Wednesday, February 27, 2019

JP Morgan says first-quarter trading revenue to drop significantly

Wall Street's trading desks are off to a tepid start this year.

J.P. Morgan Chase, the world's biggest investment bank, said that first-quarter trading revenue would probably fall by a "high-teens" percentage amid a slew of difficult factors, according to Daniel Pinto, head of the firm's corporate and investment bank.

The bank's currency and emerging markets debt traders had a tough comparison to a robust 2018 first period, Pinto said Tuesday in a presentation during the bank's annual investor day. Further, the bank's equities desks had a "slow start," he said. And overall, there was "weaker client activity," meaning that the bank's hedge fund and corporate clients weren't as keen to place bets, he said.

Excluding a one-time $500 million gain last year due to a change in accounting rules, the decline in trading revenue would be in the "low teens" percentage, Pinto said.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has previously said that he expected his trading desks would have a slower first quarter compared to 2018.

Monday, February 25, 2019

3 Risks Facing Ambarella Stock

Video processor maker Ambarella (NASDAQ:AMBA) was once a red-hot stock, thanks in large part to its position as a key chip supplier in GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO) action cameras. Unfortunately for Ambarella, GoPro's success was relatively short-lived, and on top of that, GoPro ultimately designed Ambarella out of future products. During the company's most recent earnings call, Ambarella CFO Casey Eichler said that "GoPro continued to be immaterial in the current quarter." 

Although Ambarella's business is no longer dependent on GoPro, removing that particular risk to the business, there are other risks investors should be aware of before investing in the company's stock. Here are three important ones.

Ambarella chips for flying cameras

Image source: Ambarella.

Increasing competitive pressure

In Ambarella's most recent quarterly filing, the company says it expects "competition to increase in the future, which could have an adverse effect on our revenue and market share."

Drilling down into that a bit more, the company explains that it expects "competition to increase and intensify as more and larger semiconductor companies enter our markets." 

The company concedes that in the wearable sports camera market, its main competitors "are vertically integrated divisions of camera device OEMs," which it goes on to list.

The risk here is significant, with the idea being that the most successful sports camera makers will have the wherewithal and the business incentive to build their own chips to differentiate their cameras, leaving Ambarella with both fewer customers due to that vertical integration as well as potentially weaker customers (since those customers need to rely on third-party chip makers). 

In the IP security markets as well as automotive camera markets, Ambarella cites many merchant chip makers as competition, although it also concedes that each segment does have vertically integrated players.

And, finally, Ambarella points out that there are companies that license out key intellectual properties to enable their customers to build chips competitive with Ambarella's. This, Ambarella says, "potentially enables a greater number of competitors to offer competitive solutions."

So, the key takeaway is this: Ambarella has a lot of competition.

Overall market risks

Ambarella lists as another risk factor the following: "Our target markets may not grow or develop as we currently expect and are subject to market risks, any of which could harm our business, revenue and operating results." 

The company does have exposure to a number of interesting markets, with Ambarella CEO Fermi Wang explaining on the company's most recent earnings call that the company's "resource allocation remains heavily focused on computer vision opportunity [sic] in surveillance, automotive and other computer vision related applications." 

However, there are some areas where the company is facing real challenges. For example, in an explanation of the above risk factor, Ambarella itself claims that it has "recently experienced declines in demand for our solutions in several consumer camera markets, including wearable cameras, virtual reality cameras and UAVs, which we expect will continue through at least the end of fiscal year 2019."

The company's exposure to the consumer camera market has been on the decline, with management pegging it at "less than 15% of the total revenue" last quarter, but the point is that sometimes, market conditions take a turn for the worse, and Ambarella's other segments aren't immune. 

Ambarella is a pricey stock

Over the last three quarters, Ambarella has generated $176.7 million in revenue. Although the company's gross profit margin profile is actually quite robust, coming in at about 60.8% over that time, the company's operating expenses relative to its revenue are still quite high. 

Indeed, during that same period, the company's operating expenses came in at $133.5 million. Since those operating expenses were greater than the company's total gross profit of $107.5 million, the company posted a net loss of $25.9 million during that period, translating into a loss per share of $0.79. 

On a non-GAAP basis -- that is, excluding stock-based compensation -- the company generated positive earnings per share (EPS) of $0.59, but even on that basis, the company's earnings power right now doesn't look particularly strong. 

Indeed, even on that non-GAAP basis, analysts expect the company to close out fiscal 2019 having generated $0.64 per share, and then for EPS to decline further to $0.45.

For some perspective, this means Ambarella trades at 63.5 times expected fiscal-year 2019 EPS and more than 90 times fiscal 2020 estimates. 

Investors shouldn't necessarily dismiss stocks simply because they're expensive, but in this case, Ambarella's EPS is set to be down substantially in fiscal 2019, and things look like they'll only get worse in fiscal 2020. The company isn't even growing that quickly, with revenue expected to decline 22.9% in fiscal 2019 and then rise just 4.9% in the following year. 

Ambarella is a pricey stock without the momentum in its fundamentals to justify its current price, let alone a higher one. What this could mean, then, is that in a worse overall stock market, stocks like Ambarella might be among the first ones investors dump as they flock to companies with significantly better fundamentals and cheaper valuations.

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Rambus Inc. (RMBS) Shares Sold by BBT Capital Management LLC

BBT Capital Management LLC cut its position in Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) by 69.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,221 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 69,731 shares during the quarter. BBT Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Rambus were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Rambus in the 4th quarter valued at about $114,000. Man Group plc boosted its position in shares of Rambus by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 319,120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,482,000 after purchasing an additional 82,817 shares during the period. Laurion Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Rambus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $161,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Rambus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $864,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Rambus by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,483,269 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $18,601,000 after purchasing an additional 12,232 shares during the period. 76.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Get Rambus alerts:

A number of analysts recently issued reports on RMBS shares. Deutsche Bank decreased their target price on Rambus from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 30th. Zacks Investment Research raised Rambus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 target price for the company in a research report on Saturday, February 2nd. TheStreet cut Rambus from a “c-” rating to a “d” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 30th. ValuEngine raised Rambus from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 4th. Finally, BidaskClub raised Rambus from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.00.

In other Rambus news, SVP Jae Kim sold 21,215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.33, for a total transaction of $197,935.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 103,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,624.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Shrigley sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.45, for a total value of $209,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 42,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $440,519.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,507 shares of company stock valued at $470,231. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

RMBS opened at $10.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 7.52, a current ratio of 7.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. Rambus Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.17 and a 52 week high of $14.30.

Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $102.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.00 million. Rambus had a positive return on equity of 8.05% and a negative net margin of 28.74%. The firm’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Rambus Inc. will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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About Rambus

Rambus Inc provides semiconductor products in South Korea and internationally. The company operates through Memory and Interfaces, Security, and Other segments. It focuses on the design, development, and manufacturing through partnerships and licensing of technology and solutions related to memory and interfaces; and design, development, deployment, and licensing of technologies for chip, system and in-field application security, anti-counterfeiting, smart ticketing, and mobile payments.

Further Reading: What are the benefits of buying treasury bonds?

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RMBS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS)

Friday, February 22, 2019

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Invest In 2019

tags:SIRI,EGLE,NRG,HCKT,ADM,SORL,BAMM,UMH,NICK,AAWW,

Valeant stock is down big again today, after Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) reported disappointing Q3 2016 results and guidance.

Shortly after today's open, the Valeant stock price was down 20% to $13.80. That marked its lowest level in at least six years.

Here are the key highlights from the disappointing Valeant earnings report…

Why Valeant Stock Is Down: A Look at the NumbersValeant posted a loss of $1.22 billion for the September quarter, or $0.39 a share. That compares to a profit of $49.5 million, or $0.14 a share, in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue dropped 11% to $2.48 billion.Analysts expected adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.73 on $2.49 billion in revenue.The company's branded prescription segment, which accounts for more than a third of total revenue, had $847 million in sales. That was a 30% decline year over year (YOY) on lower product sales revenue from existing businesses.

Editor's Note: This penny stock has much more than just triple-digit profit potential…

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Invest In 2019: Sirius XM Radio Inc.(SIRI)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jim Royal]

    Fresh off news that it was buying Pandora Media (NYSE:P), Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) slumped 8% early on Monday. It's the cheapest the stock has been in months, and investors seemed to jeer the all-stock deal. But if history is any guide, it's a bad bet to go against superinvestor John Malone, whose Liberty empire controls Sirius XM.

  • [By Rich Duprey, Daniel Miller, and Dan Caplinger]

    We asked three Motley Fool contributors to identify top stocks under $20 that investors could buy right now to generate exceptional returns. Below they discuss Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX), Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI), and Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN).

  • [By VantagePoint]

    Siriux XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) began trading higher on April 19 following a bullish crossover, but the real uptrend didn't begin until May 3. This is an example of how trends can sometimes take several days to take shape, as the upside wasn't immediately apparent. Nonetheless, the stock is trading at its highest levels since 2005. 

  • [By Jeremy Bowman]

    Shares of Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI) took a spill in September as investors gave a thumbs-down to its acquisition of Pandora Media (NYSE:P). According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, shares of the satellite radio service finished last month down 11%. As you can see from the chart below, most of the sell-off came as it announced its takeover of Pandora toward the end of the month.

  • [By Rick Munarriz]

    There are two ways to buy into the country's lone provider of satellite radio, and one Wall Street pro thinks you should consider the road less traveled. Buckingham analyst Matthew Harrigan is downgrading shares of Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI) on Monday, lowering his rating from buy to neutral. 

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Invest In 2019: Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc.(EGLE)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ:EGLE) major shareholder Goldentree Asset Management Lp acquired 84,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.02 per share, for a total transaction of $341,575.38. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ: EGLE) in the last few weeks:

    7/2/2018 – Eagle Bulk Shipping was downgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating. 6/28/2018 – Eagle Bulk Shipping was downgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. 6/18/2018 – Eagle Bulk Shipping is now covered by analysts at Morgan Stanley. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $6.50 price target on the stock. 6/18/2018 – Eagle Bulk Shipping is now covered by analysts at DNB Markets. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. 6/12/2018 – Eagle Bulk Shipping was downgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. 6/2/2018 – Eagle Bulk Shipping was upgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. 6/2/2018 – Eagle Bulk Shipping was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. 5/29/2018 – Eagle Bulk Shipping is now covered by analysts at Evercore ISI. They set an “outperform” rating and a $7.50 price target on the stock. 5/15/2018 – Eagle Bulk Shipping was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating. According to Zacks, “Eagle Bulk Shipping is the largest U.S. based owner of Handymax dry bulk vessels. Handymax dry bulk vessels range in size from 35,000 to 60,000 deadweight tons, or dwt, and transport a broad range of major and minor bulk cargoes, including iron ore, coal, grain, cement and fertilizer, along worldwide shipping routes. “ 5/9/2018 – Eagle Bulk Shipping had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Maxim Group. They now have a $6.00 price target on the

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Invest In 2019: NRG Energy Inc.(NRG)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lee Jackson]

    This stock has made a nice run off the lows, but it may hold solid upside for aggressive accounts. NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) is an integrated independent power producer that owns and operates 27 gigawatts (GW) of conventional and renewable generating capacity in the United States and serves 3 million retail customers in Texas and the Northeast.

  • [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

    NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG)Q2 2018 Earnings Conference CallAug. 2, 2018, 8:00 a.m. ET

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

    Operator

  • [By Shane Hupp]

    Energi (CURRENCY:NRG) traded 3.8% lower against the dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 22:00 PM Eastern on February 2nd. Energi has a market cap of $9.51 million and approximately $100,521.00 worth of Energi was traded on exchanges in the last day. One Energi coin can currently be bought for approximately $0.76 or 0.00021720 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges including CoinExchange, Cryptopia and CryptoBridge. In the last seven days, Energi has traded down 9.3% against the dollar.

  • [By Matthew DiLallo]

    Shares of NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE:NRG) rose 10.9% in August, buoyed by its second-quarter results and an analyst upgrade.

    So what

    "Our business performed exceptionally well during the second quarter," stated CEO Mauricio Gutierrez in the company's earnings press release. Driving that view is that income from continuing operations rose from $99 million in the year-ago period to $121 million in this year's second quarter. Powering the company's improvement was its retail segment, where adjusted EBITDA came in at $298 million, which was $94 million higher than the second quarter of last year. The company's generation business also delivered stronger results as adjusted EBITDA rose $45 million to $197 million. Those dual fuels enabled the company to reaffirm its full-year outlook for adjusted EBITDA between $2.8 billion to $3 billion.

  • [By Shane Hupp]

    State of Wisconsin Investment Board cut its holdings in shares of NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG) by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 61,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,051 shares during the quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s holdings in NRG Energy were worth $1,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

  • [By Jon C. Ogg]

    NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $37 price objective (versus a $33.15 close) at Merrill Lynch.

    Oasis Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OAS) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $17 from $13 at Morgan Stanley.

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Invest In 2019: The Hackett Group Inc.(HCKT)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on The Hackett Group (HCKT)

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

  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCKT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.00.

  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on The Hackett Group (HCKT)

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

  • [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

    Hackett Group Inc  (NASDAQ:HCKT)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 19, 2019, 5:00 p.m. ET

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

    Operator

  • [By Shane Hupp]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on The Hackett Group (HCKT)

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

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Invest In 2019: Archer-Daniels-Midland Company(ADM)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Logan Wallace]

    LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Archer Daniels Midland Co (NYSE:ADM) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 109,682 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,740 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Archer Daniels Midland were worth $4,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

  • [By Maxx Chatsko]

    China imported 55 million gallons of American ethanol from November 2017 to the end of February 2018. It could be just the beginning. That would be great news for Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM), Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE), and Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) -- the three largest publicly traded ethanol producers in the United States.   

  • [By Motley Fool Transcribing]

    Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 5, 2019 9:00 a.m. ET

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

    Operator

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Invest In 2019: SORL Auto Parts Inc.(SORL)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Max Byerly]

    SORL Auto Parts (NASDAQ: SORL) and Modine Manufacturing (NYSE:MOD) are both small-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and risk.

  • [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Red Violet, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDVT) rose 75.31 percent to close at $9.94 after reporting Q1 results. Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ: CLWT) shares jumped 40.62 percent to close at $4.50 on Tuesday after reporting 2017 year-end results. MEI Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEIP) gained 34.39 percent to close at $3.40. MEDIGUS Ltd/S ADR (NASDAQ: MDGS) gained 32.74 percent to close at $1.50 in reaction to its Monday announcement of a distribution agreement. The medical device company said it reached an agreement to distribute its minimally invasive medical devices in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Pfenex Inc. (NYSE: PFNX) surged 31.15 percent to close at $8.00 after the company announced the positive top-line PF708 study results in Osteoporosis patients that showed no imbalances in severity or incidence of adverse events. Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: RKDA) rose 21.07 percent to close at $11.09. Arcadia Biosciences reported that Albert D. Bolles, Ph.D. has joined its board of directors. Genprex, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNPX) rose 20.23 percent to close at $10.58. Turtle Beach Corporation (NASDAQ: HEAR) shares gained 17.62 percent to close at $17.82. Aptevo Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: APVO) rose 17.1 percent to close at $5.82. Phoenix New Media Limited (NYSE: FENG) shares jumped 16.23 percent to close at $4.87 following Q1 earnings. Stein Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMRT) rose 16.04 percent to close at $3.69. PPDAI Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PPDF) climbed 15.99 percent to close at $7.98 following Q1 results. Tyme Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: TYME) rose 15.93 percent to close at $3.42. LiqTech International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIQT) gained 15.59 percent to close at $0.5532 following Q1 results. Sophiris Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPHS) gained 13.92 percent to close at $3.52 on Tuesday following Q1 results. Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA) jumped 13.4 percent to close at $2.37. Iteris, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITI) shares surged 13.05 percent to close
  • [By Lisa Levin]

    SORL Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ: SORL) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.19 per share on revenue of $86.96 million.

    Aldeyra Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALDX) is projected to report quarterly loss at $0.39 per share.

  • [By Shane Hupp]

    Sorl Auto Parts (NASDAQ:SORL) was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a strong sell rating to a sell rating.

    Strattec Security (NASDAQ:STRT) was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a sell rating to a hold rating.

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Invest In 2019: Books-A-Million Inc.(BAMM)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    News articles about Books-A-Million (NASDAQ:BAMM) have trended positive recently, according to Accern. The research group rates the sentiment of news coverage by monitoring more than 20 million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Books-A-Million earned a coverage optimism score of 0.27 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news articles about the specialty retailer an impact score of 44.3915244007427 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the immediate future.

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Invest In 2019: UMH Properties Inc.(UMH)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in UMH PROPERTIES/SH SH (NYSE:UMH) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 86,705 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,163,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned about 0.24% of UMH PROPERTIES/SH SH as of its most recent SEC filing.

  • [By Shane Hupp]

    TRADEMARK VIOLATION NOTICE: “Loeb Partners Corp Has $1.44 Million Holdings in UMH PROPERTIES/SH SH (UMH)” was first reported by Ticker Report and is the property of of Ticker Report. If you are viewing this article on another domain, it was stolen and reposted in violation of U.S. and international trademark and copyright laws. The correct version of this article can be viewed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4159809/loeb-partners-corp-has-1-44-million-holdings-in-umh-properties-sh-sh-umh.html.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Wednesday afternoon, the real estate shares surged 0.56 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. (NYSE: AHH), up 3 percent, and UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE: UMH) up 3 percent.

  • [By Max Byerly]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on UMH PROPERTIES/SH SH (UMH)

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

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Invest In 2019: Nicholas Financial Inc.(NICK)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Nicholas Financial (NASDAQ: NICK) and Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and risk.

  • [By Max Byerly]

    Nicholas Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:NICK) major shareholder Adam K. Peterson acquired 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.80 per share, for a total transaction of $59,400.00. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

  • [By Max Byerly]

    CPI Card Group (NASDAQ: PMTS) and Nicholas Financial (NASDAQ:NICK) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    Nicholas Financial (NASDAQ: NICK) and Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Invest In 2019: Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings(AAWW)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Max Byerly]

    James Investment Research Inc. grew its position in shares of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW) by 124.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 58,875 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,635 shares during the quarter. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Atlas Air Worldwide were worth $4,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

  • [By Logan Wallace]

    BidaskClub upgraded shares of Atlas Air Worldwide (NASDAQ:AAWW) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Atlas Air Worldwide (AAWW)

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

  • [By Motley Fool Transcribing]

    Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (NASDAQ:AAWW) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 19, 2019 11:00 a.m. ET

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

    Operator

  • [By Max Byerly]

    Atlas Air Worldwide (NASDAQ:AAWW) was downgraded by stock analysts at BidaskClub from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Rising Income Inequality Could Deplete Social Security's Cash Sooner Than Expected

Social Security has been a financial rock for our retired workforce for nearly 80 years. Today, it's responsible for providing a payout to more than 43 million retired workers, 62% of whom lean on their monthly stipend for at least half of their income.

However, it's also a program facing an unprecedented financial challenge, with a cash shortfall of $13.2 trillion looming between 2034 and 2092, according to the latest annual report from the Social Security Board of Trustees. This cash shortfall implies that the existing payout schedule isn't sustainable over the long term, which is defined as the next 75 years.

A Social Security card standing up on a table, with the name and number on the card blurred out.

Image source: Getty Images.

How, exactly, does a social investment like Social Security go from record annual net cash surpluses just over a decade ago to being on the verge of big trouble in 2019? The answer lies with a growing number of demographic changes that aren't working in the program's favor. Examples include the ongoing retirement of baby boomers, which is lowering the worker-to-beneficiary ratio, lower fertility rates, which also threatens to lower the worker-to-beneficiary ratio, and lengthening life expectancies over many decades. When initially conceived in the 1930s, Social Security was designed to provide a benefit to seniors for a few years after retirement. Nowadays, it's a program that the average 65-year-old will lean on for two decades.

These represent some of Social Security's biggest problems. But the biggest of all might just be growing income inequality.

A wealthy businessman in a suit lying atop a bed of cash.

Image source: Getty Images.

Growing income inequality is a problem in more ways than you probably realize

Growing income inequality in the U.S. is probably something you're familiar with. If you're an investor, you're likely aware of the crazy multiples CEOs are sometimes paid compared to the average workers in their companies. But it's not just between CEOs and their employees that this gap is apparent. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average income of the top 1% was 26.3 times higher than the average household income of the bottom 99% in 2015. With earnings growing at a faster pace for the well-to-do relative to lower- and middle-income families, opportunities for advancement remain harder to come by for these low- and middle-income households. 

This income disparity also leads to problems with the Social Security program. For starters, the wealthy have no financial constraints when it comes to receiving preventative care or prescription medicines. The same can't be said for the poor, who may not have access to the same quality of medical care as the rich. This has led to a defined gap in longevity between the rich and poor, allowing the rich to pocket a higher Social Security benefit check for an extended period of time.

Unlike the average working American, the wealthy are also able to avoid paying into the Social Security system on every dollar they earn. In 2019, earned income between $0.01 and $132,900 is subject to the 12.4% payroll tax rate, with earned income above this amount exempt. Data from the Social Security Administration finds that between 1983 and 2016, the amount of earnings exempted from taxation has risen from about $300 billion to $1.2 trillion. And at $1.2 trillion, that's close to $150 billion in potential payroll tax revenue that's escaping the system.

A hundred-dollar bill burning outward from the center.

Image source: Getty Images.

Social Security's $2.9 trillion in cash could be gone sooner than pundits expect

Now, here's where things get really scary.

According to the Social Security Board of Trustees report, the program's numerous demographic changes, including income inequality, are expected to lead to widening net cash outflows. In plain English, Social Security will expend more than it collects each year, possibly beginning in 2019; and the amount it expends compared to what it collects is going to widen as time passes. By 2034, the $2.9 trillion that Social Security has built up in net cash surpluses since its inception is forecast to be completely gone. If the program's asset reserves are exhausted and Congress fails to raise additional revenue or cut expenditures, a big cut to benefits of up to 21% may await.

However, the estimates presented by the Trustees take a middle-of-the-road approach (the intermediate-cost model). One of the variables considered is the taxable ratio -- i.e., how much earned income is subject to the payroll tax relative to all earned income. The assumption in the intermediate-cost model, which is the most widely accepted, is a taxable ratio of 82.5%. That's pretty much where we are today.

But the trend has clearly been to a lower taxable ratio over time. In 1983, close to 90% of all earnings was subject to the payroll tax, but by 2016, it had dipped to below 83%. Based on estimates in the Trustees report, if this taxable ratio falls by another 150 basis points to 81%, which seems quite plausible based on the long-term trend, Social Security's $2.9 trillion in cash would disappear by 2033, not 2034. 

A visibly worried mature man with his hand on his head and a desk full of bills in front of him.

Image source: Getty Images.

Growing income inequality places a greater burden on working Americans

Just as worrisome, a lower taxable ratio would also increase the long-term (75-year) actuarial deficit. The actuarial deficit describes how much the payroll tax would have to increase today to offset the expected cash shortfall that lies ahead, through 2092. Under the intermediate-cost model where the taxable ratio is 82.5%, the actuarial deficit is 2.84%. This means the payroll tax would have to rise from 12.4% to 15.24% today to completely account for the projected long-term cash shortfall, as well as leave enough money in the trust fund to cover 100% of costs come 2093.

But if the taxable ratio falls to 81% and less earned income is subject to the payroll tax, the actuarial deficit rises 17 basis points to 3.01%. Ultimately, this just means that it's going to cost American workers (and businesses) even more to fix Social Security.

Long story short, if Social Security is going to be shored up for future generations, lawmakers are going to have no choice but to tackle rising income inequality sooner rather than later.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Top Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:KSS,TRK,LBTYB,

ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQL) insider Value Fund L. P. Biotechnology sold 1,035,939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $5,179,695.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

NASDAQ:ARQL opened at $4.96 on Friday. ArQule, Inc. has a 52-week low of $0.94 and a 52-week high of $5.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 5.42 and a quick ratio of 5.42. The stock has a market cap of $451.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.72 and a beta of 0.83.

Get ArQule alerts:

ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.11) earnings per share. equities research analysts predict that ArQule, Inc. will post -0.21 EPS for the current year.

Top Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Kohl's Corporation(KSS)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By ]

    It's a smart move. Instead of going more upscale to try and compete with the fancier boutiques, Macy's is now emulating the discount model that has served Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS) and TJX Cos. (NYSE:TJX) so well.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    This isn't even the first time Sears has paired itself with Amazon, agreeing last year to sell its Kenmore brand directly on the site. This put it on par with retailers like Best Buy, Calvin Klein, Chico's FAS, Kohl's (NYSE:KSS), and Nike in seeking to ride the e-tailer's coattails to higher sales.

  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $41.00 to $45.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

Top Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Speedway Motorsports Inc.(TRK)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Truckcoin (TRK) is a PoW/PoS coin that uses the X11 hashing algorithm. Its genesis date was July 29th, 2014. Truckcoin’s total supply is 210,698,650 coins. Truckcoin’s official Twitter account is @truckcoin_v2 and its Facebook page is accessible here. Truckcoin’s official website is truckcoin.net.

  • [By Money Morning Reports]

    The company that popped up on our radar is Speedway Motorsports Inc. (NYSE: TRK).

    Speedway Motorsports may not be a household name, but you've almost certainly heard of the venues it owns. Millions of people flock to its properties each year.

  • [By Money Morning Staff Reports]

    Speedway Motorsports Inc. (NYSE: TRK) owns eight of the premier tracks on the NASCAR circuit, including Charlotte Motor Speedway and the famed Bristol Motor Speedway.

  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    Truckcoin (TRK) is a PoW/PoS coin that uses the X11 hashing algorithm. It launched on July 29th, 2014. Truckcoin’s total supply is 201,189,260 coins. Truckcoin’s official Twitter account is @truckcoin_v2 and its Facebook page is accessible here. Truckcoin’s official website is truckcoin.net.

  • [By Max Byerly]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Speedway Motorsports (TRK)

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

  • [By Logan Wallace]

    ValuEngine lowered shares of Speedway Motorsports (NYSE:TRK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

    Separately, Zacks Investment Research cut Speedway Motorsports from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, April 12th.

Top Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2019: Liberty Global plc(LBTYB)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Shane Hupp]

    Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYB) and Altice USA (NYSE:ATUS) are both large-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Top Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:FUL,ABG,HNI,WSFS,HCOM,GOLF,

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk is calling out Goldman Sachs after the bank encouraged investors to sell the carmaker's stock.

"Place your bets," Musk quipped on Twitter, appearing to challenge would-be sellers to exit at their own risk.

tweet

The CEO's response comes shortly after Goldman analysts advised clients to ditch the stock, worried that Tesla won't be able to meet its Model 3 production goals by the end of June.

Odd Anderson | AFP | Getty Images Tesla's CEO Elon Musk

"We believe the sustainable production rate for the second quarter of 2018 is most likely below the 2,000 vehicle mark the company achieved in the final week of the [first] quarter," Goldman analyst David Tamberrino wrote Tuesday. "We see the company likely sustaining Model 3 production around the 1,400 per week mark."

Top Stocks To Watch For 2019: H. B. Fuller Company(FUL)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Max Byerly]

    H.B. Fuller (NYSE: FUL) and CSW Industrials (NASDAQ:CSWI) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

  • [By Garrett Baldwin]

    Get an exclusive invitation to meet Tim before everyone else right here.

    The Top Stock Market Stories for Wednesday The U.S. markets are preparing for the eighth interest rate hike since 2015, and the Federal Reserve may not be done yet. Markets are weighing the possibility that the Fed may raise rates one more time this year (in December). The hikes come as the Fed is attempting to shrink its $4.5 trillion balance sheet. When Powell speaks this afternoon, expect a few questions about the impact of the trade war between the United States and China. Reporters will also likely want to know about geopolitical risks to the U.S. economy and how they might affect growth in a higher-interest-rate environment. Yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump gave a speech before the United Nations General Assembly. During his talk, Trump praised the U.S. economy and defended his administration's actions this year on trade. Trump said that the United States will no longer endure "abuse" from other trade partners. The U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer also said Tuesday that the U.S. is prepared to proceed on a new trade deal with Mexico without the participation of Canada. Oil prices are in focus after President Trump called out OPEC members before the U.N. on Tuesday. During his talk, Trump accused OPEC and non-OPEC participants in collusion efforts on production and prices of ripping off the rest of the world. Three Stocks to Watch Today: NKE, SVMK, DB Shares of Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) fell 3.5% after the sports apparel giant reported earnings after the bell. The company topped earnings expectations and reported profit growth of 15%. However, investors took some profits off the table. Shares of Nike stock are up more than 35% on the year. SVMK, the parent company of SurveyMonkey, has priced its upcoming IPO at $12 per share. That figure is above analysts' initial range expectation of $9 to $11 per share. The firm expects to reach a market capitalization of $1.46 bil
  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on HB Fuller (FUL)

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

  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    Shares of HB Fuller Co (NYSE:FUL) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $46.41 and last traded at $47.30, with a volume of 10697 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.24.

  • [By Logan Wallace]

    HB Fuller Co (NYSE:FUL) – Research analysts at KeyCorp reduced their FY2019 earnings estimates for HB Fuller in a research note issued to investors on Monday, October 1st. KeyCorp analyst M. Sison now forecasts that the specialty chemicals company will earn $3.80 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $3.90.

Top Stocks To Watch For 2019: Asbury Automotive Group Inc(ABG)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Max Byerly]

    These are some of the news stories that may have effected Accern Sentiment Analysis’s scoring:

    Get Asbury Automotive Group alerts: Should Value Investors Pick Asbury Automotive (ABG) Stock? (finance.yahoo.com) Asbury Automotive Group (ABG) and Rush Enterprises (RUSHA) Financial Review (americanbankingnews.com) Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (ABG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages (americanbankingnews.com) Head-To-Head Review: Asbury Automotive Group (ABG) versus Murphy USA (MUSA) (americanbankingnews.com) Comparing Asbury Automotive Group (ABG) and TravelCenters of America (TA) (americanbankingnews.com)

    A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Buckingham Research raised their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 25th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 16th. ValuEngine lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Asbury Automotive Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.33.

  • [By Max Byerly]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Asbury Automotive Group (ABG)

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

  • [By Max Byerly]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Asbury Automotive Group (ABG)

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

  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 30,187 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 662 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $2,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Top Stocks To Watch For 2019: HNI Corporation(HNI)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Shane Hupp]

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

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

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are:

    Wall Street expects Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) to report quarterly earnings at $0.42 per share on revenue of $5.75 billion before the opening bell. Halliburton shares fell 0.06 percent to $51.93 in after-hours trading. Analysts expect Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) to post quarterly earnings at $9.33 per share on revenue of $30.31 billion after the closing bell. Alphabet shares gained 0.24 percent to $1,079.88 in after-hours trading. Before the markets open, Lennox International Inc. (NYSE: LII) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.09 per share on revenue of $815.16 million. Lennox shares dropped 2.84 percent to close at $197.08 on Friday. HNI Corporation (NYSE: HNI) reported retirement of its CEO Stan A. Askren and appointment of Jeffrey D. Lorenger as new CEO. HNI also reported strong earnings for its first quarter. HNI shares fell 3.17 percent to $34.20 in the after-hours trading session. Analysts are expecting Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) to have earned $0.35 per share on revenue of $822.15 million in the latest quarter. Hasbro will release earnings before the markets open. Hasbro shares fell 0.39 percent to $82.49 in after-hours trading.

    Find out what's going on in today's market and bring any questions you have to Benzinga's PreMarket Prep.

Top Stocks To Watch For 2019: WSFS Financial Corporation(WSFS)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Shane Hupp]

    WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.20.

  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on WSFS Financial (WSFS)

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

  • [By Max Byerly]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on WSFS Financial (WSFS)

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

Top Stocks To Watch For 2019: Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc.(HCOM)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Max Byerly]

    News coverage about Hawaiian Telcom HoldCo (NASDAQ:HCOM) has been trending somewhat positive recently, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. The research group identifies positive and negative news coverage by monitoring more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Hawaiian Telcom HoldCo earned a news impact score of 0.06 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media coverage about the utilities provider an impact score of 46.776618457707 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the near future.

Top Stocks To Watch For 2019: Golfsmith International Holdings Inc.(GOLF)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Max Byerly]

    Golfcoin (CURRENCY:GOLF) traded up 0.2% against the U.S. dollar during the one day period ending at 21:00 PM ET on August 25th. Golfcoin has a total market capitalization of $342,500.00 and $182.00 worth of Golfcoin was traded on exchanges in the last day. During the last seven days, Golfcoin has traded 4.8% higher against the U.S. dollar. One Golfcoin coin can now be purchased for approximately $0.0002 or 0.00000003 BTC on exchanges.

  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Golfsmith International (GOLF)

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

  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    Shares of Acushnet Holdings Corp (NYSE:GOLF) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.50.

  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    Headlines about Golfsmith International (NASDAQ:GOLF) have been trending somewhat positive recently, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. Accern identifies positive and negative news coverage by reviewing more than twenty million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Golfsmith International earned a media sentiment score of 0.11 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news coverage about the specialty retailer an impact score of 45.7726462206896 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the next several days.

  • [By Shane Hupp]

    DA Davidson reissued their hold rating on shares of Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF) in a research note published on Monday.

    A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating on shares of Acushnet in a report on Thursday, March 8th. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Acushnet from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. SunTrust Banks reiterated a buy rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Acushnet in a report on Wednesday, April 11th. Compass Point lowered shares of Acushnet from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, March 19th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an overweight rating on shares of Acushnet in a report on Thursday, March 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $23.40.

  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Golfsmith International (GOLF)

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

Monday, February 18, 2019

5 Facts About High-Yield Dividend Stocks Every Investor Should Know

Dividends are the unsung heroes of investing, powerfully helping our portfolios grow while often being dismissed as boring. Many people don't appreciate just how powerful they can be, so check this out: Between 1960 and 2017, reinvested dividends accounted for about 82% of the total return of the S&P 500 index, as per The Hartford Funds.

It's smart to include dividend-paying stocks in your portfolio, but don't jump into them without reading up on and understanding them first. You may be drawn to the highest dividend yields you can find, but that can lead to trouble. Here are five things you should know about high-yield dividend stocks.

Two hands have written the words "MORE INCOME!" on an index card.

Image source: Getty Images.

No. 1: A big dividend yield can mean a bargain stock

First, a little math lesson. A key thing to understand about dividends and dividend yields is that a company's dividend yield is really just a simple fraction: It's the total annual dividend divided by the stock's current price. So if a stock pays out $0.50 per quarter, or $2.00 per year, and is trading for $40 per share, you'd divide $2 by $40 and would get 0.05, or 5%. That's the dividend yield. It reflects the fact that if you spend $40 on a share of the stock, you'll get 5% of your investment back in the form of a dividend.

Next, a company's dividend tends to remain unchanged for at least a year. Many companies increase them annually, while others can leave them unchanged for years. But a company's stock price will be changing all the time -- up and down, up and down, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. That means that the dividend yield will also change all the time -- and most importantly, it means that when the stock price falls, the yield will rise, and vice versa.

If we go back to the example of the company with a $2 annual payout, imagine that its shares fall in value from $40 to $30. Divide $2 by $30 and you'll get a yield of 0.067, or 6.7%. The share price fell and the yield rose.

Thus, when you see a high-yield stock, it often means that the share price has fallen, pushing up its yield. So high yields can be indicators of bargain-priced stocks. But they can also suggest something else.

No. 2: A super-high dividend yield can indicate trouble

A fat dividend yield can also reflect a company in trouble. A company's challenges can push the stock price down, which, in turn, boosts the yield. That's not a big problem if these problems are temporary, such as a factory fire delaying production or an inability to keep up with demand due to an insufficient workforce. In such cases, you might snap up some shares and eventually profit from their rebound, while collecting the dividend.

But many times, a company will be facing serious, lasting problems, such as new, deep-pocketed competition, a major accounting scandal, or a high cash-burn rate. In such cases, a company may have to reduce or even eliminate its dividend, and even if it doesn't, its stock price could fall further, hurting investors. High-yield stocks demand some due diligence by would-be investors.

No. 3: A fat dividend may be tied to a more complicated security

It's also important to understand that there are different kinds of dividend-paying securities. Most of the time, it will be an ordinary public company offering a dividend payout. But sometimes, you'll be looking at a real estate investment trust (REIT), a company that owns lots of properties and collects lease payments from them. In exchange for some favorable tax treatment, REITs must pay out at least 90% of their income as dividends, so they do tend to sport generous yields.

Then there are preferred stocks, which work a little differently than common stock. They tend to appreciate more slowly but will pay out more in dividends. And should the company enter bankruptcy, they'll be ahead of common stockholders when any remaining assets are distributed.

Master limited partnerships, or MLPs, are another kind of security that tend to have hefty dividend yields. They have a certain kind of legal structure that permits greater cash flow, but come tax time, MLP dividend income can be taxed at higher rates than ordinary dividend income and you'll likely need to receive and report a K-1 tax form, too. Be sure to read up on any special kind of stock you're interested in.

We see some file folders in a drawer, and the front one's tab is labeled dividends.

Image source: Getty Images.

No. 4: All dividends need to be sustainable

It's great if you find a delightfully large dividend yield tied to an appealing business, but don't assume that all is good based on that information alone. You need to be sure that the dividend is sustainable -- and ideally, that it has room for growth. Enter the payout ratio.

The payout ratio is simply the amount of the company's annual dividend divided by its annual earnings per share (EPS). If a company is paying out $2 annually in dividends and its EPS over the past year is also $2, that's a payout ratio of 100%, meaning that the company is paying out all its earnings as dividends. That can seem great, but it gives the company no breathing room if earnings shrink or it wants to do something else with that money, such as hire more people, buy more advertising, or buy another company. Ideally, a company will have a payout ratio near or below, say, 60% or so. Be wary of ratios near or above 100%.

Cast an eye at the company's cash flow, too, because earnings per share are more of an accounting-based measure and can be manipulated more than cash flow. Ultimately, a company's dividend payments are coming from its cash flow, so you want to see ample flow. In some cases, a payout ratio may be steep, but a look at cash flow will be reassuring.

No. 5: Dividend growth is important, too

Don't just seek big yields. Yes, all things being equal, the bigger the yield, the better. But all things are rarely equal. So when you're seeking dividends for your portfolio, favor solid dividend growth.

Imagine, for example, two companies: ABC Inc. and XYZ Co. ABC has a fat yield of 6%, while XYZ is only yielding 3%. ABC might seem like the better investment, but if its payout is growing very slowly, while XYZ's payout grows briskly, XYZ's payout and dividend yield might outstrip ABC's over the long run.

In case you're not yet convinced that dividend growth really matters, consider this: The folks at Ned Davis Research studied the dividend payers in the S&P 500 index from 1972 through 2017 -- a whopping 46 years. They found that, while the overall index averaged annual gains of 7.7% during that period, dividend payers averaged 9.25%. They also found that it wasn't just enough to pay a dividend: Dividend payers that weren't busy upping their payouts only averaged 7.5%, while those companies that either started paying a dividend or boosted it regularly averaged 10.1%.

Here are some familiar dividend payers and their recent five-year dividend growth rates:

Stock

Recent Dividend Yield

Five-Year Dividend Growth Rate

Apple

1.7%

9.2%

Verizon Communications

4.5%

2.6%

Boeing

2.03%

23%

Starbucks

2.1%

6.7%

Microsoft 

1.7%

10.4%

3M

2.9%

16.5%

Pfizer 

3.4%

6.7%

Source: Yahoo! Financial and author calculations.

Armed with the information above, go ahead and consider adding dividend-paying stocks to your portfolio. Don't be afraid of ones with very high yields, but take a closer look at each such contender to see why its payout is so rich -- and favor dividends that are being increased regularly and significantly.

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Top 5 High Tech Stocks For 2019

tags:ISIL,CAPL,TCI,KHC,DWSN,

Shares of Allahabad Bank and Canara Bank rose 2-3 percent intraday Thursday on the bank of capital raising plan.

The Allahabad Bank at its annual general meeting held on June 27 2018 approved raising of Rs 1,900 crore equity capital of the bank through QIP, FPO, rights issue or in combination thereof.

Canara Bank at it board meeting approved to raise about Rs 1,000 crore through employee stock purchase scheme.

Out of total capital raising plan of Rs 7,000 crore for the year 2018-19, the board has decided to raise equity share capital upto Rs 60 crore ( upto 6 crore equity shares with face value of Rs10 each), through Canara Bank Employee Share Purchase Scheme amounting to a maximum of Rs 1000 crore (including premium).

The capital is to be raised in one or more tranches subject to mandatory/regulatory approvals from the GoI/SEBI/Other regulatory agencies.

Top 5 High Tech Stocks For 2019: Intersil Corporation(ISIL)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Media stories about Intersil (NASDAQ:ISIL) have trended somewhat positive this week, Accern reports. The research firm identifies positive and negative press coverage by reviewing more than twenty million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Intersil earned a media sentiment score of 0.05 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave headlines about the semiconductor company an impact score of 46.0713234548749 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the next several days.

Top 5 High Tech Stocks For 2019: CrossAmerica Partners LP(CAPL)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Shane Hupp]

    B. Riley set a $25.00 target price on Crossamerica Partners (NYSE:CAPL) in a research note published on Wednesday. The firm currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on CrossAmerica Partners (CAPL)

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

  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    CrossAmerica Partners (NYSE:CAPL) – Research analysts at Jefferies Group reduced their FY2018 earnings estimates for CrossAmerica Partners in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 9th. Jefferies Group analyst C. Mandeville now forecasts that the oil and gas company will earn $0.24 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $0.32. Jefferies Group currently has a “Buy” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Group also issued estimates for CrossAmerica Partners’ Q1 2019 earnings at $0.07 EPS, Q2 2019 earnings at $0.13 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.14 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $0.42 EPS.

  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    CrossAmerica Partners (NYSE:CAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The oil and gas company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. CrossAmerica Partners had a return on equity of 4.73% and a net margin of 0.84%. The company had revenue of $552.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $572.48 million. sell-side analysts anticipate that CrossAmerica Partners will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Crossamerica Partners (CAPL)

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

Top 5 High Tech Stocks For 2019: Transcontinental Realty Investors, Inc.(TCI)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    News stories about Transcontinental Realty Investors (NYSE:TCI) have been trending somewhat positive recently, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. Accern identifies negative and positive news coverage by analyzing more than 20 million news and blog sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Transcontinental Realty Investors earned a daily sentiment score of 0.05 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news headlines about the real estate investment trust an impact score of 48.5554072096128 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near term.

Top 5 High Tech Stocks For 2019: The Kraft Heinz Company(KHC)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Paul Ausick]

    Excluding the company’s stake in Kraft Heinz Co. (NYSE: KHC), its top five holdings at the end of last year were as follows:

    American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP): a 17.6% stake valued at $15 billion with a cost basis of $1.3 billion Phillips 66 Co. (NYSE: PSX): a 14.9% stake valued at $7.5 billion and a cost basis of $5.8 billion Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO): a 12.9% stake valued at $3.6 billion with a cost basis of $248 million Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC): a 9.9% stake valued at $29.3 billion and a cost basis of $11.8 billion Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO): a 9.4% stake valued at $18.4 billion with a cost basis of $1.2 billion

    The following are a few of Buffett’s comments from the letter.

  • [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

    It hasn't been a good year so far for Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) shareholders. The stock shed 19% through the first six months of 2018 compared to a 2% uptick in the S&P 500, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

  • [By Shane Hupp]

    Gamco Investors INC. ET AL decreased its stake in shares of Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 569,395 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,807 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Kraft Heinz were worth $24,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

  • [By Money Morning Staff Reports]

    Finally, J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) has hiked its dividend from $0.78 to $0.85 per share. That's a 9% bump and represents the 17th year in a row that the company has hiked its dividend. The company is also starting to look like a potential takeover target for firms like Kraft-Heinz Co. (NYSE: KHC). SJM is also in our "Buy Zone."

Top 5 High Tech Stocks For 2019: Dawson Geophysical Company(DWSN)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Max Byerly]

    Dawson Geophysical (NASDAQ:DWSN) was downgraded by equities researchers at ValuEngine from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Dawson Geophysical (NASDAQ:DWSN) was upgraded by stock analysts at TheStreet from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

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Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NYSE:TEVA) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 13, 2019 8:00 a.m. ET

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

Operator

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to today's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited fourth-quarter 2018 results conference call. [Operator instructions] I must remind you that this conference is being recorded today, Wednesday, the 13th of February 2019. And I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Mr.

Kevin Mannix, senior vice president, investor relations. Please go ahead.

Kevin Mannix -- Senior Vice President, Investor Relations

Thank you, operator. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today to discuss Teva's fourth quarter and full-year 2018 financial results. We hope you've had an opportunity to review our earnings press release, which was issued earlier this morning. A copy of this press release as well as a copy of the slides being presented on this call can be found on our website at www.tevapharm.com as well as through our Teva Investor Relations app.

Please note that the discussion on today's call includes certain non-GAAP measures as defined by the SEC. Management uses both GAAP financial measures and the disclosed non-GAAP financial measures internally to evaluate and manage the company's operations to better understand its business. Further, management believes the inclusion of non-GAAP financial measures provides meaningful supplementary information and facilitates analysis by investors in evaluating the company's financial performance, results of operations and trends. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures is available in our earnings release and in today's presentation.

To begin today's call, Kare Schultz, Teva's chief executive officer, will provide an overview of the 2018 performance, recent events and priorities going forward. Our Chief Financial Officer Mike McClellan, will follow-up by reviewing the fourth-quarter financial results in more detail, before providing an overview of Teva's 2019 financial outlook. Joining Kare and Mike on the call today is Brendan O'Grady, Teva's head of North America, Commercial, who will be available during the question-and-answer session that will follow the presentation. Please note that today's earnings call will run approximately one hour.

And with that, I'll now turn the call over to Kare. Kare, if you would, please.

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

Welcome everybody, and thank you for listening in. In 2018, we did meet or exceed all the components of our 2018 financial guidance. This meant that our revenues came in at $18.9 billion, and we did see a stabilization of the quarterly sales between the third and the fourth quarter. Our non-GAAP EPS came out at $2.92 versus the original guidance, which was significantly lower.

The free cash flow also met the guidance and came in at $3.7 billion. And as you all know, it's important that we keep generating cash in order to serve the debt that is still significant. We deployed a new and unified and simplified organizational structure as a way to reduce the spend base and still keep a very efficient, commercial organization, manufacturing organization and R&D organization. We did see the reduction of the spend base of $2.2 billion in 2018.

And we also saw a reduction of the net debt by 14%, down to $27.1 billion. In the United States, we launched AJOVY. We had approval, we had launch, and we are seeing a very, very strong development in the marketplace that we are very satisfied with. We are also seeing continuous strong growth of AUSTEDO, a drop that's been used in Huntington's disease and tardive dyskinesia, and it continues to gain momentum quarter by quarter.

On COPAXONE, we did see a decline as expected, but we are maintaining a high volume share in the U.S. and European markets. And in the North American generic market, we did see revenue stabilizing, which is significant since we have had a significant decline in the overall North American generic market over the last five years. And we talked about this already after the third quarter that we were seeing a stabilization.

I mentioned it in January at JP Morgan, and I can confirm it again today that we are seeing stabilization in the total revenues at around the level of roughly USD 1 billion per quarter for our North American generic revenues. If we take a look at the spend base, then you probably all remember that a bit more than a year ago when we announced the restructuring plan, we made it very simplistic. We said what was the total spend we had in 2017, we are going to reduce that with $3 billion, and we will do it no matter what happens to exchange rates compared to all kind of details, to make it simple. Now we are well on the way to do that.

We had a gross reduction of $2.3 billion and then we had $0.1 billion of foreign exchange headwind. But as I said, no matter what the exchange rates are, we will meet the target and reduce the spend base in 2019 by $3 billion. This, of course, has not come by easy. I already mentioned the one set of plan where we're unifying all our different functions into a classical functional organization.

As a consequence of this, we've been able to reduce the total manning of the company by more than 10,000 employees since we started the restructuring plan. We've also been reducing the remanufacturing footprint. And in 2018, we have been closing seven manufacturing facilities and 11 more will be closed or divested in 2019. If we take a look at the net debt, there has been a couple significant movements.

First of all, as you probably remember, last spring, we did a new issuance. We used the proceeds from the new issuance and from our cash flow to pay down all term loans, meaning that we don't have any term loans, any bank loans right now. And we also moved some of the bonds into a longer maturity. The net effect of all of this was a reduction of the debt by $4.4 billion.

If we now turn to, you could say, the future growth drivers, then AJOVY is, of course, a key driver. As you all know, AJOVY is a drug in the new class of drugs that treat chronic migraine with fantastic clinical efficacy, basically reducing the number of migraine days on average by 50%, in some cases up 75% to 100% reduction of migraine days. So this is really a fantastic offering to patients. First time in 20 years that there is a real new therapy for migraine.

We are in this class together with two competitors, and we are very satisfied with the patient capture we see. We see that we roughly now capture around 30% of neutral brain patients, and we hope, of course, to be able to maintain this level going forward. A lot of new prescribers are coming every month, and we expect to grow the prescriber base on a steady basis over the coming years. So AJOVY is very important for our future growth, and we are very optimistic about the outlook.

Another strong driver is AUSTEDO. And as I said, it's having a high market share in Huntington's disease, in movement disorders in Huntington's, but it's also growing strongly in tardive dyskinesia. We have one competitor that's also in tardive dyskinesia and this is a new market where there's basically been really no therapy approved before AUSTEDO and the competing product. So here we are sort of opening up a new market.

And it's a big market, probably 0.5 million people in the U.S. suffer from tardive dyskinesia. So we do expect the patient numbers to keep on growing over many years, and as a consequence of this, we do expect, of course, also that the revenues of AUSTEDO will keep on growing. In '18, we exceeded the target we had of $200 million, and this is, of course, to keep growing going forward.

If we move to the drag we've had on our revenues for the last year. Then all of you know, that it's COPAXONE, that's the key drag and that the drag is coming due to the expiry of the patent and the fact that we have generic competition, both on the 20-milligram since a couple of years and now also on the 40-milligram. If you look at the TRx count, you will see that on a sort of moving annual total, we're probably losing around 20% of the scripts. And if you look at the revenue, you can then detect that we're probably losing on pricing something in the ballpark of 25%, altogether around 40% on an ongoing basis.

We expect this to continue at a similar level during 2019. And as a consequence of that we will, of course, have a reduction in revenue on COPAXONE. It's important to say that outside of the U.S., we have a more stable situation. We do have a modest decline in Europe, but it's a lot less than what we're seeing in the U.S.

And we're very happy to conclude that we still, at the end of the year, had something like 75% volume share. Of course, this will be somewhat reduced during '19 and again in '20. If we look at our focus areas, then a key focus is, of course, to secure the revenue generation. I just explained about AJOVY and AUSTEDO, and we have, of course, not removed the resources during the reorganization from those products, which is probably why they're doing so well in the marketplace.

It's also important to mention that we are also going to launch AJOVY in Europe, and that we are also working on broadening the geographical base for AUSTEDO. And I think, I'll just mention here, talking about Europe, that worth mentioning is where we've had a lot of headwinds in the U.S. in the last couple of years on COPAXONE and generics. Actually, Europe had its best year ever in terms of operating profit for Teva in 2018.

We're seeing a stabilization of the generic business, but of course, as always, it only stabilizes as long as you execute new launches that offset the price loss you have on old products, but that's what we're seeing right now and what we are striving to maintain. We continue to have a drag on revenue from COPAXONE and from the ProAir HFA franchise where we do see authorized generics being launched. On the expense side, we will have to keep on reducing our total spend. That's why we are having plans to meet the target of a $3 billion reduction versus 2017.

We continue to consolidate our manufacturing sites by closing and divesting some sites and moving production to other sites that continue to be in operation. We do have a lot of sites, and we also have sometimes challenges with GMP inspections and making sure that we have perfect compliance and quality, which is, of course, what we strive for. Right now, we have had an inspection last year in a site in Florida, Davie, where we recently got a warning letter, which was expected and we're working to rectify, and we don't see it having any short-term negative effect on our business. We are targeting investments in our pipeline, we are targeting investments in biopharmaceuticals and biosimilars, and we are constantly optimizing our portfolio of both generic and innovative development projects.

On the debt side, we are committed to utilizing our cash to pay down debt and to continue to do so over the coming years. We have $1.7 billion that's scheduled for repayment in 2019. And we will have no liquidity issues with paying down net debt as we will also not have in the coming years. So basically, we have a financial outlook that is completely in line with the overall plan that we created more than a year ago.

This is a trough year as we are being saying for -- yes, well, since the beginning of the plan. This is the year where we bottom out on revenue and operating profit. And in 2020, we expect to return to growth and continue to do so in the coming years, based on the launches of the new products. We have set out three long-term financial targets, and I like to explain just briefly why these are the most important targets for the successful financial performance of our company.

First of all, we need to generate a solid earnings on a long-term basis, and the only way to do that is to have strong operating income margin. Right now, we are below the 27%, but in the coming years, we will be improving it. It's a combination of improving, you could say, manufacturing cost for generics by optimizing our manufacturing base and getting the margin lift from launching new and innovative products that typically have a higher margin than generics. When we then generate the income, we need a high level of cash to earnings in order to have the cash to honor our debt.

That's why the cash to earnings need to be above 80%, which we will ensure in the coming years, and of course, one of the ways to ensure that is that you don't go out and buy a lot of stuff, a lot of things, a lot of companies. We'll be focused on optimizing our own business rather than adding new businesses to it. And as a consequence of these two targets, we will be able to reduce our net debt, and we do have a target here that we will have a net debt, which will be below three times EBITDA, and we expect to reach that within these three to five years. It goes without saying that we are committed to pay down the debt, and we do not have any plans to raise equity.

Now having talked about the financial targets, I will now hand over to our CFO, Mike McClellan.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Kare. Good morning to everyone. I will now take you through the summary of the Q4, a brief snapshot on the 2018 results and then follow with our 2019 guidance and important assumptions there. We start with a review of our GAAP performance.

We posted a quarterly GAAP net loss of approximately $2.9 billion and a loss per share on a GAAP basis of $2.85 for the fourth-quarter 2018. As I'll detail in the following slides, the GAAP results were impacted mainly by impairment charges and recurring amortization. So if we turn to the next slide, you can see here our non-GAAP adjustments. In Q4, we saw a significant goodwill and intangible impairments of approximately $2.7 billion, mainly related to the international markets coming from a decline of value driven by currency declines as well as negative trends in Japan, Russia and Mexico.

Also, we see other impairments of approximately $1 billion. A large percentage of this is tied to also to Japan related to our Takayama plant and our long-listed products. We also have seen a revaluation of intangibles in international markets, U.S. and EU, primarily from the Actavis acquisition.

Restructuring charges of $46 million in the quarter were significantly lower than the first three quarters of 2018, as the majority of the actions have already been reported. So looking at our non-GAAP performance on Slide 15. Quarterly revenues were $4.6 billion, a decrease of 16% compared to Q4 2017. That decrease was mainly attributable to generic competition to COPAXONE in the U.S., declines in U.S.

generic products and business divestments of approximately $140 million, the majority of which pertain to the Women's Health and the remaining was a distribution business in Europe. This was partially offset by new launches in the U.S., mainly Generic Sensipar and Cialis as well as our brands AUSTEDO and our Anda business. Compared to Q4 2017, we experienced a negative FX impact of $100 million quarter-on-quarter. Net of the FX, revenues in Q4 2018 decreased 14%.

Gross margin was 51.1% compared to 50.9% in Q4 2017. The change in gross margin was driven by an increase in our European generics profitability, the discontinuation of our OTC JV with Procter & Gamble and higher contribution from new generic launches in North America. This was partially offset by the decline in share and profit of COPAXONE and various specialty products in the U.S. as well as the divestiture of our Women's Health business, which had a higher gross margin.

Operating profit declined 32% compared to Q4 2017. The decrease is mainly attributable to the decline in revenues and the loss of profit from divestitures and discontinued activities. We ended with a non-GAAP EPS of $0.53, which declined $0.41 from Q4 2017 due to the decrease in operating income, partially offset by a lower tax rate. We'll talk a bit more about the trends in revenue and cash flow later in the presentation.

So turning to Slide 16. As we guided in November, exchange rate movements continue to be a headwind on our revenues in the fourth quarter. We see that the exchange rate movements during the fourth quarter of 2018 had a negative impact of $100 million, while the impact on operating profits was much more modest. The main currencies relevant to our operations decreased and value against the U.S.

dollar were the euro, Argentinian peso, Turkish lira and Russian ruble. Turning to Slide 17. We'll take a look at some of the revenue trends that we've been seeing through the different segments in the last quarters. Our North American generic business had its strongest quarter of the year, supported by the launch of Generic Sensipar and the ongoing exclusive launch of generic Cialis.

COPAXONE saw its largest sequential quarterly drop as the pace of generic erosion picked up as well as the reserve taken for the 2019 pricing impacts on trade inventories. ProAir revenues in 2018 Q4 decreased by 21% compared to 2017, mainly due to the reserve taken in the fourth quarter for utilization shifts in usage and potential return risks, following generic competition to the short-acting beta antagonist class of drugs, including an approved generic version of Ventolin HFA, and we have launched our own ProAir authorized generic to select customers in January of 2019. QVAR in the U.S. dropped down to $9 million in the fourth quarter due to net pricing adjustments.

Revenues in Europe and in our International Markets were relatively flat compared to the third quarter of 2018. And I'll address both of these markets in a few minutes when I review our assumption for 2019. Turning to Slide 18. Free cash flow for the quarter was $522 million, a decrease of $181 million -- or $182 million versus Q3 2018, primarily due to lower net income, a higher level of legal settlements and AJOVY launch milestone payments.

For the full-year 2018, free cash flow was $3.7 billion, which benefited from $1 billion in onetime items in Q1, attributable to the working capital adjustment with Allergan and the legal settlement with Rimsa, which we've mentioned in the previous quarters. So if we turn to Slide 19, we will see the full-year 2018 performance as well as the guidance development for the year. Despite expected headwinds, we were able to exceed our initial guidance. Our business benefited especially from lower-than-expected erosion of COPAXONE as well as our continuing efforts to reduce expenses and tax rate favorability.

So turning to Slide 19. We will now present some of the main assumptions for our 2019 outlook, which can also be found in this morning's press release. The most notable assumption is our global COPAXONE revenues, which we expect to decline by approximately $900 million versus the full year of 2018, mainly in the U.S., but we're also seeing in Europe competition due to the introduction of competing products putting pressure on prices. A few slides ago, I spoke about ProAir and the drop we saw in the fourth quarter, we expect 2019 sales to be significantly below 2018 due to the introduction of generic albuterol products, somewhat offset by our own launch of an authorized generic version of ProAir.

We expect AJOVY to grow nicely in 2019 to approximately $150 million in sales based on the momentum we've seen since our initial launch last September. We also see AUSTEDO growing to approximately $250 million in sales in 2019. Turning to our generics businesses, we see a slight decline in North America due to erosion in volume declines, offset by our new launches. In Europe, we expect sales will be impacted by our continuing efforts to optimize our portfolio, the full-year effect of the OTC JV dissolution and continued currency headwinds.

In our international generics, we will see pressure on 2019 sales from the adverse impact in Japan due to the national health insurance price revision as well as from the continued erosion of long-listed products. These are products that have lost market exclusivity through the expiration of patent protection and data exclusivity periods. International Markets will also be continued to be impacted by currency headwinds. On Slide 21, we'll continue with our assumptions for 2019, including the impact of foreign exchange, which we expect to negatively impact sales, mainly in the EU and in International Markets by $300 million and operating profit by $100 million versus our 2018 full-year results.

And on this slide, I'd also like to highlight other income, which we expect to -- will significantly decline from the 2018 year total of approximately $200 million. So now turning to our financial outlook for 2019. Based on the assumptions I just reviewed, we expect total 2019 revenues to be between $17 billion and $17.4 billion. With the completion of our cost-reduction program, we expect non-GAAP operating income to be between $3.8 billion and $4.2 billion, while EBITDA is expected to be between $4.4 billion and $4.8 billion.

Using a share count of approximately 1.1 billion shares, we expect earnings per share to be in the range of $2.20 to $2.50. Lastly, 2019 free cash flow is expected to be in the range of $1.6 billion to $2 billion. This now concludes my presentation. We will now open up the call for questions and answers.

Operator, if you'd please ask the first question.

Questions and Answers:

Operator

Thank you. Our first question comes from the line of Jason Gerberry. Your line is open.

Jason Gerberry -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Hi, good morning and thank you for taking my questions. I guess, just first question on 2020. Can you talk a little bit about how you drive return to growth? There is still pretty fair amount of COPAXONE in the '19 number. So if you can just talk a little bit about how you see broader return to growth? And then secondly, just on QVAR, consensus for '19 is about $227 million, 4Q sales are analyzing at about $35 million.

So just can you provide a little bit of color on how you're thinking about QVAR in '19? Thanks.

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

Yes. Thanks for those two questions. I'll address the 2020 and then Brendan will give you some color to -- what's been happening with QVAR. So you would say, if you oversimplify the situation, then you can say, as you mentioned, there is a drag on revenue or pressure on revenue from continued reduction in COPAXONE sales.

And let's just assume that they're dropping at around 45%, that means that the absolute drag per year goes down. So whereas we had a big drop this year, we will have a smaller drop in terms of absolute drop in the current year, and again, next year, it will be smaller again. Now that drop is being offset by the growth of new products, the growth of AUSTEDO, the growth of AJOVY and the growth in all of our business in terms of new generic launches. So if you look at that total balance, then it's pretty clear that this year, they're small, being lost on COPAXONE than is being gained on AUSTEDO and AJOVY and so on.

Whereas in 2020, we'll get to a balance where we believe that at the end of the year, we will see that we are significantly growing more than we are losing and that would lead to a marginal growth in revenue and operating profit in 2020. And then once you get into 2021, of course, the loss on COPAXONE is getting close to zero and that means we get the full benefit of the continued growth of AUSTEDO, AJOVY and other products worldwide. So that was on the 2020. On QVAR, Brendan, could you comment on what we've seen with QVAR and what we expect going forward?

Brendan O'Grady -- Head of North America, Commercial

Yes, sure. And good morning, Jason. So with QVAR, obviously, last year, we transitioned from the MDI product to the RediHaler product, and that transition occurred in the pipe during the first quarter. And it took a little bit longer for the MDI to lean through the system, and so you saw some prior period adjustments, which is why the net sales ticked down throughout the year.

In the fourth quarter, we got significant Medicaid claims that came in which further impacted the net sales, but we do see QVAR share returning to about 22%, which is a very good share for QVAR. And if we continue to hold that share throughout the year, you'll see QVAR in that range of $227 million or so as you had noted.

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

Next question, please.

Operator

The next question comes from the line of David Maris. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

David Maris -- Wells Fargo -- Analyst

Good morning. Mike, maybe a broad question. When you look at the Street assumptions of, I don't know, $600 million or $800 million more in EBITDA for 2019 versus your current or your new guidance, where do you see the largest difference? And then separately, were there any expenses that were maybe worked up in 2018 other than maybe a little bit of AUSTEDO or AJOVY expenses that aren't being repeated? And what's the scale of the -- what were the scale of those expenses? Thanks.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So I'd take a little bit of a stab at where see differences versus the Street expectations. We did mention some of these headwinds in our presentation at JP Morgan. I think our COPAXONE is a little bit below what the expectations are.

Definitely ProAir, we saw in January that there was a launch of an authorized generic to one of our competitors, and we have to look at this class as being generically written for almost majority of the script. So that's causing a big change, and we see a significant decline coming there. I think we also see that we are going to meet the $3 billion cost-saving target, but I think some of the expectations we would go even a little bit further than that. And then, again, we don't have a repeat of this other income that was out there in 2018 and that's putting a little bit of a pressure.

So I think, those are the main things. And you combine that with the currency impact, we've seen that in the second half of 2018 and we see that continuing into '19 being a continued pressure and when we look at some of the external models, I don't think the same effect as come through as strong as we see it. So those are the main things. In terms of expenses, we did see a rather flat operating expenses, Q4 versus Q4.

But you have to remember that in Q4 of 2017 we actually had a period where we reversed the year-to-date bonuses as we did not pay '17 bonus in '18. So the Q4 last year was little a bit artificially deflated. We're still on a good path, but the majority of the actions have been taken out, and we will start to see the spend base in the second half of '19 start to stabilize with the first -- after the -- some decline in the first half. So those are the things that I see.

Any other points you want to ask we can take from there?

David Maris -- Wells Fargo -- Analyst

No. I think I guess, just as a follow-up on the pointed guidance. I've gotten a number of emails already that say, "OK, well, this just seems sandbagged." And so the stock is down 12% premarket. Just kind of your thoughts on guidance, conservatism, and how conservative do you think this is on the low end? What could go wrong that would get you to that low end?

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

So in terms of the overall guidance, guidance in my mind needs to be realistic and conservative. It's not a sort of average gain where if you get it right every second time, then it's fine. So you can't come out with the guidance that you will meet 50-50. So you need to have some credibility and some assurance that you can meet your guidance.

And I think that's very important when we discuss it. It's also important that you are in a range of what can realistically happen and that you have a downward part of your guidance that covers if most things goes wrong. And you could say there's a lot of moving parts here, we just talked about some of them. You never know how fast the product goes generic.

We are assuming that COPAXONE stays on the current trend, it could go faster, it could go slower. You never know how fast you ramp up a product when you have two competitors, AJOVY could go better, AJOVY could go worse. So you have a lot of moving parts. And then when you give a guidance, you take a educated estimate of all these moving parts and you explain the assumptions you have, and then, of course, if someone's assumptions turn out to be worse or better, that affects the actual result, but that's why we explain the assumptions in our guidance.

Next question, please.

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Louise Chen. Please go ahead.

Louise Chen -- Cantor Fitzgerald -- Analyst

Hi. Thanks for taking my questions here. Quite a few. My first question was that you noted 2019 as your trough year.

So how should we think about the upward inflection in 2019? Can you give us a sense of the magnitude even if it's just qualitative? And then the second thing is, what do you include in your guidance for 2019 in margins in the U.S. and outside the U.S. for generics? And then, just last year in terms of longer vision for Teva, is a brand of the generics, what are you focused on going forward after this trough period? Thank you.

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

So I think, Mike, if you take the first question, and Brendan, take the second, and I'll take the last one.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So we do see 2019 as the trough at this point. We will see a return to revenue growth in 2020, and I would expect as well an operating profit growth. But we're probably talking single digits into 2020 and then starting to accelerate beyond there.

We still have potential drag in 2020 depending on how the BENDEKA situation in the U.S. turns out. So that's a little bit of a wild card in that. And then, of course, currencies could be positive or negative versus the 2019 depending on how the markets develop.

Brendan O'Grady -- Head of North America, Commercial

And so in regard to new generic launches for 2019, I think we see 2019 shaping up very well potentially. Of course, any new generic launches are a mix of legal, technical and regulatory success, but you never really know where that's going to play out, but we do have some significant launches planned for 2019. So I think that overall, we should see a fairly good year as far as new generic launches go.

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

In longer-term as for 2019, our vision is to be and continue to be leaders in generics worldwide and to build a strong pipeline and have success in biopharmaceuticals, meaning in both biosimilars and innovative biologics. And you could say, if you want to look at what's then coming, then, of course, there is the rollout of AJOVY worldwide with the European launches coming out this year and rest of the world in the coming years. There is an exciting development project that we have together with Regeneron on pain therapy and if fasinumab turns out -- come out with good safety data and gets approved, then that's an exciting possibility to put people on a non-addicted pain therapy, which will be really, really good. And this is a product we will be together with Regeneron, then launching both in the U.S.

and worldwide. So there is a lot of exciting things happening. We have a broad pipeline also of biosimilars that we'll be launching in the coming years. So it will be in those areas of continued leadership in generics, both simple and complex generics and then biopharmaceuticals.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. And to add to the 2019-2020 point, we would see the inflection actually starting in the back half of 2019 through the quarterly progression.

Louise Chen -- Cantor Fitzgerald -- Analyst

OK. Thank you.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Next question?

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Greg Gilbert. Your line is open.

Greg Gilbert -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Thanks. Two points of clarification on 2019 guidance on a couple potentially material items. One is, how are you treating the generic risk to TREANDA and whether and when that happens? And on the positive side, are you confident launching or you are assuming you are launching generic Forteo later in the year? And then, Kare, I certainly understand why you don't want the company to spend cash flow and operational time on large acquisitions. What about licensing deals or smaller bolt-ons that will help further your franchises, particularly on the branded side? Do you have flexibility to do that? And are you focused on that? Thank.

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

OK. So I suggest that Mike, if you cover TREANDA, Brendan cover Forteo, and then I'll answer the last question.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So our guidance doesn't include a material impact from TREANDA generics because it's not likely they'll launch before the very late part of 2019. So there is just a minor impact. If we do see that the orphan drug exclusivity for BENDEKA keeps the TREANDA generics off the market, there could be a slight upside to what we put forward in 2019, but we don't expect it to be material.

That is actually being handled by our partner, Eagle, as it is their marketing authorization for BENDEKA from, and we're not directly involved in the legal discussion there.

Brendan O'Grady -- Head of North America, Commercial

In regards to Forteo, it is in the second half of the year as per our plan. If it continues to proceed as anticipated, we have it appropriately risk-adjusted in the new overall numbers, but it continues to move along.

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

In terms of acquisitions, you're absolutely right, we have no plans of doing any significant acquisitions of any kind. We spend the money basically on reducing our debt. However, we do, of course, fill the pipeline on an ongoing basis, and of course, we are doing business development work in early in-licensing ensuring that we can get early ideas in that can support our biopharmaceutical pipeline going forward. And of course, we are also open to local deals on complex generics, all the opportunities that might arise that makes sense.

So it's not that we are not active in the business development area, it's just not big corporate deals, it's a specific product in-licensing, we're talking about.

Greg Gilbert -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Thank you.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Next question.

Operator

The next question comes from the line of Chris Schott. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Chris Schott -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Great. Thanks very much. Just had a couple questions on AJOVY, if I could. I guess, the first was, can you just update us at this point on your expectations for gross to net for the drug? And how we should be thinking about the amount of free product that's been provided in the market? I'm just trying to get a better sense of how to ramp the 4Q sales we just saw relative to the 2019 outlook for that drug.

And then second question on the same topic, you've obviously seen a very strong uptake so far for the product. But can you just talk about the impacts that you see from being, I think, you're nonpreferred on two of the national formularies, how does that factor into how you're thinking of the competitive landscape for the product at this point? Thank you.

Brendan O'Grady -- Head of North America, Commercial

So just a little bit on the gross to net. So as AJOVY continues to evolve throughout the year and as we get to '19, one of the things that I think is important to keep in mind is that payer access is going to continue to be fluid. A lot of the discussions are still ongoing. There is payers that made decisions early in the fourth quarter of 2018.

They're going to look at it again in early 2019. I think you'll see some decisions that will change in mid-2019. So I don't think the payer landscape really solidifies until probably 2020. And of course, when you have three products like this that all have very similar efficacy, all launched at the same time, it makes for a rather aggressive payer environment.

So it will continue to be fluid. I think that we have discussions ongoing with many of the payers currently. I think that some of the announcements that have come out there are still discussions that are ongoing. We are not really excluded anywhere.

So this is all the balance and you need to balance the access with the appropriate amount of discount in gross to net. So I would say that as you look at AJOVY today, we have about 60% coverage in the commercial sector, which I think is fairly good. We continue to add plans throughout the first quarter. We've got some wins just recently.

And overall, I think that we'll have the appropriate access that we need to hit the number that we're looking to hit, which I think Mike communicated earlier, around $150 million.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Next question?

Operator

The next question comes from the line of Randall Stanicky. Your line is open.

Randall Stanicky -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst

Great. Thanks. Kare, are you guys still committed to net leverage below four times by the end of 2020? And the reason I ask is because wouldn't that imply a notable step up toward $5 billion in EBITDA, if that's the case. And then secondly, can you just comment on the U.S.

generic gross margin? How much of a step up or a ramp are we going to see from that, the pruning of $400 million in unprofitable revenue there? I would think, should add several hundred basis points to the U.S. gross margin. Can you just confirm if that's the case? Maybe give some directional color going forward. Thanks.

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

So your first question, on the four times net debt-to-EBITDA at the end of 2020, you're absolutely right that it takes a bit of strong performance in 2020 to get to that at the end of 2020. So I won't be able to tell you firmly that we will for sure hit it exactly at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020. It could be that it's slightly later. What's most important is, of course, our long-term financial target, which is three times, so going below three times net debt-to-EBITDA, and we'll be progressing toward that over the next three to five years.

There'll be no change in our strategy. So the exact timing remains to be seen, but the key important driver is that we are driving toward the constant debt reduction over the coming years. When it comes to the gross margin, then you would say when you look at the total picture, which is, I guess, what you can see in the numbers, then we have a drag on the gross margin from COPAXONE sales being reduced. The fact that we are reducing the price and the volume of this high-margin product means that there is a negative effect on our gross margin.

We've seen a positive effect on our generics, which goes the other way, and we will continue to see a marginal positive effect on our U.S. generics margin in the coming years.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. And if I could add to the debt question. First of all, we expect to pay down the $1.7 billion maturities in July through operating cash flow and cash on hand. We're not expecting to refinance.

And second, we are actively starting discussions with our core banking group to look at reshaping our revolving credit facility to get out in front of getting it to the 12-month window being current. So we're working on that, and we hope to conclude on that in early 2019.

Randall Stanicky -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst

OK, great. Thanks, guys.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Next question?

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Vamil Divan. Your line is open.

Vamil Divan -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst

Great. Thanks so much for taking the question. Just maybe following up on the AJOVY commentary and questions. Just you mentioned Europe also is a target market here, and I know you saw some pushback from nice on Aimovig.

So just trying to think about what your expectations there are in terms of timing of launch and sort of the pace that we should expect there and also maybe net pricing as compared to what we're going to see in the U.S.? Thanks.

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

Thank you for that question. We are, of course, expecting to have the final EU approval very soon. We have positive opinion. So that means within two months, we will have the actual EU approval.

And the way you launch in Europe is really market by market and that's because not because you don't have the approval, but because you need reimbursement and reimbursement is, of course, something you settle with the governments, the healthcare systems in each of the countries. So what you will expect is in the markets where it's relatively easy to launch at a good and reasonable and fair price compared to the value of the product, you will see early launches. So this year, for instance, countries like some of the Scandinavian markets, countries like Germany, you will see us launching the product. In other countries, it might take negotiations for one to two years before you end up seeing the launch.

If we look at our competitors, then you could say that we have a situation here where the European pricing looks to be very similar to U.S. pricing, so we might actually end up with a situation where the net price per patient is higher in Europe than in the U.S., which would be a first, I guess, but that's how it's looking right now and the unmet need in Europe is huge. But however, you see it, it's a slower ramp up due to the fact that you have these prolonged negotiations, especially in the Southern European countries, but also in U.K. where you have local organizations even that you get into negotiations with.

So we will expect a solid and positive uptake, but with a slower ramp up than you see in the U.S., but with a good and healthy operating margin on the business.

Vamil Divan -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst

Thank you.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Next question?

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of David Amsellem. Your line is open.

David Amsellem -- Piper Jaffray -- Analyst

Thanks. Just a couple. So first, can you talk about this product specifications. One is on EpiPen and on the generic and how are you thinking about the ramp of that product? And how the market dynamics for that product will play out? And also wanted to circle back to Forteo.

I know it's in the guidance and risk-adjusted, but I did want to get your thoughts on the potential for other entrants and how crowded that market will be? This is more of a 2020 question and beyond, but wanted to get your thoughts on the extent to which that's going to be a sustainable stream of cash flows? Thanks.

Brendan O'Grady -- Head of North America, Commercial

OK. So David, thank you for the question. So let me -- I'll address EpiPen first and then I'll come to Forteo. As far as EpiPen goes, of course, the market is still in an overall shortage of epinephrine, and we're continuing to manufacture and build more supply.

I think you'll see us coming to a more normal supply by the end of the first quarter, early second quarter. And of course, then we launch or we'll have EpiPen Jr late second quarter in the June time frame. So we continue to build supply. It's getting better.

And we have it out there and it's available. So it's available for customers that they need to order it. And we are making nice progress on EpiPen. As it -- and your question around Forteo, we'll have to wait and see, Forteo is not an easy product to make, and we'll see who are the competitors coming to the market in 2020.

But overall, we feel pretty good about Forteo, and we feel pretty good about the runway that we have with it.

David Amsellem -- Piper Jaffray -- Analyst

OK. And then if I may sneak in just another one. In terms of other key launches that you're willing to call out, are there any that we should think about that should be on our radar this year or early next year sort of limited competition or exclusivity opportunities? Thanks.

Brendan O'Grady -- Head of North America, Commercial

Yes. I mean, I think, you can think of couple other ones. I think that Restasis is hopefully a launch for us this year. We'll see where we go with the FDA.

We're awaiting with FDA action on that product. So that could be a nice product as well as the other one would be NuvaRing that we're looking at as well this year.

David Amsellem -- Piper Jaffray -- Analyst

Thanks.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

All right. Next question, please.

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Ken Cacciatore. Your line is open.

Ken Cacciatore -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

Great. Thank you. Just wanted to ask back again on the AJOVY and AUSTEDO where you seem to be doing really well and performing very strongly. Just specifically on AJOVY, it's our understanding in talking to some consultants that Aimovig may be suffering from a bit of higher constipation than they originally expected.

So just wanted to understand in the marketplace right now how much you're benefiting from that? How big of an issue you think it is or what are you hearing from your sales force as they continue to market AJOVY? And then on AUSTEDO, maybe if you could break down the percentage HD versus TD at this point? And any nuance you can give us on potential dosing advantage? What's going on in the TD marketplace? Again, you seem to be showing nice acceleration for that product as well. Thank you.

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

Thanks for those questions, Ken. I'll give just an overall comment and then Brendan can give some more details. It's, of course, a well-known fact from the labeling and from the clinical trials that Aimovig has constipation as a safety issue and that's been documented. When it comes to anecdotal evidence, it's quite clear that it is, you could say, an unpleasant side effect on the type of side effects have.

And in a three-player game, where you have one product that has it and you have two projects that do not have it because they have a slight different mechanism of action, then long-term, I believe it will be a benefit for us that we don't have this negative side effect. It's difficult for us to comment on any specifics where you would -- because we don't have insight into the ongoing safety follow-up and database on that. But for sure, there is a product differentiation here, which we think will work to our benefit both in the U.S. and in the European market.

And then I also just like to say that on tardive dyskinesia, this is a brand-new marketplace and there has never been any drugs before to treat tardive dyskinesia. So it's a huge medical benefit that we are bringing to a lot of people, and I think it will be going for long time, but maybe Brendan, you can give some more details

Brendan O'Grady -- Head of North America, Commercial

Yes. So just a -- first a quick comment on AJOVY. So I think that everything that Kare said regarding AJOVY is, obviously, accurate. But the other part of it is that with three of these products launching in relative close proximity with Aimovig out first, I think when the other two were approved with AJOVY.

I think that practitioners and prescribers are going to look at some of the different products and going to use some of the different products to see how they actually result in the real world in patients and see if there are differences. We designed AJOVY or the launch of the AJOVY to make it really easy for physicians to use and access. So we put samples in the office. Of course, the prefilled syringe is a very simple way to inject the product.

So ultimately, we are very happy with the uptake there that we're seeing on AJOVY. And I think that our significant presence in the headache centers and with neurologists bodes well for our early success. So we're happy with where we are. We're going to continue the launch trajectory around AJOVY.

And we're very happy with what we're hearing back from physicians and patients regarding the overall effectiveness of the drug. As we talk about AUSTEDO, I'll just add that we launched AUSTEDO early first for Huntington's disease and then came in the market about six months later for tardive dyskinesia. And as Kare pointed out, that's a very underserved market and it's a very large market. So we're happy with the potential that we see for tardive dyskinesia.

We have significant sales force presence around that will continue to drive that indication in that market.

Ken Cacciatore -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

Thank you.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Next question, please.

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of David Risinger. Your line is open.

David Risinger -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Yes. Thanks very much. I have a couple questions. First, could you please comment on the international business outlook? It appears that the international business is performing worse than expected.

And I know that you have emphasized the U.S. stabilization, but I didn't hear you previously talk about international weakening. And then second, with respect to manufacturing, I think, Kare said that when you were -- when you had recently joined Teva, you said that if you started the company from scratch, you'd have 12 facilities globally. I think the company is targeting to be at about 65.

Could you help us understand why that won't go to 45? Thank you.

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

Thanks for those two questions. If we take the international business first, then it's correct that we are some headwind right now, which is what we have been reporting and what we have also included in our guidance. And I would say -- I would call out two key things. One is the pricing reforms in Japan.

The pricing reforms in Japan had led to a bigger drop in the price on what's called long-listed products. So these are kind of branded generics, you could say. And there is a tradition of high use of those in Japan, and the authorities are pushing down pricing on these products more than they've been doing until recently. So that's a negative.

Then there is the whole currency element where you could say there's a lot of markets in the International Markets, which have had significant weakening of their currencies. Countries like, for instance, Turkey and many Latin American countries have seen a weakening of the currencies. So you could say, it's really not the underlying volume, it's really not the underlying demand in the market that's causing us problems, it's these specifics on pricing and currency that is the main driver. On the manufacturing side, you quoted me absolutely correctly.

And of course, one thing is how you doing a greenfield thing, a thing most companies do not have a manufacturing setup, that is the same as they would do if they could do it from scratch. And that's definitely not the case for us. And we did start -- or we didn't start, but when I joined the company, we had around 80 manufacturing facilities. And as I mentioned today, we have closed seven and we're about to close a dozen more.

So we'll probably get down to around 60 at the end of the restructuring. But that, of course, doesn't mean that we won't do anymore going forward. But it's very complex when you close down existing facilities because you have all the regulatory approvals, have all the validations, sometimes you have specific equipment. So it takes time, but we will, of course, continue to consolidate and improve efficiencies in our manufacturing for the next many, many years.

But you will not see the same dramatic reduction as you see in the restructuring period. You will see a more modest reduction in the number of manufacturing sites, and you will see us striving to improve the gross margin of our generics business on a constant basis.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. Let me add one quick thing to the International Markets. There is about $50 million impact of divestments. We still had Women's Health sales in the first half of 2018, and we have divested recently the Teva adapter business, which was announced last week, that will be another about $30 million drag.

So overall, about $50 million is related to divestments of business.

David Risinger -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Thank you.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Next question, please.

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Ronny Gal. Your line is open.

Ronny Gal -- Bernstein -- Analyst

Good morning, everybody, and thank you for taking my questions. I have three, if I can sneak them in. First, we just finished analyzing the 2019 formulary covering -- coverage in multiple sclerosis, and it seems there has been quite a big shift starting 1Q '19 about access. Just so we are kind of ready for this volume versus share lot, it looks like you lost coverage in TRICARE, United and ESI.

Is this what you were saying? Is this actually the case here, we're seeing external is not always right? And if so, should we be just ready for a significant more volume loss in 2019? Second, we've heard that post ESI Cigna close, there has been a pretty sharp demand for concession from all biopharma on the branded side. Is this true? How does this impact your branded product trajectories? And does that also extends to your CVS close of Aetna? Essentially, are we seeing the consolidation on the insurance side coming in for further demand for especially older products in competitive markets? And third, more on the financial side, you're kind of guiding to like $1.8 billion in free cash flow in 2019. This is the, I guess, bucket from which you pay your debt down, and I'm kind of wondering is that number just giving how much it's lower than 2018 includes any assumptions about pay down of some sort of penalties or fines from some of the existing litigation? Or this is kind of like a pure business decline from which we have to start our 2020 projections?

Brendan O'Grady -- Head of North America, Commercial

So Ronny, I'll answer one and two and then I'll let Mike take number three. As far as overall COPAXONE formulary access, those are the things that we built into the plan this year, and I think you can see it in our numbers for COPAXONE we worked in. We anticipated TRICARE and both UnitedHealthcare. And I think that Express Scripts, which will bridge us to the next question, Express Scripts is always a little bit of a more of a tricky answer as it goes there.

So I would necessarily assume depending upon what you see in any particular formulary based on different agreements we have with numerous payers that just because you [indiscernible] in the formulary is actually how it is going to play out with the various covered life and any one particular PBM or payer. As a result to the -- as a response to your question with ESI and the meeting that they had, I wasn't there. I think that meeting occurred last week or the week before last where they brought manufactures down and kind of rolled out to then the new landscape with the ESI and Cigna merger or acquisition as to what their expectations are, but I do -- I have obviously heard, we're studying what they've communicated and what their asks are. I think this is pretty aggressive, and I think that potentially an overreach, there may be some CMS Medicare price implications to consider, and I think that there will be probably significant manufacturer push back from what I know of it.

But I need to study it a little bit more and given my team is fairly new, when we're going to see overall impact. So with that, I'll hand it over to Mike, and you can answer the cash flow.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So if we look at the difference between the $3.7 billion that we actually realized in 2018 and say that $1.8 billion midpoint of the guidance, about $1 billion came off from special items that I mentioned earlier the Allergan working capital and the Rimsa compensation. Net income is down roughly $600 million to $700 million, so that drags. We will see less restructuring cash out, but we will have bonus payments in 2019 for the 2018 year, which we did not in '18 for the '17 year.

But the thing that is probably abnormal if you're looking for forward cash generation is we do have a little bit of an overhang of all of the increase of rebates that have been happening in the second half of '18 will have a little bit of a drag on the net receivables in 2019. So we'll $300 million to $400 million cash drag that should dissipate over the first couple quarters in 2019. So that's where we get to the $1.8 billion, which I think that cash drag on the rebate payments is probably the difference between what you would expect in the external models.

Ronny Gal -- Bernstein -- Analyst

Great. Thank you.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Next question?

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Liav Abraham. Your line is open.

Liav Abraham -- Citigroup

Good morning. Kare, could you update us on your thoughts on opportunities to rationalize the cost base beyond 2019? You talked a little bit earlier about some opportunities on the plant side. Anything else that you can comment on and can we expect that $3 billion number to potentially grow? And then secondly on AJOVY, apologizes if I missed this, but can you update us what percentage of scripts are being written for the once quarterly formulation? Thank you.

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

Yes. So first, in terms of the spend base reduction, once we've completed the current restructuring, we will have it reduced by $3 billion. And of course, there are still opportunities. The majority of those will probably be on the gross margin.

The reason I'm saying so is that when I look at our R&D spend, our commercial spend, so -- sales promotion, so on, then we are actually very competitive when we look at the situation at the end of '19. So the majority comes from the cost of goods sold from the gross margin. We do have a very high level of cost of goods sold due to the fact that we have very, very high generic volumes. And as I said before, this is something we'll be working on long term.

There is no really quick fix to this because it's very technically complicated. We do serve 100, 200 million patients every day. We do make more than 30,000 different products on an ongoing basis. So it's a big parcel, but there is certainly possibilities to improve it.

Based on my previous experience and I won't say that we are having a firm number yet, we'll, of course, tell you about this a year from now. I would say that you can expect that you can improve the gross margin some 50 to 100 basis points per year, if you have a really good optimization program in place. When it comes to AJOVY and the quarterly dosing, we are seeing that roughly -- in any given week, roughly 10%, 11% of the scripts are for quarterly dosing. That basically means that 30% of the patients, if you look at it from the point of view, are on the quarterly dosing and the reason for the difference is, of course, that if you get a script for monthly dosing that counts as just one script.

If you get a script for the quarterly dosing, it counts as one script, but covers three months. So therefore, we have this thing we call normalized script numbers, normalized patient numbers, and in those numbers, you could say roughly 30% of the patients are on the quarterly dosing.

Liav Abraham -- Citigroup

Thank you.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Next question?

Operator

Thank you. The last question comes from the line of Esther Rajavelu. Your line is open.

Esther Rajavelu -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Thank you for squeezing me in. I had one quick one on AUSTEDO. Can you help us understand the sequential change in AUSTEDO patient numbers versus reported revenues for the quarter? And then also you mentioned growth in OUS market for AUSTEDO, so if you can provide any specifics on what your plans are there, that would be helpful as well.

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

Yes. So if you want to reconcile the actual growth in patient numbers with the actual revenues, then, of course, there's a little bit of uncertainty on the patient numbers. And when you look at the actual revenue, there's always the swings you would see in the pipeline in the sense that we ship products to wholesalers to specialty pharmacies, they ship it to patients and there can be some minor fluctuations there. If you sort of average it out and look at a longer time, then you see there is a very strong correlation between the growth in patient numbers, the growth in scripts and the growth in revenue.

And going forward, we do expect AUSTEDO to be growing strongly. You saw in our assumptions for 2019 that we are assuming sales around $350 million, up from the rough $200 million we did last year. So we expect AUSTEDO to keep on growing. And the reason why we are also optimistic about the long-term growth is that if you compare our actual patient numbers to the fact that more than 500,000 Americans suffer from tardive dyskinesia then that gives you a hint about the long-term potential of the product.

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. When it comes to the ex U.S. markets, there is not going to be any material impact in the near term as we're still looking at the regulatory path to get the product on the market. So it's not something that really will have a big factoring in the AUSTEDO uptake in the coming years.

Esther Rajavelu -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Got it. Thank you.

Kevin Mannix -- Senior Vice President, Investor Relations

All right. Thank you, everybody. I appreciate everybody participating in the call today. We'll be around today, tomorrow in the coming weeks to take any of your questions, and we look forward to seeing you in the future.

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, a recording of this conference is available by dialing 0044-3-333-009-785, with the access code 1174907. [Operator signoff]

Duration: 68 minutes

Call Participants:

Kevin Mannix -- Senior Vice President, Investor Relations

Kare Schultz -- Chief Executive Officer

Mike McClellan -- Chief Financial Officer

Jason Gerberry -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Brendan O'Grady -- Head of North America, Commercial

David Maris -- Wells Fargo -- Analyst

Louise Chen -- Cantor Fitzgerald -- Analyst

Greg Gilbert -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Chris Schott -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Randall Stanicky -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst

Vamil Divan -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst

David Amsellem -- Piper Jaffray -- Analyst

Ken Cacciatore -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

David Risinger -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Ronny Gal -- Bernstein -- Analyst

Liav Abraham -- Citi -- Analyst

Esther Rajavelu -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

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