Recent enforcement actions included charges brought by the SEC against two JPMorgan traders associated with the “London Whale” for lying about massive derivatives losses, and against a number of microcap companies, their CEOs and stock promoters in penny stock schemes. In addition, FINRA fined and censured VSR Financial and registered principal Donald Beary over sales of nonconventional investments.
SEC Charges Two in London Whale Case
Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout, former traders at JPMorgan Chase & Co., were charged by the SEC with fraudulently overvaluing investments in order to hide massive losses in a portfolio they managed.
The pair worked in JPMorgan’s chief investment office (CIO), which created the portfolio known as the Synthetic Credit Portfolio (SCP) as a hedge against adverse credit events. The portfolio was primarily invested in credit derivative indices and tranches, and Martin-Artajo and Grout were required to mark the portfolio’s investments at fair value in accordance with U.S. GAAP and JPMorgan’s internal accounting policy.
Top Penny Companies To Own In Right Now: Rowan Companies Inc.(RDC)
Rowan Companies, Inc. provides onshore and offshore oil and gas contract drilling services in the United States and internationally. The company offers its contract drilling services through its fleet of 28 self-elevating mobile offshore drilling platforms and 30 deep-well land drilling rigs. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Atwood have dropped 1.9% to $45.45 at 3:38 p.m. and pulled down other offshore players. Noble has fallen 1.4% to $48.68, Transocean has declined 1.9% to $41.60,�Rowan�(RDC) is off 0.8% at $31.41 and�Seadrill (SDRL) has dropped 1.8% to $35.53.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
A bad year for offshore drillers is likely to get worse–and Morgan Stanley says even market favorite Rowan (RDC) could get hit. It recommends yield plays, including Seadrill (SDRL).
Top Penny Companies To Own In Right Now: Medallion Financial Corp.(TAXI)
Medallion Financial Corp., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. The company engages in originating, acquiring, and servicing loans that finance taxicab medallions and various types of commercial businesses. It offers commercial loans to finance the purchase of the equipment and related assets necessary to open a new business, or the purchase or improvement of an existing business; asset-based loans to small businesses; and secured mezzanine loans to businesses in various industries, including manufacturing and various service providers. The company also raises deposits; originates consumer loans for the purchase of recreational vehicles, boats, motorcycles, trailers, and hearing aids; and conducts other banking activities. In addition, it provides other debt, mezzanine, and equity investment capital to companies in various industries. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lawrence Meyers]
That�� the case with Medallion Financial Corporation (TAXI). This neat little company is primarily focused on the financing of taxi cab licenses in major cities like New York. It does other specialty lending as well — such as asset-backed loans for luxury vehicles like boats and art. But its bread and butter has been the taxi business.
Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks For 2015: Bristow Group Inc (BRS)
Bristow Group Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides helicopter services to the offshore energy industry primarily in Europe, West Africa, North America, Australia, and internationally. Its helicopters are used principally to transport personnel between onshore bases and offshore platforms, drilling rigs, and installations, as well as to transport time-sensitive equipment to offshore locations. The company also offers helicopter flight training services to commercial pilots and flight instructors through its Bristow Academy with facilities in Titusville, Florida; Concord, California; New Iberia, Louisiana and Gloucestershire, England. In addition, it provides military training; and helicopter repair, engineering support, aircraft leasing, airport management, and search and rescue services. Bristow Group provides its helicopter services to integrated, national, and independent oil and gas companies. As of March 31, 2011, it operated a fleet of 569 aircraft. The comp any was founded in 1969 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Bristow Group (NYSE: BRS ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By Seth Jayson]
Bristow Group (NYSE: BRS ) reported earnings on May 22. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q4), Bristow Group beat expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share. - [By J. Royden Ward]
Based in Houston and founded in 1969, Bristow Group (BRS) has major transportation operations in the US Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea.
Bristow also operates in most of the other major offshore oil and gas producing regions of the world, including Alaska, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and Trinidad.
- [By GURUFOCUS]
First comes Bristow Group Inc. (BRS), which provides helicopter services to offshore energy rigs, and is a holding in our traditional mid-cap, small-to-mid cap, and small-cap portfolios. Although energy exploration and production can clearly fluctuate, Bristow offsets those shifts through long-term contracts lasting roughly three to five years. Furthermore, Bristow receives ��onthly standing charges���meaning it gets paid whether its helicopters fly or not��mounting to 70% of its operating income.
Top Penny Companies To Own In Right Now: Empresas Ica Soc Contrladora (ICA)
Empresas ICA, S.A.B. de C.V., through its subsidiaries, engages in the construction and related activities in Mexico. The company?s Civil Construction segment focuses on infrastructure projects that include the construction of roads, highways, mass transit systems, bridges, dams, hydroelectric plants, tunnels, canals, and airports; and on the construction, development, and remodeling of multi-storied urban buildings, such as office buildings, hotels, multiple-dwelling housing developments, and shopping centers. This segment also engages in demolition, clearing, excavation, de-watering, drainage, embankment fill, structural concrete construction, concrete and asphalt paving, and tunneling activities. Its Industrial Construction segment focuses on the engineering, procurement, construction, design, and commissioning of manufacturing facilities comprising power plants, chemical plants, petrochemical plants, fertilizer plants, pharmaceutical plants, steel mills, paper mills, d rilling platforms, and automobile and cement factories. Empresas ICA?s Rodio Kronsa segment engages in sub-soil construction involving the construction of tunnels, underpasses, and retaining walls. The company?s Housing Development segment engages in the development, trading, ownership, sale, assistance, operation, and administration activities. Its Infrastructure segment involves in the operation and maintenance of concessioned airports, highways, bridges and tunnels, water supply systems, and waste treatment systems. The company also provides a range of services that include feasibility studies, conceptual design, engineering, procurement, project and construction management, construction, maintenance, technical site evaluation, and other consulting services. It serves public and private sector clients. Empresas ICA, S.A.B. de C.V. was founded in 1947 and is based in Mexico.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
One under-$10 name that's starting to trend within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Empresas ICA SA (ICA), which is engaged in construction and related activities, including the construction of infrastructure facilities as well as industrial, urban and housing construction. This stock is off to a decent start in 2013, with shares up 11.8%.
If you take a look at the chart for Empresas ICA SA, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways inside of a consolidation chart pattern for the last two months, with shares moving between $7.94 on the downside and $9.73 on the upside. Shares of ICA are now starting to push back above its 50-day moving average of $8.75 a share, and the stock is quickly moving within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if ICA manages to take out the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ICA if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $9.34 to $9.73 a share and then once it clears its 200-day moving average at $9.94 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 527,965 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ICA will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $11.50 to $12 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels could then put its 52-week high at $13.73 into focus for shares of ICA.
Traders can look to buy ICA off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $8 a share, or around $7.94 a share. One can also buy ICA off strength once it clears those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
Empresas ICA (ICA) is engaged in a range of construction and related activities, including the construction of infrastructure facilities as well as industrial, urban and housing construction. This stock closed up 6.2% to $8.12 in Tuesday's trading session.
Tuesday's Range: $7.66-$8.24
52-Week Range: $6.14-$13.73
Tuesday's Volume: 965,000
Three-Month Average Volume: 719,832From a technical perspective, ICA ripped higher here right off its 50-day moving average of $7.48 with above-average volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last month and change, with shares moving higher from its low of $6.14 to its intraday high of $8.24. During that move, shares of ICA have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of ICA into breakout territory, since the stock took out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $7.93 to $8.08.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ICA as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $7.48 and then once it sustains a move or close above Tuesday's high of $8.24 with volume that hits near or above 719,832 shares. If we get that move soon, then ICA will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $9 to its 200-day moving average at $10.05. Any high-volume move above its 200-day will then put $11 to $11.77 into range for shares of ICA.
- [By Michael Lewis]
It's been said plenty of times that our neighbor to the south is home to a burgeoning, debt-light economy that offers emerging-market growth with an element of domestic risk and valuation. China is very much "last season" when it comes to manufacturing, and Mexico offers a fantastic answer, with geographical superiority and an eager work force. One company based in Mexico, Empresas ICA (NYSE: ICA ) , is a heavy-construction firm with a market cap of $1 billion that was as recently as April worth nearly $2 billion. The causes for the haircut includes a collapsed deal and lousy first-quarter earnings. But with a strong outlook for Mexican infrastructure spending, and an apparent case of market negligence, Empresas ICA might be an undervalued pick with substantial upside potential.
Top Penny Companies To Own In Right Now: Himax Technologies Inc.(HIMX)
Himax Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets semiconductors for flat panel displays. Its products include display drivers and timing controllers for various thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCD) panels, which are used in desktop monitors, notebook computers, televisions, and mobile handsets, as well as consumer electronics products comprising netbook computers, digital cameras, mobile gaming devices, portable DVD players, digital photo frame, and car navigation displays; and TFT-LCD television and monitor semiconductor solutions. The company also provides liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) products for palm-size mobile projectors; power management integrated circuits, which include drivers, amplifiers, DC to DC converters and other semiconductors; complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensors for camera-equipped mobile devices, such as mobile phones and notebook computers with a focus on lowlight image and video quality; and wafer level optics products. It serves TFT-LCD panel manufacturers, mobile device module manufacturers, and television makers. Himax Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Tainan, Taiwan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ant贸nio Costa]
Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIMX) seems to be forming here a possible cup and handle formation ( The bigger white arc is the cup and the smaller white arc indicates the possible handle ). This is a typical bullish pattern and the stock price potential is on the upside. The stock must close above the neckline at 11.5 (White horizontal line ) on heavy volume in order to confirm the pattern.
- [By Paul Ausick]
Big Earnings Movers: SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ: SCTY) is down 16.7% at $49.71 after providing weak guidance with earnings last night. Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) is down 3.7% at $67.15 after a mixed earnings report last night. Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) is down 11.2% at $57.27 as the store tries to shed its luxury image. Himax Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: HIMX) is down 10.2% at $8.50 on weak guidance.
- [By Alex Planes]
Investors love stocks that consistently beat the Street without getting ahead of their fundamentals and risking a meltdown. The best stocks offer sustainable market-beating gains, with robust and improving financial metrics that support strong price growth. Does Himax Technologies (NASDAQ: HIMX ) fit the bill? Let's take a look at what its recent results tell us about its potential for future gains.
- [By Stephen Quickel]
Himax Technologies (HIMX)
Operating out of Taiwan, Himax makes liquid crystal on silicon semiconductors for flat panel displays. Analyst upgrades have spurred trading volume. Our target price is $20.
Top Penny Companies To Own In Right Now: Key Tronic Corporation(KTCC)
Key Tronic Corporation, doing business as KeyTronicEMS Co., together with its subsidiaries, provides electronic manufacturing services (EMS) to original equipment manufacturers primarily in the United States, Mexico, and China. Its EMS services include product design, surface mount technologies for printed circuit board assembly, tool making, precision plastic molding, liquid injection molding, automated tape winding, prototype design, and full product builds. The company also manufactures keyboards and other input devices for personal computers. Key Tronic markets its products and services primarily through its direct sales department aided by field sales people and distributors. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Spokane Valley, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lisa Levin]
Computer Peripherals: This industry rose 2.21% by 10:15 am ET. The top performer in this industry was Key Tronic (NASDAQ: KTCC), which gained 0.3%. Key Tronic's trailing-twelve-month ROE is 14.57%.
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