At CWEB, we are always looking to expand our network of strategic investors and partners. If you're interested in exploring investment opportunities or discussing potential partnerships and serious inquiries. Contact:jacque@cweb.com
El Pollo Loco Beats By $0.01, Revenue In-Line But Still Overvalued – CWEB.com
El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) today announced financial results for the 13 week period ending December 27, 2017.
Total revenue increased 2.9% to $95.2 million compared to $92.5 million.
El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) is a quick-casual restaurant chain of about 475 units specializing in Mexican-themed fare featuring grilled, citrus-marinated grilled chicken prepared in an open kitchen setting.
El Pollo Loco has traded mostly sideways since 2015.
The company lacks vision and a strategy to attract new customers, instead focusing on existing customers.
El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) has struggled mightily since coming public. The company’s shares continue to languish as the restaurant group is trying to focus in a different direction.
CWEB Analyst’s have initiated a Sell Rating for (NASDAQ:LOCO) and a Price Target of $8 within 6 months.
High Potential Swedish Maker Biotech RhoVac AB – CWEB.com
RhoVac AB announces that all patients in company’s clinical phase I/II study successfully completed their treatment phase with RV001.
RhoVac AB (“RhoVac”) announced today, 19th February 2018, that all patients successfully completed their treatment in company’s clinical trial phase I/II study with RV001 cancer vaccine.
RhoVac’s drug candidate RV001, which targets metastatic cancer cells, is in clinical phase I/II development in patients with diagnosed prostate cancer.
The cancer vaccine targets protein RhoC, which is highly over-expressed in metastatic cancer cells – no matter what form of cancer it is derived from.
The goal of the RV001 project is to develop a cancer vaccine that prevents or limits the spread of cancer.
On April 5th 2017, the company announced that the first patient in the Phase I/II study had started treatment with the cancer vaccine RV001 and in mid-November 2017, the treatment phase was completed for this first patient.
All patients have now finished treatment and in March 2018 the final blood samples will be taken for immunological monitoring.
The timetable of the clinical study has been in full alignment with the original plan, and the final result will be reported, as previously announced, in the second quarter of 2018.
Completion of phase I/II clinical study, is another important milestone for RhoVac in development of cancer vaccine RV001 and we noted that no safety issues have been identified that hinders the continuation of the study.
The next step is to prepare for the immunological analyses for all patients and confirm the significant vaccine-mediated immune response that was reported in December 2017.
Comments from RhoVac’s CEO, Anders Ljungqvist -We are delighted that we have reached the final phase of our clinical study and that we are fully on the scheduled timeline.
It has been a fantastic trip.
I would like to thank everyone who helped us in the project, in particular Copenhagen Prostate Cancer Center at Rigshospitalet, the Phase I-unit Zelo at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, and DanTrials ApS for a very professional and dedicated work.
A special thanks to all patients who participated in the study; without their commitment, we could not have complied with the time plan
Amazon Move’s Into The Brazilian Market – CWEB.com
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) has met with Brazilian manufacturers to talk about plans to stock and sell products from electronics to perfume directly in country, a major move from serving only as a third-party marketplace, Reuters reports.
The retail powerhouse would use its own transportation and call centers there to run the operation, according to the report, and store goods at facilities in Greater Sao Paulo.
Shares approach new all-time high.
Hugh upgrade details more upside.
Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) continues to struggle compare to Amazon which is growing and expanding on daily bases.
Add two more areas where Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) can deliver Whole Food groceries in under two hours – Atlanta and San Francisco.
Amazon first announced the Prime service last month and kicked it off in four markets: Austin, Cincinnati, Dallas and Virginia Beach.
More perks? The company recently announced that shoppers who pay with their Amazon Prime Visa card would start getting 5% back at Whole Foods.
Regardless of higher rates, Amazon is well positioned to weather out any mid-cycle fluctuations.
Amazon competitors are:
Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) which trades around $3 with a huge upside coming soon after ER
Nordstrom Slides As It Rejects Family Offer To Buy Company – CWEB.com
Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) has slide lower after it rejected a family proposal from the Nordstrom family to acquire the company.
A group consisting of company Co-Presidents Blake Nordstrom, Peter Nordstrom, and Erik Nordstrom, along with President of Stores James Nordstrom, Chairman Emeritus Bruce Nordstrom, and Anne E. Gittinger said it intended to submit a proposal to buy all outstanding shares it doesn’t already own along with 21% of family-owned shares for $50 each, the company says.
Nordstrom remains the leading retailer in evolving to meet customers’ needs, which is seen in the company’s return policy, growing discount stores, and commitment in growing its online presence.
Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) in 2017 had a record sales of approximately $15 billion.
This represented annualized growth of 5% over the last five years reflecting the investments they have made to expand our reach and improve the customer experience.
Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) will continue to see positive customer trends. At the close of 2017, Nordstrom had 33 million customers.
Additionally, 9 million customers have shopped in multiple ways, a 6% increase over the previous year.
It recently announced 1.2% comp sales growth for November and December period, which isn’t spectacular, especially after accounting for higher e-commerce sales growth.
The current price does not justify the recent results.
Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) has shot up by over 35% since early November. The company has benefitted from the positive sales environment in the holiday season.
A phase 1/2 clinical trial assessing Novavax’s (NASDAQ:NVAX) recombinant flu vaccine NanoFlu in older adults showed a treatment effect over and above the leading egg-based flu vaccine.
In three H3N2 strains, which accounted for ~3/4 of flu-related hospitalizations this year, NanoFlu produced 47 – 64% higher antibody titers compared to the egg-based high-dose vaccine.
The company expects to launch a Phase 2 study in Q3.
Pre clinical results show superior efficacy to current vaccines, for treating both extant and drifted flu strains.
Novavax continues to trade at a steep discount to its true value; major upcoming catalysts should lift it significantly higher.
sent the stock reeling to a 52-week low.
Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) soared to a new 52-week high on Mar. 1, 2018, following positive top-line results from its phase I/II clinical trial of its NanoFlu recombinant influenza vaccine in older adults.
The healthcare analyst’s have given positive outlook so far for Novavax comparing it to other in the same field below:
Recro Pharma (NASDAQ:REPH) resumed with Outperform rating and $19 (111% upside) price target at Oppenheimer.
Health Insurance Innovations (NASDAQ:HIIQ) upgraded to Outperform at Raymond James.
Surmodics (NASDAQ:SRDX) upgraded to Outperform at Barrington Research.
Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) upgraded to Buy at Citigroup.
Fulgent Genetics (NASDAQ:FLGT) downgraded to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Cross Country Healthcare (NASDAQ:CCRN) downgraded to Hold at Benchmark.
Portola Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:PTLA) downgraded to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. Price target cut to $30 (29% downside risk) from $65.
CWEB Analyst’s have initiated a Hold Rating for Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) and a Price Target of $3 within 6 months.
Salesforce The Cloud Monster That Continues Growing – CWEB.com
Salesforce.com, a leading CRM software provider, has experienced outstanding growth in recent years.
Over the next four years, the company plans to double its current revenue to $20 billion to $22 billion annually.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) announced recently the lofty goal of $60Billion revenue by 2034.
Salesforce market consolidation is projected to be $82B by 2025 and growing at 15% yearly rate.
International expansion, innovation, and acquisitions will lead the way for future revenue growth.
High valuation multiples and growth expectations put the company in a precarious position in the long term.
Salesforce stock is delivering impressive performance on the back of strong top line momentum.
The company is a market leader in cloud-based CRM solutions, a promising segment offering abundant potential for growth.
Upside Q1 guidance has revenue from $2.925B to $2.935B (consensus: $2.9B) and EPS from $0.43 to $0.44 (consensus: $0.37).
Upside FY19 guidance has revenue from $12.6B to $12.65B (consensus: $12.55B) and EPS from $2.02 to $2.04 (consensus: $1.75).
Key metrics: Subscription and support revenue, $2.66B (+26%); Professional services and other revenue, $196M (+7%); operating cash flow, $1.05B (+49%); total operating expenses, $2.04B; cash and equivalents, $4.52B; deferred revenue, $7.09B (+28%); unbilled deferred revenue, $13.3B (+48%); total current and noncurrent debt, $1.72B.
CWEB Analyst’s have initiated a Strong Buy Rating for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and a Price Target of $220 within 12 months.
Groupon has the number one retail app . Their customer satisfaction rating is at 90%. Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) has a new successful marketing campaign which has been in placed for a long time.
Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) has a market cap of $2Billion.
NASDAQ reports a 1 Year Price Target of 8.25 per share.
The 50 Day Avg. Daily Volume 9,665,737. Like Overstock they both have a moderate growth rate for the next three years. In fact, Overstock has a mediocre balance sheet, while Groupon has a solid track record.
Overstock’s stock plummeted due to the regulatory filing this past Thursday showing the SEC asked the retailer for information about Zero’s initial coin offering. Simply put, (NASDAQ:OSTK) drops after the SEC investigation into cryptocurrency token sale.
We see Groupon has the potential to outperform some of its competitors, due its aggressive growth strategies and new online campaigns featuring
Analysts who cover the stock are very optimistic. Profits they say should 55.63% in 2019, compared with the past 5-year average growth rate of 30.43%. In 2019, analysts say Groupon’s bottom line is expected to climb to $24.9M, an increase from the current $16.0M.
Groupon’s earnings growth is expected to exceed the low risk savings rate of 4.5%.
Annual growth rates for Groupon are expected to be at 33.1%, above the online growth rate for the retail sector. Groupon’s earnings are expected to grow significantly at over 20% per year.
In the past 5 years Groupon has delivered over 20% year on year earnings growth.
Return on capital employed has improved significantly versus 3 years ago.
Institutions still hold the largest share equity stake for (NASDAQ:GRPN) stock.
So relatively to other competitors Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) at $4 is a great deal for long term investors, institutional holdings and regular stock traders.
CWEB Analyst’s have initiated a Buy Rating for (NASDAQ:GRPN)and a Price Target of $15 within 12 months.
Does Plug Power Have Room To Grow After Downside Guidance – CWEB.com
Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) plunged after it reveald disappointing guidance for Q1 and FY 2018 revenues.
For Q1, Plug sees Q1 revenues of $22M-$24M, well below analyst consensus expectations for $38.3M, and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $11M-$13M vs. a $15M loss in the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, the company forecasts revenues of $155M-$180M vs. $220M consensus.
After a series of deals with big companies, Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) seems to have cornered the market for fuel cell powered warehouse equipment like forklift trucks.
Shares of fuel cell power companies including Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG), FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL), Ballard Power (NASDAQ:BLDP) and Hydrogenics (NASDAQ:HYGS) always rally higher with awareness of recent natural disasters including hurricanes and earthquakes.
PLUG shares have gained more momentum and it should continue to deliver more upside due to ambitious growth targets.
CWEB Analyst’s have initiated a Hold Rating for NASDAQ:PLUG and a Price Target of $4 within 12 months.
Which are the stock’s to watch next week on ER report – CWEB.com
March 6 is when Target (NYSE:TGT) reports numbers and the stock should outperform.
Notable earnings reports: Ascena Retail Group (NASDAQ:ASNA) and YY (NASDAQ:YY) on March 5; Target, Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN), Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) and Guidewire (NYSE:GWRE) on March 6; Costco (NASDAQ:COST), Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF), Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) and Momo (NASDAQ:MOMO) on March 7; Kroger (NYSE:KR), Marvell Technology Group (NASDAQ:MRVL), VeriFone Systems (NYSE:PAY), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) and Finisar (NASDAQ:FNSR) on March 8; Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) on March 9.
IPOs expected to price: Bioxcel Therapeutics (Pending:BTAI) on March 7.
Victory Capital (NASDAQ:VCTR) and Evolus (NASDAQ:EOLS) on March 5; Quintana Energy Services (Pending:QES), Cardlytics (NASDAQ:CDLX), Cactus (NYSE:WHD) and Humai (NYSE:HMI) on March 6.
Airlines: A number of airline companies will post traffic reports for February next week.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU), Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK), SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW), Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ:ALGT), Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ:HA), American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) and United Continental (NYSE:UAL). The catch-all U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSEARCA:JETS) is up 4.1% over the last 90 days.
FDA watch: Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) is expected to hear at the Oncologic Drugs panel meeting on its supplemental biologic license application for Blincyt for treatment of relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
