equity of 18.40% and a net margin of 57.41%. The company had revenue of $441.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. HCP’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year.

HCP has been the subject of several other reports. Zacks Investment Research upgraded HCP from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. TheStreet upgraded HCP from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of HCP in a report on Wednesday, February 13th. Scotiabank started coverage on HCP in a report on Monday, December 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded HCP from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.14.

HCP opened at $31.30 on Thursday. HCP has a 52-week low of $21.80 and a 52-week high of $31.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 0.46.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 19th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 15th. HCP’s dividend payout ratio is 81.32%.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in HCP by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,364,632 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,044,000 after buying an additional 32,826 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in HCP during the 4th quarter valued at about $128,473,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in HCP during the 4th quarter valued at about $264,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in HCP by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 23,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in HCP by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 14,036,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $392,050,000 after buying an additional 5,960,734 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.74% of the company’s stock.

HCP Company Profile

HCP, Inc is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests in real estate serving the healthcare industry in the United States. HCP owns a large-scale portfolio primarily diversified across life science, medical office and senior housing. Recognized as a global leader in sustainability, HCP has been a publicly-traded company since 1985 and was the first healthcare REIT selected to the S&P 500 index.

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Top 10 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:CATM,BCEI,FAST,FIVN,SWM,COP,CS,ESP,NC,EQM, 1. Xerox walks away: Xerox (XRX) is pulling out of a multibillion-dollar deal to be taken over by Japan's Fujifilm (FUJIF).

The US printer and copier company announced the move in a statement late Sunday, saying it had reached a new agreement with activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, who had bitterly opposed the Fujifilm deal.

The Japanese company said it disagrees with Xerox's "unilateral decision" and doesn't think the US company has the legal right to ax the deal.

Fujifilm (FUJIF) shares were trading 1.6% higher in Tokyo.

2. Trump's ZTE U-turn: President Donald Trump announced Sunday he is working to give China's sanctioned ZTE (ZTCOF) "a way to get back into business, fast."

It was a sudden and unexpected shift in the US stance at the start of an important week for trade ties between the world's top two economies. A second round of trade talks is due to begin on Tuesday.

The US Commerce Department banned the company from buying components from American firms last month, a move that prompted ZTE to declare that it was shutting down its major business operations.

Top 10 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Cardtronics, Inc.(CATM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Shares of Cardtronics PLC (NASDAQ:CATM) fell 7.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $23.62 and last traded at $23.71. 719,200 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average session volume of 677,184 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.53.

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  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Cardtronics (CATM)

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• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Cardtronics Inc  (NASDAQ:CATM)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 21, 2019, 5:00 p.m. ET

  Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

  Operator

• [By Daniel Miller]

  Shares of Cardtronics plc (NASDAQ:CATM), the world's largest non-bank ATM operator with merchants and retailers throughout multiple countries, are up 18% as of 11:02 a.m. EDT Friday after the company released second-quarter results following Thursday's market close.

Top 10 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc.(BCEI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Bonanza Creek Energy (BCEI)

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  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Bonanza Creek Energy (BCEI)

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• [By Shanthi Rexaline]

  Crude oil prices continue to remain bullish, brightening the prospects of oil and related companies. Bonanza Creek Energy Inc (NYSE: BCEI), an oil and natural gas exploration and production company that emerged from Chapter 11 in April 2017, could also benefit from an improved cost structure, according to Imperial Capital. 

Top 10 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Fastenal Company(FAST)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close was Fastenal Co. (NASDAQ: FAST) which traded up about 10% at $54.63. The stock's 52-week range is $39.79 to $58.74. Volume was over 25 million compared to the daily average volume of 2.8 million.

• [By Maxx Chatsko, Chris Neiger, and Neha Chamaria]

  But wouldn't it be great to know about the next big growth stock before it becomes a well-known opportunity? We recently asked three contributors at The Motley Fool for their best under-the-radar growth stocks. Here's why they chose Tellurian (NASDAQ:TELL), iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT), and Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST).

• [By Chris Lange]

  The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Wednesday was Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST) which traded down roughly 6% at $52.16. The stock's 52-week range is $39.79 to $56.15. Volume was over 8 million, compared with the daily average of 2.1 million shares.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,437,593 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108,486 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $165,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Top 10 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Five9, Inc.(FIVN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Here are some of the news stories that may have effected Accern’s rankings:

  Get MDU Resources Group alerts: MDU Resources Group, Inc. (MDU): Stock Trending Alert (thenewsbloom.org) These Stocks’s might change the Kismet of Investors: Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVN), MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE … (journalfinance.net) Is this stock Watchful?: MDU Resources Group, Inc. (MDU), Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc. (DDE) (newsregistrar.com) MDU Resources Group, Inc. (MDU) crosses above SMA-50 with 0.40% (nasdaqplace.com)

  NYSE MDU opened at $28.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. MDU Resources Group has a one year low of $24.29 and a one year high of $29.62.

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  Five9 Inc  (NASDAQ:FIVN)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 19, 2019, 4:30 p.m. ET

  Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

  Operator

Top 10 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Schweitzer-Mauduit International Inc.(SWM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Schweitzer-Mauduit International (SWM)

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• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Schweitzer-Mauduit International Inc  (NYSE:SWM)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 22, 2019, 8:30 a.m. ET

  Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

  Operator

• [By Max Byerly]

  Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (NYSE:SWM) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $34.66 and last traded at $35.16, with a volume of 1298 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.05.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Swarm (CURRENCY:SWM) traded 9% lower against the U.S. dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 22:00 PM ET on September 5th. In the last seven days, Swarm has traded 9.7% lower against the U.S. dollar. Swarm has a total market capitalization of $6.73 million and approximately $16,882.00 worth of Swarm was traded on exchanges in the last day. One Swarm token can currently be bought for $0.13 or 0.00002047 BTC on major exchanges including Bancor Network, HitBTC, YoBit and IDEX.

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  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Schweitzer-Mauduit International (SWM)

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Top 10 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: ConocoPhillips(COP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) has been one of the best-performing oil stocks of 2018, up nearly 30% year to date, easily outpacing the less than 4% return of the S&P 500. Meanwhile, shares are up almost 64% in the past year, smashing the 14% gain by the broader market. And despite its impressive outperformance, we "still see upside potential for our shares," according to CEO Ryan Lance. The company is backing up that statement, too, by significantly expanding its share buyback program. Those buybacks could give the oil giant's stock the fuel it needs to continue its market-crushing run.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) has been one of the hottest oil stocks in the sector over the past year. Shares of the U.S. oil giant are up an eye-popping 57% over that time frame, adding $26 billion to its market cap. That's a significantly higher return than most other oil stocks, which are only up by a mid-teens rate on average.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Marathon pointed out that it can achieve this higher production rate without increasing its capital budget, which remains at $2.3 billion. That's worth noting since large peers ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) recently increased their budgets. In both cases, two factors drove the spending boost: Cost inflation and a ramp-up in activity from some drilling partners. Marathon, on the other hand, has been able to keep spending on target while boosting output at a faster pace through increased efficiency. In fact, the company noted that it was able to reduce its rig count in the Delaware Basin from five to four entirely due to efficiency gains while still anticipating that it can complete 50 to 55 wells in the region. While both ConocoPhillips and Anadarko are also delivering efficiency gains, they haven't been enough to offset a spending increase.

Top 10 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Credit Suisse Group(CS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  Billions Are Now in Play: Millions of Americans could collect "federal rent checks" – to learn how to claim your portion of an $11.1 billion money pool using this backdoor investment, click here now…

  Shares of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) continue to slump. The stock was off another 1%, a day after falling another eight percentage points. The downturn came after its CEO announced its industrial division will be cash-flow negative in 2019. Shares of PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) were off 1% this morning after the stock received a downgrade from Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS). While the Swiss bank called PepsiCo a "high quality" business, it raised concerns about its need to heavily invest over several years into struggling business lines and snack products. It also raised concerns about the ongoing competitive threats in the industry. CS set a price target for Pepsi at $100 per share, which is well below yesterday's trading price of $116. Look for other earnings reports from American Outdoor Brands Corp. (NASDAQ: AOBC), Burlington Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: BURL), Care.com Inc. (NASDAQ: CRCM), Chuy's Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUY), El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LOCO), GNC Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNC), H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB), Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: HOV), Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), and UMH Properties SH (NYSE: UMH).

  Follow Money Morning on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Merrill Lynch is very positive on this European bank. Credit Suisse Group A.G. (NYSE: CS) is a Swiss-based investment and private bank that offers private banking and wealth management solutions, including advisory, investment, financial planning, succession planning and trust services, as well as financing and lending, and multishore platform solutions.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Credit Suisse Group (NYSE:CS) was downgraded by investment analysts at ValuEngine from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Credits (CS) is a distributed proof-of-stake (dPOS) token that uses the DPoS hashing algorithm. Its genesis date was February 28th, 2015. Credits’ total supply is 249,471,071 tokens and its circulating supply is 143,404,049 tokens. The Reddit community for Credits is /r/CreditsOfficial and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here. Credits’ official message board is medium.com/@credits. Credits’ official website is credits.com/en. Credits’ official Twitter account is @creditscom and its Facebook page is accessible here.

• [By Dustin Parrett]

  Just look at what happened to traders who got involved in the now-defunct VelocityShares Daily Inverse ETN (XIV), a particularly nasty piece of financial engineering created by Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS).

• [By Max Byerly]

  Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) and Nomura (NYSE:NMR) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and risk.

Top 10 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Espey Mfg. & Electronics Corp.(ESP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Espers (ESP) is a PoW/PoS coin that uses the HMQ1725 hashing algorithm. It was first traded on April 28th, 2016. Espers’ total supply is 21,802,827,290 coins. The Reddit community for Espers is /r/esperscoin and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here. Espers’ official Twitter account is @CryptoCoderz and its Facebook page is accessible here. Espers’ official website is espers.io.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Espers (CURRENCY:ESP) traded up 5.2% against the US dollar during the one day period ending at 7:00 AM Eastern on May 28th. Espers has a market capitalization of $6.27 million and approximately $8,492.00 worth of Espers was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Espers coin can now be bought for about $0.0003 or 0.00000004 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges including Livecoin and CoinExchange. During the last seven days, Espers has traded down 26.2% against the US dollar.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Espey Manufacturing & Electronics Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:ESP) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 13th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 24th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share on Monday, October 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 21st.

Top 10 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: New Century Bancorp Inc.(NC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  NACCO Industries Inc  (NYSE:NC)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallMarch 07, 2019, 8:30 a.m. ET

  Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

  Operator

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) and NACCO Industries (NYSE:NC) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Top 10 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: EQT Midstream Partners, LP(EQM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Shares of EQT Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:EQM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $63.36.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on EQT Midstream Partners (EQM)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Thanks in part to higher oil prices, the average energy stock in the S&P 500 is up nearly 17% over the past year. However, those improving market conditions haven't taken the entire sector higher. Three laggards that stand out are fast-growing, high-yielding MLPs Antero Midstream Partners (NYSE:AM), Shell Midstream Partners (NYSE:SHLX), and EQT Midstream Partners (NYSE:EQM), which have all lost more than 10% of their value over the past year. Because of that, these MLPs look like compelling options for income-seeking investors to consider.

Big Gold Gets Bigger With Barrick

It's not every day that mining companies make the news here, and that's because investors are often better off ignoring them. But Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) and Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) have been tying up in a big way, creating something to the tune of a $30 billion joint venture in the gold space.

In this episode of MarketFoolery, host Chris Hill talks with Motley Fool Canada's Taylor Muckerman about the deal, and about what investors should know about investing in mining companies. They also discuss the tragedy of yet another crash of a 737 MAX 8 from Boeing (NYSE:BA) that killed hundreds of people: What it means for Boeing, companies that buy from Boeing, and anyone who has to fly in the near future.

A full transcript follows the video.

  

This video was recorded on March 11, 2019.

Chris Hill: It's Monday, March 11th. Welcome to MarketFoolery! I'm Chris Hill. Joining me in studio today, from Motley Fool Canada, Taylor Muckerman. Good to see you!

Taylor Muckerman: You, too! It's been a little while.

Hill: It has been a little while. There's a story we're going to get to in a minute that, when I saw it a week or two ago, that's when I reached out to you, like, "I have to get you in the studio." It didn't work out timing-wise for you. I'm glad, because it's even a timelier story now. 

Muckerman: It changed course a little bit since then.

Hill: It did. It's a big deal in the mining industry. We're going to get to that. We're going to get to the future of baseball. 

We have to start with the story of the day. For the second time in six months, a Boeing aircraft is involved in a deadly crash. It is the same model of aircraft, the 737 MAX 8. On Sunday, an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 people on board. Last fall, a Lion Air Flight crashed into the Java Sea off of Indonesia, killing all 189 people involved. Shares of Boeing are down 8% this morning. The stock drop obviously pales in comparison to the loss of hundreds of lives, and our hearts go out to all of the victims and their families. I'm surprised the stock isn't down more, only in this regard -- we're talking about the 737 MAX 8, which is the latest and greatest model of their best-selling plane.

Muckerman: Let's say "greatest," with air-quotes.

Hill: Yeah, "greatest." The latest version of their best-selling plane. Two accidents that appear to have very similar circumstances around them. If you own an airline and you've got some of these in your fleet, aren't you parking them on the tarmac for a while?

Muckerman: Yes. China supposedly has around 75 of the 350 of these jets that are operational worldwide. They've grounded all of them. No more flights using these in China, in or out. For U.S. airlines, Southwest has the most in their fleet at 34. American Airlines has 24. Air Canada has 24. United has 14. But in all the world, Southwest has the most on order at nearly 300 of these. I don't think they've grounded any flights. Southwest and American airlines... or, U.S. airlines ... I guess I can't say that either. Domestic airlines have come out with statements saying that they feel confident in the safety of these jets. 

But, you're right. Two times in six months. The first time, I don't remember what the stock did. But, yeah, I'm surprised it's down not more than 8% today because now it appears that there is an issue. It wasn't just a one-off instance. It's basically coming from a new feature on these jets that prevents them from stalling out. If the nose starts to climb too drastically, it starts to level the plane out a little bit more. Apparently, it malfunctioned and the pilots could not overcome that, so it put the plane into a nosedive rather than just correcting climbing too quickly. 

Hill: I saw a report a couple of hours ago on CNBC that the data recorder had been recovered. Presumably, at some point, we will learn more and get the audio from that. What do you think is the move here from Boeing? They put out a statement earlier this morning that I thought missed the mark a little bit. I'm not saying it was an insensitive statement, but it struck me as a statement that made me think Boeing itself has people inside the company who are saying, "Wait a second, before we go out with a strong defense of our technology, let's hit the pause button because we may, in fact, have some problems here."

Muckerman: I think hitting the pause button is the right move, total crisis management right now. When I was reading about this -- I think I mentioned to you that the trigger in my head flipped, and it reminded me of the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster. That company, the executives were aware of things that were happening, cost-cutting that led to that. And then government regulators and inspectors weren't aware of all the issues going on, didn't have the staffing necessary. I don't know if the FAA has anything to say about this. But, Boeing, definitely in crisis management. 

Apparently, airlines have been saying that they weren't properly notified of this new feature on this jet. Boeing says that claim isn't true. There's some back-and-forth there. Pilots might not even have known that this feature existed on these new jets. If that's the case, I think Boeing's in a world of hurt.

Hill: For anyone who is thinking, "Well, this is an Ethiopian Airlines flight, the other one was in Indonesia, this is halfway around the world," make no mistake, the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are both investigating this. This is a story that will continue to unfold. We'll see where it goes from here.

The story that made me think of you a couple of weeks ago, in the past couple of weeks, Barrick Gold made a hostile takeover bid for Newmont Mining. That bid was rejected. Lo and behold, this morning, I wake up to see that Barrick Gold is announcing, "Hey, we've got a joint venture." Combined, this is a $30 billion entity -- $30 billion worth of gold. A couple of questions. Let's start with, how is the joint venture structured in such a way that made Newmont Mining open to this? Because they clearly weren't open to the takeover bid.

Muckerman: No, they weren't. Apparently, these companies, the management teams haven't gotten along for a long, long time. So it was interesting to see them want to take them over anyways. Maybe they just wanted to figure out a way to can all the management at Newmont and have the last word in that argument.

What they're doing here is, they're only creating a joint venture with their Nevada assets. There's a lot of overlap there between these two companies. Everything else about these companies will remain separate, other than this joint venture with just Nevada properties. They're looking at some pre-tax savings around $500 million a year for the first five years. They even see savings out to 20 years. Definitely some overlap there between these two businesses with Barrick Gold owning 61.5%, Newmont Mining owning the remaining 38.5%. And that's just based on a pretty rough split of the assets that they'll be combining here. It's basically all based on geography, the proximity of all their mines in Nevada. Now, supposedly creating a ton of savings. And, this allows Newmont Mining to continue with its purchase of Goldcorp, which will create the largest gold company in the world. 

Hill: For someone like me, who does not have any exposure to gold whatsoever, I have to be honest, part of this story for me, seeing this resulting entity, makes me go: "Wait a minute! If I'm going to dip my toe in the water of gold investing, this seems like it could be a good first step." Because as you said, this is going to be a huge entity. It seems like one of those industries where bigger is better. So, for someone like me, who's never invested in gold, do you think this is a good first step? Or is there a better way to go? 

Muckerman: It certainly could be a good first step. When you look at these large miners, traditionally, they're not the best investments to hold long term. They're very cyclical, with the price of gold and silver rising and falling. And these mines are not cheap. Capital expenditures are significantly higher than most other industries. I do caution investing in the miners of this. But, certainly, cost savings is the name of the game here with this joint venture, and the Newmont purchase of Goldcorp. If you can lower the cost basis, that's all the better. And it's not easy to do. This joint venture might really give investors an attractive entry point to either of these companies. 

One unique play that we like in Stock Advisor Canada is Wheaton Precious Metals, formerly Silver Wheaton. They've now become more ingrained in gold and a little bit of cobalt as well. They're a streaming model. They don't actually do any mining, they just purchase gold, silver, and cobalt streams off of miners that don't focus on those metals. You're thinking of iron ore miners, copper miners, that really have nothing to do with the gold they happen to find. That's a unique business model that keeps costs really low and stable all-in cost. If you're looking to get some exposure, that's one company that we like to recommend investors to look at.

Hill: I know I'm focusing on the wrong thing here, but I'm struck by your statement that they don't know what to do with the gold that they find. [laughs] 

Muckerman: It's true. It's not their forte. It's just kind of a by-product of mining for copper and iron and all that. It's not enough for them to open up operations, so Silver Wheaton sometimes, what they do is they provide financing at attractive levels. Lately, with low interest rates, it hasn't been as an attractive business for these miners, but they do help smaller miners out quite a bit by providing financing and then just taking, as payment for that financing, the streams of gold, silver, and now lately, cobalt to a small degree.

Hill: Back to the joint venture for a second. Newmont Mining, Barrick Gold, you would hope that they're able to make these synergies work, because you look at both of these stocks over the last few years, and it really does go to something that you had touched on. You said, you don't really want to hold these for the long term. There have been various points in time over the last few years where you would absolutely want to be owners of either one of the companies, but over the five years in general, you'd be better off with an index fund. 

Muckerman: Yeah. If you're trying to invest like The Motley Fool suggests, being able to sleep comfortably at night and just set it and forget it with a lot of the companies that we like to recommend, these are not those kind of companies. Declining sales most years, for at least Barrick Gold, as I looked over the last five or six years, and cash from operations. Goes back and forth if it's able to supply enough for capex. It just waffles back and forth. Far less certainty with these businesses in terms of the amount of gold they're able to sell just based on the price fluctuations. 

Hill: Major League Baseball is, of course, the biggest professional league in the sport, but the future of pro baseball is not being played in the Major Leagues. It's being played this year in the Atlantic League, which is an independent professional league. Among the changes that are being tested in the Atlantic League this season: a greater distance between the pitcher's mound and the home plate, and my personal favorite, robot umpires. They're going to be using a radar system to help umpires call balls and strikes. I love this! I think anyone who watches baseball on TV probably loves this and is rooting for this.

Muckerman: My gut reaction is to be a big fan of the robot umps. Of course, a robot ump could go against me one day and then I'll hate it. But I like the certainty. You sit there and watch a baseball game, and you just see how bad some of these home plate umps can be on balls and strike calls on a pretty consistent basis. I do like that each pitcher will be treated the same. Catcher framing won't really come into play. Moving the mound back a little bit, that doesn't sit very well with me, and I'm sure it doesn't sit very well with pitchers that will have to change up their entire outlook and approach to the game. Fastball, sure, they're going pretty straight. But curveball, sliders, that all moves based on the distance that they've been pitching for most of their lives. I'm a little confused by that. You want to reduce strikeouts, get a little bit more action, maybe introduce the DH to the NL, help out a little bit there. 

Hill: Let's see how all of this sits with our man behind the glass, Dan Boyd, who is one of the biggest baseball fans I know. Dan, can I interest you in robot umpires? 

Dan Boyd: You certainly can, Chris. I think that's a great idea! Quick numbers for you, though. Umpires in Major League Baseball have a 93% correct rate on strike calls.

Muckerman: That's pretty solid!

Boyd: It's surprising, but it really shouldn't be. They're very, very good at what they do. I think that the robot umpire, robot strike zone or whatever, is a very good idea. I enjoy when things are correct in sports I enjoy. And here's a hot take for you, Chris: the rest of these rule changes are extremely stupid. They're awful and stupid, and most of them are built to do two very dumb things: one, increase the pace of the game. Rob Manfred, who is the current baseball commissioner, and a noted idiot, is obsessed with the idea that baseball is too slow. That's not true. It's come down since its ridiculously long games in the 1990s that a lot of people remember, to something that is a lot more reasonable. What he's doing is, he's risking the quality of baseball with these cockamamie ideas to speed up the game, which will dilute the game, and in my opinion, make it a whole lot worse. 

Let me just read through these real quick because they're real dumb. No players or coaches will be allowed to visit the mound unless a pitching change is being made. No catchers talking to the pitchers during an outing. No shortstop coming in telling the pitcher what the defensive situation is going to be for a batter. Can't do it. Pitchers will be required to face a minimum of three batters. Why have strategy in baseball? That's a terrible idea! We hate strategy! Defensive shifts will be limited. Again, why have strategy? That's, it's, we -- whatever, it doesn't matter. Why? Why? Why do it? Why make it interesting? Time between innings will be increased, whatever, that's not a big one. Distance of the pitcher's rubber to home base increased by two feet. Why?

Hill: I was going to --

Muckerman: More Tommy John surgery.

Boyd: Exactly. Pitchers throwing harder, pitchers blowing their arms out more, to try to get the ball over home plate. And these are guys that have come up their entire developmental life pitching 60 feet, 6 inches. And baseball is a game of, not even inches, of millimeters. You've got these guys that have been doing this one thing for a long time. It's going to hurt pitchers! 

Hill: Is the rationale --

Boyd: Wait, there's one more!

Muckerman: [laughs] The hot takes keep on coming!

Boyd: This is the dumbest one, and I don't understand why, but all of the infield bases -- first, second, third -- will be increased in size from, it's 15 square inches now, to 18 square inches. Why? What's the point of that one? 

Hill: I'm assuming -- and I was not aware of that last one -- that one, combined with increasing the distance between the pitcher's mound and home plate, I'm assuming both of those things are an attempt to increase the advantage for the team that's batting.

Boyd: Yeah, I think MLB has a problem with the proliferation of strikeouts in recent years, which is insane to me! When your team is doing well and you have a pitcher who's striking out batters at a ridiculous rate, it's one of the greatest things in baseball to watch! I was at Stephen Strasburg's first game when he struck out 14, struck out seven in a row to end the game. I mean, he also gave up a home run in his first game, but the Nationals won 5 to 3. And it was electrifying! It was amazing! Strikeouts are fantastic! Infield singles are not fantastic!!!

Muckerman: That's what they want. The three outcomes that you see increasing are strikeouts, home runs, and fly ball outs. 

Boyd: Do we really want an increase in infield singles, in ground ball hits?! Is that that big of a deal, that we have to change the rules of baseball, to turn back the clock to the 1950s, when players weren't as athletic, didn't have the amount of science and numbers and statistics behind everything? Why make the sport worse?! 

Hill: So, is it safe to say I cannot interest you in a road trip to Waldorf, Maryland, to go to an Atlantic baseball game?

Boyd: Of course I'd go to an Atlantic baseball game! What, are you kidding me?

Muckerman: Live MarketFoolery? [laughs] 

Boyd: Especially if we can do it during the week, during the workday. That'd be ideal!

Muckerman: The Waldorf Blue Crabs?

Hill: You know what, we head up to Glen Burnie, we hit the Bubba's 33, and then we go to a game.

Boyd: You're talking my language. And listeners, feel free to get at me on Twitter on this one if you think it's good. Because we can have a conversation. 

Muckerman: Some rebuttals coming at you.

Hill: Exactly. Alright, Taylor Muckerman, thanks for being here!

Muckerman: Cheers, appreciate it!

Hill: You can read more from Taylor and all of his colleagues at Motley Fool Canada, go to fool.ca. As always, people on the program may have interests in the stocks they talk about, and The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. That's going to do it for this edition of MarketFoolery. The show is mixed by Dan Boyd. I'm Chris Hill. Thanks for listening! We'll see you tomorrow!

Stratasys Caps Off 2018 With a 7% Decline in 3D Printer Sales

Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2018 results before the market opened on Thursday.

For the quarter, revenue edged down 1.2% year over year, GAAP bottom-line results flipped from negative to positive, and earnings per share (EPS) adjusted for one-time items jumped 31%. 

Shares plunged to a closing loss of 13.9% on Thursday. We can attribute the market's reaction to quarterly revenue coming in lighter than many investors were probably expecting and 2019 revenue guidance also being more tepid than many probably were anticipating.

Stratasys' results: The raw numbers

Metric

Q4 2018

Q3 2017

Year-Over-Year Change

Revenue	$177.1 million	$179.3 million	(1.2%)
GAAP operating income	($3.8 million)	($6.0 million)	N/A
Adjusted operating income	$12.8 million	$13.5 million	(5.2%)
GAAP net income	$6.3 million	($10 million)	N/A
Adjusted net income	$11.3 million	$8.4 million	35%
GAAP earnings per share (EPS)	$0.12	($0.19)	N/A
Adjusted EPS	$0.21	$0.16	31%

Data source: Stratasys. GAAP = generally accepted accounting principles. 

Stratasys posted a GAAP operating loss, but turned in positive net income thanks to $12.9 million from its share in the profits of associated companies.

GAAP gross margin was 49.1%, up from 48.7% in the fourth quarter of 2017. Adjusted gross margin came in at 52.2%, down slightly from 52.5% in the year-ago period and up a tick from last quarter's 52.1%. The company generated $18.7 million in cash from operations during the quarter and ended the year with $393.2 million in cash and cash equivalents. 

For some context (though investors shouldn't give too much importance to Wall Street's near-term estimates), analysts were looking for fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.21 on revenue of $185.8 million. So Stratasys hit the earnings consensus on the bull's-eye, while its top line fell short of the Street's expectation. 

For full-year 2018, revenue inched down nearly 1% year over year to $663.2 million, GAAP net loss narrowed 71% to $0.22 per share, and adjusted EPS grew 15.6% to $0.52. The company generated a record $63.7 million in cash from operations in 2018.

Image source: Getty Images.

Segment results  

Segment

Q4 2018 Revenue

Year-Over-Year Change

Product	$124.5 million	(4.0%)
Service	$52.6 million	6.1%
Total	$177.1 million	(1.2%)

Data source: Stratasys. 

The service business experienced fairly decent revenue growth, which helped to minimize the overall decline in revenue due to weak performance in products. Within products, 3D printer revenue fell 7% year over year, consumables (print materials) revenue was flat with the year-ago quarter, and customer support revenue, which mainly includes revenue from service contracts, increased 6%.

The year-over-year change in 3D printer revenue was disappointing, as this metric was flat last quarter, after declining 8.2% and 21% in the second and first quarters, respectively. 3D printer sales have an outsized importance to Stratasys' bottom line because they drive sales of print materials, which sport high margins.

What management had to say

Here's what interim CEO Elan Jaglom had to say in the earnings release:

We are pleased with our fourth quarter and full year profitability, and finished 2018 with record cash flow from operations as we continue to build a strong operational foundation for future growth opportunities and to invest in accelerating new product introductions to expand our addressable markets. Our consolidated top line results this quarter reflect continued positive traction in high-end system and materials sales for our PolyJet and FDM technology platforms, primarily in North America, offset partially by the impact late in the quarter of the government shutdown in the United States and what we believe is temporary weakness in the Automotive sector in Europe.

Looking ahead

Stratasys' quarterly revenue was disappointing. While the company has done a decent job of increasing profitability over the last couple of years, there's only so far that improving efficiencies can take it. A sustainable turnaround will depend upon increased demand for its products and services driving solid revenue growth. 

The company established full-year 2019 guidance as follows:

Revenue of $670 million to $700 million, representing growth of 1% to 5.5% year over year.  GAAP net loss of $0.40 to $0.22 per share, representing a widening loss of 82% to no change from 2018.  Adjusted EPS of $0.55 to $0.70 per share, representing growth of nearly 6% to 35%.

Going into the earnings release, Wall Street was projecting 2019 adjusted EPS of $0.59 on revenue of $699.2 million. So Stratasys' revenue outlook likely contributed to the market's pushing the company's stock lower on Thursday.

"We are excited about our recent and upcoming new product introductions and believe that we will see accelerated growth beginning in 2020," Jaglom said.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM) Cut to Neutral at Bank of America

Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) was downgraded by investment analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, The Fly reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SQM. Deutsche Bank set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $52.00 target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 16th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 16th. HSBC raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 3rd. Finally, Santander raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.17.

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Shares of SQM traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $37.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 920,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 689,061. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 2.64. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile has a fifty-two week low of $36.70 and a fifty-two week high of $58.69.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile by 106.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,126,310 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $81,438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098,410 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile in the third quarter worth approximately $89,882,000. Standard Life Aberdeen plc increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Standard Life Aberdeen plc now owns 1,927,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $75,008,000 after acquiring an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,449,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,510,000 after purchasing an additional 154,410 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile by 166.6% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,218,808 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,724,000 after purchasing an additional 761,708 shares during the period. 10.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine and its derivatives, lithium and its derivatives, industrial chemicals, potassium, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty mixes, and other specialty fertilizers for crops, such as vegetables, fruits, and flowers under the Ultrasol, Qrop, Speedfol, and Allganic brands.

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Navios Maritime (NM) Reaches New 52-Week Low at $1.69

Shares of Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NYSE:NM) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $1.69 and last traded at $1.70, with a volume of 255 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $1.75.

Separately, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Navios Maritime from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $3.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 24th.

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The stock has a market cap of $20.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.28 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97.

Navios Maritime (NYSE:NM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 20th. The shipping company reported ($1.79) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.79). The firm had revenue of $127.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.63 million. Navios Maritime had a negative return on equity of 12.59% and a negative net margin of 53.38%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. will post -11.14 EPS for the current year.

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Navios Maritime stock. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NYSE:NM) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 786,074 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,000. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.67% of Navios Maritime as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Institutional investors own 89.61% of the company’s stock.

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Navios Maritime Company Profile (NYSE:NM)

Navios Maritime Holdings Inc operates as a seaborne shipping and logistics company in North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and internationally. The company focuses on the transportation and transshipment of dry bulk commodities, including iron ores, coal, and grains. It operates through two segments, Dry Bulk Vessel Operations and Logistics Business.

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Goldman Sachs Dress Code: What’s Changed for 2019?

There’s been a change to the Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) dress code as the investment firm is looking to keep up with the times and shifting its ideas of what’s acceptable in the workplace.

When thinking of big financial institutions, the image of dapper suits and ties with polished dress shoes comes to mind as this is how these companies have been operating for decades. However, this is now changing as Goldman Sachs announced on Tuesday that it is loosening its dress code for all of its workers.

CEO David Solomon unveiled the change in an internal memo, noting that the business now supports a more “flexible dress code” due to how workplaces around the country are becoming more casual in their employees’ attires. About 36,000 of the company’s employees received the memo.

The move shows that Goldman Sachs knows what new generations like as more than 75% of the company’s workers are either Millennials or Gen Zers, which means they were born after 1981. Ultimately, the goal of a business with the reputation that this one has is to attract the best possible employees.

The shift towards a more casual dress environment has been occurring in recent years, with large tech companies and hedge funds leading the charge. Plus, these businesses are also adding more perks to ensure employees are happy.

GS stock is down about 0.3% on Friday.

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AppFolio Ends 2018 With a Bang

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF), a software-as-a-service provider that caters to the real estate and legal markets, reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2018 results recently.

Revenue growth of 33% allowed the company to exceed the high end of its guidance range. However, the bottom line was held back by elevated expenses primarily related to recent acquisitions. Management expects that spending to lead to a more robust product offering in time, which is exactly what investors should want to see.

AppFolio Q4 results: The raw numbers

Metric

Q4 2018

Q4 2017

Change (YOY)

Sales	$50.4 million	$37.9 million	33%
GAAP net income	$2.65 million	$2.58 million	3%
GAAP earnings per share	$0.07	$0.07	0%

Data source: AppFolio. YOY = year over year. GAAP = generally accepted accounting principles. 

What happened with AppFolio this quarter Core solutions, which is the company's subscription-based revenue, grew 26% to $19.4 million. This result was driven by a 20% increase in property management units.  Value+ services, which is revenue earned from fee-based services such as payments, grew 38% to $28.8 million. On the call with analysts, management credited the gain to growth in electronic payment services, screening services, and insurance services. The annual dollar-based net expansion rate, which measures the change in customer spending from one year to the next, was 116% in the company's property management business and 113% in its legal channel. This indicates that retention rates remain very strong and that customer spending continues to increase on AppFolio's platforms.   Property manager customers grew 11% to 13,050.  Legal customers grew 10% to 10,300.  A $1.9 million non-cash charge was recorded during the quarter related to the company's acquisition of WegoWise last August. This was the primary reason profit growth was muted. Operating costs grew 34%, which outpaced revenue growth. This was partially driven by acquisition expenses. Cash balance at year's end was $102 million while long-term debt was $48.6 million. Stock buybacks totaled $21.6 million during the quarter. A $100 million share repurchase program was recently authorized. 

Image source: AppFolio.

Turning to the full year, here's a review of the company's numbers from 2018:

Revenue grew 32% to $190.1 million. This figure exceeded the high end of guidance. Net income grew 106% to $20 million, or $0.56 per share.

After the end of the year, the company spent $54 million to acquire Dynasty Marketplace, which is a provider of "artificial intelligence solutions for the real estate market." Management believes that the acquisition will eventually enhance the company's fee-based service offerings.

What management had to say

CEO Jason Randall summarized the year for investors:

In 2018, we continued on our mission to revolutionize vertical industry businesses by providing great software and service to our customers. We did this through our dedication to delivering outstanding customer experiences, supporting a thriving corporate culture and delivering next generation technologies to the verticals we serve today.

Looking forward

CFO Ida Kane expects that AppFolio's strong pace of revenue growth will continue into 2019. The company currently forecasts full-year revenue will land between $250 million and $255 million. The midpoint of this range represents revenue growth of 33%.

CEO Randall ended his prepared remarks on the investor call by stating that the needs of its customers are AppFolio's top priority:"[W]e remain focused on delivering great customer experiences fueled by next-generation technology, innovation and our commitment to providing exceptional service to our customers. We believe our consistency in these areas enables long-term sustainable growth."

This report was mostly filled with great news. Revenue growth remains high and continues to outpace guidance. Customer spending and acquisition remains strong. Churn appears to be low. Management continues to make bolt-on acquisitions and guidance for 2019 calls for greater than 30% top-line growth.

However, there are a few negatives in this report that investors should watch. Spending growth outpaced revenue growth and led to no movement on the bottom line. That's mostly a byproduct of the recent acquisitions, but it's a sharp reversal from the huge profit growth rates that we've seen in the recent past.

The other negative is that AppFolio is no longer debt-free. The company tapped the debt markets to fund its Dynasty Marketplace acquisition and stock buybacks. I'd prefer the company to keep its balance sheet squeaky-clean rather than take on debt, but the leverage is very low in the grand scheme of things.

Overall, I think that the good news from this report overwhelmed the bad. Shareholders have every reason to remain excited about where this company is headed.

Truehand Inc Buys Shares of 14,126 Kimberly Clark Corp (KMB)

Truehand Inc bought a new position in Kimberly Clark Corp (NYSE:KMB) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 14,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,610,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Partners LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $240,000. Usca Ria LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly Clark by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Usca Ria LLC now owns 44,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,096,000 after acquiring an additional 14,006 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly Clark by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 33,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,832,000 after acquiring an additional 4,318 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly Clark by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,826,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,885,000 after acquiring an additional 640,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palo Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly Clark during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $869,000. 73.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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In related news, insider Anthony J. Palmer sold 6,122 shares of Kimberly Clark stock in a transaction on Friday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.11, for a total transaction of $704,703.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Several research firms recently issued reports on KMB. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Kimberly Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $107.00 target price on shares of Kimberly Clark and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 20th. Exane BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly Clark in a research report on Tuesday, February 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly Clark in a research report on Monday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co restated a “hold” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Kimberly Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.19.

Shares of KMB stock traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $116.29. 15,177 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,096,847. The company has a market capitalization of $41.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.58, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.57. Kimberly Clark Corp has a 12 month low of $97.10 and a 12 month high of $120.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 51.24, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Kimberly Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.68 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. Kimberly Clark had a net margin of 7.63% and a return on equity of 1,156.45%. Kimberly Clark’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly Clark Corp will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. This is an increase from Kimberly Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Kimberly Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.51%.

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About Kimberly Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care, consumer tissue, and professional products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Depend, Plenitud, Poise, and other brand names.

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$23.08 Million in Sales Expected for AXT Inc (AXTI) This Quarter

Wall Street analysts predict that AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) will report $23.08 million in sales for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Three analysts have issued estimates for AXT’s earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $24.22 million and the lowest estimate coming in at $22.03 million. AXT reported sales of $24.42 million in the same quarter last year, which indicates a negative year-over-year growth rate of 5.5%. The business is expected to report its next quarterly earnings report on Wednesday, April 24th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that AXT will report full-year sales of $102.46 million for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $100.00 million to $107.37 million. For the next year, analysts forecast that the company will report sales of $114.50 million, with estimates ranging from $114.00 million to $115.00 million. Zacks’ sales averages are an average based on a survey of analysts that that provide coverage for AXT.

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AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 20th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $22.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.21 million. AXT had a return on equity of 5.06% and a net margin of 9.43%. AXT’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS.

AXTI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Investment Research raised AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 18th. TheStreet lowered AXT from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, December 27th. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded shares of AXT from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $7.88.

Shares of NASDAQ:AXTI traded up $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.39. The company had a trading volume of 12,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 257,306. The firm has a market cap of $170.06 million, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.10. AXT has a fifty-two week low of $3.70 and a fifty-two week high of $9.38.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raging Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in AXT in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,959,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in AXT by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 225,030 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 83,556 shares in the last quarter. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan acquired a new position in AXT in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in AXT by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 130,684 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 27,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in AXT by 236.8% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 100,905 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 70,941 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.33% of the company’s stock.

AXT Company Profile

AXT, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes compound and single element semiconductor substrates. It manufactures semiconductor substrates using its proprietary vertical gradient freeze technology. The company offers indium phosphide (InP) for use in fiber optic lasers and detectors, passive optical networks, data center connectivity, silicon photonics, photonic integrated circuits, terrestrial solar cells, lasers, military wireless RF amplifiers, infrared motion control, and infrared thermal imaging products.

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