Yesterday, I wrote up an analyst report about Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) touting the company’s da Vinci surgical system–a report that appeared to have helped pushed the stock up 4.7%.
One of my readers left a comment that I’ll cite here in full:
Davinci surgeons do not scrub up for the console, so the picture choice is curious. They watched presentations and then made investment pronouncements. Yikes. The presentations likely emphasize safety to try to counter all the recent publicity. This gave these casual analysts the impression that davinci is safe. lol.
Well, wouldn’t you know it–Bloomberg ran a story this morning with the headline, “Robot Surgery Damaging Patients Rises With Marketing.” The nearly three-thousand word article describes in detail what my reader was hinting at: Robotic surgery hasn’t been all that safe. From the Bloomberg article:
Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver announced last year that Warren Kortz, a general surgeon on the medical staff, was the first in the Rocky Mountain region to use a technique known as robotic surgery to remove gall bladders through one incision in the belly button…
Hot Bank Stocks To Invest In 2015: SouFun Holdings Ltd (SFUN)
SouFun Holdings Limited (SouFun), incorporated on June 17, 2004, operates as a real estate Internet portal in China. The Company also operates home furnishing and improvement Websites. Through SouFun's Websites, it provides marketing, e-commerce, listing, and other value-added services for China's real estate and home-related sectors. SouFun's Internet portal focuses and supports SouFun's users in seeking information on the real estate and home-related sectors in China. SouFun maintains about 100 offices to focus on local market needs and its Website and database contains real estate related content covering more than 320 cities in China. Its www.soufun.com Website contains links to other specialized real estate and home furnishing and improvement Websites, including its www.jiatx.com Website, its e-commerce transaction and payment platform. The Company's service offerings include marketing services, E-commerce services, listing services and other value-added services.
Marketing Services
The Company offers marketing services on its Websites, mainly through advertisements, to real estate developers in the marketing phase of new property developments, as well as to real estate agencies and suppliers of home furnishing and improvement and other home-related products and services who wish to promote their products and services. Its marketing services are delivered through its Website www.soufun.com and include traditional Internet advertisements, such as banners, links, logos and floating signs, as well as featured promotions, such as Internet advertisements, combined with its other services.
E-commerce services
The Company offers e-commerce services, including SouFun membership services and online transaction platform services. It provides both free and paid SouFun membership services to registered members its SouFun cards. Its free services include primarily regular updates regarding local property developments, tours to visit property developments an! d other services relating to property purchases. The Company�� paid services primarily include offers to purchase properties with discounts from its partner developers and information and related services to facilitate property purchases. In addition, through its www.jiatx.com Website, it offers an online transaction platform and related e-commerce services to home furnishing and improvement vendors in China.
Listing services
The Company offers basic and special listing services. Its basic listing services are mainly offered to real estate agents, brokers, developers, property owners and managers and suppliers of home furnishing and improvement and other home-related products and services. Its basic listing services allow its customers to post information of their products and services on its Websites. The Company�� special listing services offer customized marketing programs involving both online listings and offline themed events.
Other value-added services
The Company offers subscription-based access to its information database and research reports and total Web solution services. The Company provides online content subscription services on either a flat-fee subscription basis for database access or a per-project basis for its research services. It charge subscription fees based on the number of databases that the subscriber would like to access.
The Company competes with E-House (China) Holdings, Sohu.com Inc.�� focus.cn, Anjuke.com, Tencent�� fangqq.com, Szhome.com and House365.com.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
One under-$10 Internet information player that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is SouFun (SFUN), which operates a real estate Internet portal as well as a home furnishing and an improvement Web site in the People's Republic of China. This stock has been hammered lower by the sellers so far in 2014, with shares down huge by 42%.
If you take a glance at the chart for SouFun, you'll see that this stock has been downtrending badly for the last four months, with shares falling from its high of $19.94 to its recent low of $8.52 a share. During that downtrend, shares of SFUN have been making mostly lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of SFUN have started to reverse its downtrend and enter a new uptrend, with the stock moving higher from that $8.52 low to it recent high of $9.58 a share. Shares of SFUN are now spiking higher today right above some near-term support at $9 a share, and it's quickly moving within range of triggering a big breakout trade.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SFUN if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $9.58 to $10 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 7.73 million shares. If that breakout kicks off soon, then SFUN will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $11 to its 50-day moving average of $11.36 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give SFUN a chance to tag $12 to $13 a share.
Traders can look to buy SFUN off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some near-term support levels at $9 to $8.82 a share, or even that recent low of $8.52 a share. One can also buy SFUN off strength once it starts
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Wednesday morning, the financial sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from SouFun Holdings (NYSE: SFUN) and E-House (China) Holdings (NYSE: EJ). In trading on Wednesday, energy shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.67 percent. Among the energy stocks, Endeavour International (NYSE: END)was down more than 22 percent, while TransGlobe Energy (NASDAQ: TGA) tumbled around 6 percent.
Best Diversified Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Susser Petroleum Partners LP (SUSP)
Susser Petroleum Partners LP is primarily engaged in fee-based wholesale distribution of motor fuels to Susser Holdings Corporation (SHC) and third parties. SHC operates over 540 retail convenience stores under its Stripes convenience store brand. In addition to distributing motor fuel, the Company also distributes other petroleum products, such as propane and lube oil, and it receive rental income from real estate that it lease or sublease. In January 2014, Susser Petroleum Partners LP announced the acquisition of the convenience store assets and fuel distribution contracts of Sac-N-Pac Stores, Inc. and 3W Warren Fuels, Ltd.
During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company distributed 789.6 million gallons of motor fuel to Stripes convenience stores and 522.8 million gallons of motor fuel to other customers. It also distributes Chevron, CITGO, Conoco, Exxon, Mobil, Phillips 66, Shamrock, Shell, Texaco and Valero branded motor fuel, as well as unbranded motor fuel. In addition to distributing motor fuel, it also distributes other petroleum products, such as propane and lube oil.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Robert Rapier]
Susser Petroleum Partners (NYSE: SUSP) debuted in September 2012, and has appreciated by 50 percent since. Susser engages in fee-based wholesale distribution of motor fuels. The partnership also distributes petroleum products like propane and lube oil, and receives rental income from real estate.
- [By Robert Rapier]
Susser Petroleum Partners (NYSE: SUSP) engages in fee-based wholesale distribution of motor fuels. The partnership also distributes petroleum products like propane and lube oil, and receives rental income from real estate.
Best Diversified Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Vantage Drilling Company(VTG)
Vantage Drilling Company, through its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services to oil and natural gas companies in the United States and internationally. The company offers drilling units, related equipment, and work crews under contract to drill oil and natural gas wells; construction supervision services; and operates and manages drilling units owned by others. Its customers primarily include multinational oil and natural gas companies, government owned oil and natural gas companies, and independent oil and natural gas producers. The company owns and manages four jackup rigs and three drillships. Vantage Drilling Company was founded in 2007 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Despite the recent pain for offshore drilliers like Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO), Noble (NE), Transocean (RIG) and Vantage Drilling (VTG), RBC Capital Markets’ Robert Pinkard and team don’t think it’s time to buy their stocks. They explain why:
- [By Dimitra DeFotis]
Global Hunter also lowered its rating on Natural Gas Services Group (NGS) and Vantage Drilling (VTG). Global Hunter writes:
The market seems to be showing fatigue particularly with positive onshore oil service data points that may no�longer seem incremental. Investors have become especially focused on potential issues and macro concerns. We believe this phase�of enhanced risk perceptions will pass and still recommend owning selective stocks based on attractive valuations and healthy�fundamentals. Of the 16 oilfield services companies having reported their quarters to date, the share price changes have at times�been difficult to tie to specific results. �… Five of the 12 companies who have beaten earnings expectations have seen their share prices drop on the day, including Basic Energy Services (BAS) (-9.0%), Baker Hughes (BHI) (-2.5%), National Oilwell Varco (NOV) (-1.5%), Oceaneering (OII) (-4.2%), and Schlumberger (SLB) (-2.0%). Other stocks beating expectations have traded higher as expected, including Cameron International (CAM) (+4.1%), FMC Technologies (FTI) (+3.1%), Mitcham Industries (MIND) (+3.8%), Nabors Industries (NBR) (+1.2%), Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) (+1.8%), RPC (RES) (+8.4%), and Weatherford International (WFT) (+2.3%). Companies which have missed have universally seen their share prices decline, including Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO) (-4.3%), Gulfmark Offshore (GLF) (-0.1%), and Hercules Offshore (HERO) (-6.9%). Halliburton (HAL) was in line and flat on the day.
Best Diversified Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: National Bank of Canada (NBC)
National Bank of Canada (the Bank) is a bank. The Bank provides integrated financial services to retail, commercial and corporate/institutional clients. The Bank's offerings include securities brokerage, insurance, wealth management, mutual and pension-fund management as well as banking and investment solutions across three business segments: Personal and Commercial, Wealth Management, and Financial Markets. The Personal and Commercial segment meets the financial needs of some 2.4 million retail banking clients and approximately 130,000 business clients throughout Canada. The Wealth Management segment includes National Bank Financial Wealth Management and National Bank Direct Brokerage Inc. The Financial Markets segment provides banking and investment banking services. On August 1, 2012, Maple Group Acquisition Corporation (Maple) acquired Alpha Trading Systems Inc., Alpha Trading Systems Limited Partnership and The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rhonda Abrams]
A woman may be the brains behind an organization, but having a handsome guy like Pierce Brosnan, with Stephanie Zimbalist in a 1982 photo for 'Remington Steele,' attracts the cash, a study shows.(Photo: NBC)
- [By USATODAY 2:27 p.m. EST February 4]
NBC's Winter Olympics app.(Photo: NBC)
You can follow the Sochi games digitally on NBCOlympics.com or on the NBC Sports Live Extra app ��available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices. The Live Extra app is free and getting a refresh in time for the Olympics. It also covers other sports NBC is involved in, including the NHL, PGA Tour and Triple Crown Horse Racing.
- [By Damian Illia]
The company owns Kaplan, a leading global provider of educational services to individuals, schools and businesses, across more than 30 countries, Post-Newsweek Stations in Detroit (NBC), Houston (NBC), Miami (ABC), Orlando (CBS), San Antonio (ABC) and Jacksonville, Cable ONE, digital video, Internet and phone services provider to homes and businesses, the Slate Group, a daily online magazine, Trove, a digital team focused on innovation and experimentation with new technologies, Social Code, leading social marketing solutions partner, Celtic Healthcare, and Forney Corporation. The company has recently sold most of its newspaper operations.
No comments:
Post a Comment