Brian Nelson

Biogen Hits a Potential Home Run

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We closely follow the progress of the clinical pipeline of companies in the pharma/biotech sector. Unlike other less product-driven industries, the pharma/biotech sector can experience wide swings in operating performance as a result of the lapsing of patent protection on key drugs, underscoring the importance of innovation to replace aging products. Biogen may have hit a home run in the critical field of Alzheimer’s, an area of tremendous untapped need. By Alexander J. Poulos Key Takeaways Biogen’s current product lineup is beginning to show its age, and a fresh injection of novel products may be necessary to jumpstart top-line revenue growth. Spinraza is a notable step in the right direction, but we fear new gene-editing therapies may disrupt Spinraza, thus … Read more

Twitter Working Backwards?

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Image Source: Xiaobin Liu The social media platform known for its tweets faced selling pressure after reports surfaced that it had removed 70 million fake accounts from its website. Social media is still a relatively young technology, and our top idea in the space remains the cash-rich Facebook. By Kris Rosemann Shares of Twitter (TWTR) fell more than 5% during the trading session July 9, less severe than the drop had been at its session worst, following a report from The Washington Post outlining the company’s suspension of 70 million fake or spam accounts in the months of May and June. Twitter had 336 million monthly active users as of the end of the first quarter of 2018, but company officials … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending July 6

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending July 6. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Bank of America Corporation Deposit Shs Perp Pfd Shs Series E (BAC.PE): now $0.2556 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.24722. Bank of America Deposit Shs Repr 1/1200th Fltg Rate Non Cum Pfd Shs Series -2 (BML.PH): now $0.1917 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.1854. Bank of America Deposit Shs Repr 1/1200th Fltg Rate Non Cum Pfd Shs Series 4 (BML.PJ): now $0.2556 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more

In The News: Facebook, China and the Semiconductor Complex

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Facebook gets a new Street high price target, while news ebbs and flows regarding US-China tech relations. By Brian Nelson, CFA There’s a new Street high price target on one of our favorite ideas, Facebook (FB), and it’s $275 per share. Facebook has been the most recent 10 on the Valuentum Buying Index, and despite ongoing “noise” with respect to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, we value shares at $250 each. We’re also reiterating our view that our discounted-cash-flow-based valuation only considers ongoing trends on an advertising-only business model, not incremental upside from processing payments on its platform or innovation at Instagram, which recently put together a new product called IGTV, a You-Tube-like offering. We think the Facebook “story” is still … Read more

Financial Advisor (GOLD LEVEL) Publications

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Important Note: The quarterly publications of the Ideas100, Dividend100, and DataScreener are current as of the date of their respective publication. Valuentum frequently updates the stock and dividend reports of companies in its coverage universe after the published date of the Ideas100, Dividend100, and DataScreener and notifies members of any changes via published articles scrolling down the middle of its home page. Members should use these publications as a starting point for further research and always access the individual report of each desired company on our website for its most recent ratings, metrics, and valuation information. If you have any questions about our services or these publications, please contact us at info@valuentum.com. The Quarterly Dividend100 Publication Dividend investors literally have thousands of income stocks to choose … Read more

Our Stock Reports on Securities Research Firms

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Image Source: Andreas Poike Structure of the Securities Research Industry The securities research industry has become increasingly competitive, with a large number of rivals in the individual, advisor, and institutional markets. However, barriers to success for new entrants in the individual market are incredibly high, if not impossible, while the advisor market continues to be dominated by entrenched providers with deep ties. The institutional market is shielded to new rivals thanks to talent and capital costs, offering established players an attractive position. Licensed research and data can be a high-return means of generating sustainable, recurring business. We like the group’s structure. Our final ratings and analysis for the group can be found here.

Dividend Growth Still A Resilient Theme

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Rising interest rates may pose headwinds to yield-sensitive dividend payers, but we think dividend growth investing remains a resilient theme. We’re big fans of the concept of yield-on-cost, but close attention to valuations, free cash flow generation and balance-sheet health will remain critical. By Brian Nelson CFA We’re big fans of dividend growth investing. Identifying strong businesses that generate considerable free cash flow and have healthy balance sheets to cushion against their growing dividends is one of the key themes of the Dividend Growth Newsletter and its simulated portfolio. The concept of yield-on-cost is a very important one, too, and something that any dividend growth investor should be aware of. Scooping up a dividend-paying company that has a juicy dividend … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending June 29

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending June 29. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Camden National (CAC): now $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Citigroup (C): now $0.45 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.32. Computer Services (CSVI): now $0.36 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.31. Discover Financial Services (DFS): now $0.40 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.35. First Bancorp (FNLC): now $0.29 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.24. Glacier Bancorp (GBCI): now $0.26 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.23. … Read more

Amazon: The Destroyer of Other Companies’ Profits

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Image Source: Victor Amazon is stepping into the pharmacy business with the purchase of online pharmacy start-up PillPack. The market is implying the move will prove to be more than just a headache for those operating in the drug store/pharmacy and drug-distributor complex. Whether the impact will be significantly material in the coming years remains to be seen, but it’s a big directional negative for impacted parties. By Brian Nelson, CFA We saw the writing on the wall. We had once included CVS Health (CVS) in the simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, but we ditched the company in February. We couldn’t envision a scenario at the time where things would be getting better … Read more