Twitter shares plunge on disappointing growth

Wall Street has sent a direct message to Twitter: Get more followers.

The social-network giant beat financial estimates for its first-quarter earnings, but fell short of expected growth in number of people using the popular social-media platform.

As a result, shares of Twitter dropped about 10% in after-hours trading to $38.09, following Twitter's earnings release after the market close. The San Francisco-based company reported that monthly active users came in at 255 million, a 25% year-over-year increase but below expectations.

FIRST TAKE: Twitter's user growth is flattening

Mobile users continued to grow, improving to 198 million in the quarter, up 31% over last year, accounting for 78% of total users. Timeline views, the number of times Twitter users looked at their message stream, hit 157 billion, an increase of 15%.

Analysts had hoped for users to top 262 million and Timeline views of more than 162 billion. Twitter showed "good monetization, but the key metrics were below expectations driven by weakness internationally," said Wedbush Securities analyst Shyam Patil. "This is likely to weigh on the stock."

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Twitter said it broke even for the quarter and had revenue of $250 million, beating expectations of a loss 3 cents per share and revenue of $241.7 million, according to estimates from S&P Capital IQ.

Advertising revenue of $226 million rose 125% over the same period last year. And all-important mobile revenue represented 80% of total ad revenue, an increase over the 75% share from last quarter. "We had a very strong first quarter. Revenue growth accelerated on a year-over-year basis, fueled by increased engagement and user growth," said Twitter CEO Dick Costolo.

This is only Twitter's second earnings report, as the company went public in November 2013. Shares have trading well below its J! anuary peak of more than $74. It's still valued at about $24 billion, or about 20 times estimated 2014 sales of $1.2 billion. That's compared with Facebook's value of $144 billion about 12 times its sales value.

Wall Street has been looking for Facebook-like growth from Twitter, says RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney. "Facebook is well over 1.2 billion or 1.3 billion users, with growth in the mid-teens year-over year. (Twitter) keeps accelerating, and the number of users they have is growing 25%, year over year, which is good growth," he says. "But I think there were people, including within the company, who thought (Twitter) could have half a billion users at some point. It looks like they still have a lot of work to do to really mainstream the service."

Berkshire Hathaway: Time To Buy?

Buying Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) always has seemed like a leap of faith–you either believed in Warren Buffett’s omnipotence or you didn’t–that having an analyst cover the company always seemed beside the point. But analysts do cover Berkshire Hathaway, and one of them even had something to say about the company today.

AFP

That would Barclays’ Jay Gelb, who released a big report on Berkshire Hathaway today. And wouldn’t you know it, not only does he like Warren Buffett’s baby, he thinks now would be a good time to buy. Gelb explains why:

Berkshire's insurance businesses generates substantial no-cost float ($77bn at YE13) available for investing and will benefit from the Heinz acquisition. Importantly, Berkshire has significant cash available for additional acquisitions (we estimate ~$25bn) to supplement organic growth…

Berkshire Hathaway has substantial leverage to an improving economy including the housing market with its non-insurance business accounting for two-thirds of operating earnings. Overall, Berkshire should benefit from consistent earnings growth in the Burlington Northern railroad business (including oil-by-rail), as well as the Manufacturing, Service, and Retail, and the Utilities and Energy units…

[Berkshire Hathaway] shares are attractively valued currently at 1.41x book value, which is near the level (1.2x book value) at which the company will repurchase stock. The buyback plan provides a support level and signals how strongly Mr. Buffett believes Berkshire's intrinsic value exceeds its book value.

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Berkshire Hathaway’s B shares have dropped 0.7% to$126.33 at 1:37 p.m., while Berkshire Hathaway’s A shares (BRK.A) has fallen 0.7% to $189,400. It will report earnings on May 2.

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Rise on China Data; Tesla Jumps

U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index halting a three-day drop, as Chinese trade data topped estimates and jobless claims fell to the lowest monthly rate since before the recession.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. and Newmont Mining Corp. gained at least 8.7 percent as metals prices rallied. Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) surged 14 percent after reporting second-quarter results that surpassed analysts' estimates. AT&T Inc. slid 0.8 percent as phone stocks fell the most in the benchmark index. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 0.9 percent after saying it's under federal criminal investigation for practices tied to sales of mortgage-backed bonds.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.4 percent to 1,697.48 at 4 p.m. in New York, paring the index's weekly drop to 0.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 27.65 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,498.32. About 5.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 6.9 percent below the three-month average.

"It shows that the data is moving in the right direction, so at the end of the day that is a positive catalyst for stocks," Anastasia Amoroso, Global Market Strategist at JPMorgan Funds, which oversees about $400 billion, said in a phone interview. "There could be some short-term volatility around how that impacts Fed policy. One thing to keep in mind is if the Fed does actually reduce the pace of purchases, that is for some very good reasons."

Fed Debate

The S&P 500 declined 1.1 percent the first three days of the week amid growing speculation the Federal Reserve will pare bond purchases this year as the economy strengthens. Fed Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto said yesterday there had been "meaningful improvement" in the labor market and a scaling back of stimulus may be warranted if it continues.

Fed Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher told Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper in an interview today that the central bank should start reducing bond purchases in September! if "economic data doesn't significantly deteriorate." Fisher, one of the most vocal critics of quantitative easing, said on Aug. 5 the Fed is closer to slowing its stimulus.

Data today showed claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the four weeks ended Aug. 3 declined to 335,500 on average, the least since November 2007. They rose to 333,000 last week, in line with the median forecast of 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, from 328,000 the prior week.

Consumer Comfort

A separate report showed consumers last week were the most upbeat in more than five years. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to minus 23.5 for the period ended Aug. 4, its strongest reading since January 2008.

In Asia, data indicated China's exports and imports exceeded economists' forecasts, adding to signs that the world's second-largest economy is stabilizing following a two-quarter slowdown. Improved trade may bolster Premier Li Keqiang's chances of achieving the year's 7.5 percent target for expansion, after official manufacturing and service-industry indexes rose in July.

The trade data "could be a sign that we see some stabilization in Chinese activity," said Patrick Moonen, who helps oversee $244 billion as senior strategist at ING Investment Management in The Hague. "I don't think the U.S. equity market is only a matter of monetary policy. As the economy recovers, the earnings backdrop will become the most important element."

The S&P 500 has rallied 19 percent this year and closed at a record 1,709.67 on Aug. 2. The gauge topped 1,700 for the first time on Aug. 1, after climbing within two points of that level for three times in the week before only to retreat by the close of trading. It briefly rose above 1,700 twice today before slipping back below.

Earnings Scorecard

Stocks have also advanced this year as corporate earnings have surpassed estimates. Of the 445 companies in the S&P 500 to have reported quarterly results this period, 72! percent ! have exceeded analysts' profit estimates and 56 percent have beaten sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX), or VIX, fell 1.9 percent today to 12.73. The equity volatility gauge reached its 2013 peak in June and has since dropped 38 percent.

Nine of 10 industries in the the benchmark gauge advanced. Materials stocks rallied 1.5 percent to pace gains, boosted by the data from China, which is the largest consumer of raw-materials.

Cliffs Natural Resources, a diversified miner, jumped 8.9 percent to $22.01. Newmont Mining rallied 8.7 percent to $28.78, snapping a six-day losing streak, as copper rose to an eight-week high and gold added the most in two weeks.

Tesla, Groupon

Tesla, the electric-car company led by Elon Musk, soared 14 percent to a record $153.48. The carmaker's results surpassed analysts' estimates on a surge in Model S sedan deliveries. The company also said it will make money all year on an operating basis, even as it expands to Europe and Asia.

Groupon Inc. (GRPN) rallied 22 percent to $10.60, the biggest jump since December. The operator of the largest daily-deals website's second-quarter net loss was narrower than analysts forecast. The company also named co-founder Eric Lefkofsky as CEO to lead turnaround plans.

Consumer discretionary shares climbed 0.7 percent as a group. L Brands Inc., which operates Victoria's Secret, gained 5.2 percent to $60.25 after reporting same-store sales in July rose more than analysts estimated.

Penney CEO

J.C. Penney Co. jumped 6.7 percent to $13.66. The department-store chain seeking to rebound from its worst sales year in more than two decades gained for the first time since July 29 after CNBC said the retailer is searching for a new chief executive officer. The stock had lost 23 percent in the seven sessions through yesterday.

Microsoft Corp. rose 2.6 percent to $32.89 for the biggest gain in the Dow. The make! r of the ! Windows operating system was raised to overweight from equalweight by Evercore Partners. Analyst Kirk Materne said in a note the company has an attractive valuation and may increase its dividend in September.

Phone stocks tumbled 1 percent to pace declines in the S&P 500. (SPX) AT&T dropped 0.8 percent to $35.29 and Verizon Communications Inc. lost 0.6 percent to $49.62.

CenturyLink Inc. fell 5.6 percent to $34.36 for the biggest drop in the S&P 500. The telecommunications company cut its sales forecast, citing slower acceleration in data-hosting revenue and a faster rate of decline in low bandwidth data services.

JPMorgan Chase declined 0.9 percent to $54.83 for the biggest slide in the Dow and a fifth straight losing session. The biggest U.S. bank said the Justice Department's civil division found in May that the bond-sales practices broke civil laws after it examined securities tied to subprime and Alt-A loans sold to investors from 2005 through 2007.

What to Expect from AMCOL International

AMCOL International (NYSE: ACO  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 26. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict AMCOL International's revenues will grow 1.6% and EPS will wither -16.9%.

The average estimate for revenue is $261.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.54.

Revenue details
Last quarter, AMCOL International tallied revenue of $236.7 million. GAAP reported sales were 0.5% higher than the prior-year quarter's $235.5 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.42. GAAP EPS of $0.32 for Q1 were 22% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.41 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 26.9%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.0%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.4%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $1.02 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.00.

Investor sentiment

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on AMCOL International is hold, with an average price target of $29.00.

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Mid-Day Market Update: Pandora Shares Tumble After Q1 Results; Weatherford Spikes Higher

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Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded down 0.79 percent to 16,370.72 while the NASDAQ tumbled 1.43 percent to 4,088.84. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.70 percent to 1,865.40.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
Utilities sector was the only gainer in the US market on Friday. Leading the sector was strength from FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) and Wisconsin Energy (NYSE: WEC). Technology shares declined around 1.53 percent in Friday's trading.

Top losers in the sector included CommVault Systems (NASDAQ: CVLT), off 28 percent, and Mellanox Technologies (NASDAQ: MLNX), down 13 percent.

Top Headline
Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) reported a drop in its first-quarter profit. Ford's quarterly profit slipped to $989 million, or $0.24 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $1.61 billion, or $0.40 per share. Its revenue rose to $35.9 billion versus $35.6 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.31 per share on revenue of $34.54 billion.

Equities Trading UP
Gigamon (NYSE: GIMO) shares shot up 7.77 percent to $17.33 after the company announced Q1 results. Gigamon reported a Q1 loss of $0.07 per share on revenue of $31.80 million. Needham upgraded the stock from Buy to Strong Buy.

Shares of Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT) got a boost, shooting up 10.02 percent to $20.25 after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings. Weatherford reported its Q1 earnings of $0.13 per share on revenue of $3.60 billion.

SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) shares were also up, gaining 5.15 percent to $33.67 after the company reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results. SunPower reported its earnings of $0.49 per share on revenue of $683.70 million.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of CommVault Systems (NASDAQ: CVLT) were 28.32 percent to $49.16 after the company reported downbeat quarterly revenue. CommVault reported earnings of $0.52 per share on revenue of $156.80 million. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.47 per share on revenue of $160.16 million.

Pandora Media (NYSE: P) shares tumbled 13.01 percent to $24.53 on weak Q1 earnings and Q2 outlook. Pandora reported a Q1 loss of $0.13 per share.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co (NYSE: YGE) was down, falling 14.25 percent to $3.62 after the company priced follow-on public offering of 25 million ADSs at $3.50 per ADS.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.08 percent to $100.84, while gold traded up 0.84 percent to $1,301.50.

Silver traded up 0.01 percent Friday to $19.72, while copper rose 0.05 percent to $3.09.

Eurozone
European shares were lower today.

The Spanish Ibex Index dropped 1.47 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index fell 2.07 percent.

Meanwhile, the German DAX tumbled 1.53 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 0.80 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.38 percent.

Economics
The preliminary reading of Markit Services PMI came in at 54.20 in April, versus economists' expectations for a reading of 55.50.

The final reading of Reuter's/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 84.10 in April, versus a prior reading of 82.60. However, economists were expecting a reading of 83.00.

Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Eurozone Futures Forex Global Econ #s Economics Intraday Update Markets Movers Tech

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Golf Clap for Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings

Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE: LH  ) reported earnings on July 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased. Non-GAAP earnings per share grew slightly. GAAP earnings per share grew.

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings tallied revenue of $1.47 billion. The 20 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw sales of $1.46 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $1.80. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $1.80 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $1.80 for Q2 were 1.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.77 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.62 for Q2 were 3.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.56 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 39.3%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 18.3%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 10.3%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.45 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.80.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $5.79 billion. The average EPS estimate is $7.08.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 656 members out of 677 rating the stock outperform, and 21 members rating it underperform. Among 215 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 211 give Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings is hold, with an average price target of $99.65.

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Procter & Gamble 3Q Net Income Rises on Cost Cuts

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Al Behrman, dapd/AP NEW YORK -- Procter & Gamble's fiscal third-quarter net income rose 2 percent as it cut costs to offset sluggish sales in categories like beauty and family products. The world's largest consumer product maker's adjusted earnings topped analyst estimates, but revenue fell short. Investors were looking for stronger growth and shares fell slightly in morning trading. Since CEO A.G. Lafley returned to the company in May, Procter & Gamble (PG) has focused on its most profitable markets and products and on introducing new products. It sold off most of its pet care business earlier this month for $2.9 billion. "We're operating in a slow-growth, highly competitive environment, which places even greater importance on strong innovation and productivity improvement," Lafley said in a statement. The Cincinnati-based company's turnaround plan also includes cutting costs to save $10 billion by fiscal 2016. It said it is redesigning its supply chain in North America, including enabling more of its 35 manufacturing facilities to make more than one category of goods and bringing them closer to its customers and consumers. For the three months ended March 31, the maker of Tide detergent and Gillette razors earned $2.61 billion, or 90 cents a share. That compares with $2.57 billion, or 88 cents a share, last year. Excluding restructuring charges and other items, earnings were $1.04 a share. Analysts forecast $1.02 a share, according to a FactSet survey. Revenue totaled $20.56 billion, down slightly from last year's $20.6 billion on foreign currency fluctuations. Wall Street expected $20.68 billion. P&G maintained guidance for a rise of 3 percent to 5 percent in full-year adjusted earnings. Citi Investment Research analyst Wendy Nicholson said that the global marketplace is sluggish and intensely competitive, so Procter & Gamble's results are "pretty darned impressive." The stock fell 67 cents to $79.94 in midday trading. The stock is flat for the year.

A Video Game Kingpin Rises and Coke Admits Defeat

On this day in economic and business history...

The world's largest dedicated video-game publishing company began operating on July 10, 2008, a day after Activision and Vivendi shareholders agreed to create Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI  ) . The new company, majority-owned by Vivendi and led by controversial Activision CEO Robert Kotick, had first been proposed in an $18.9 billion deal at the end of 2007 but had been delayed while European regulators ensured that no antitrust laws would be broken.

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The deal brought together two of the video game industry's pioneering developers: Activision had been the first independent video-game developer established during the Atari era, and Blizzard had helped to popularize real-time strategy games on PCs before launching World of Warcraft, the most popular MMO game in the world.

Each half of Activision Blizzard brought industry-leading titles to the table as well, with WoW matched by Activision's Call of Duty first-person-shooter franchise. Each publisher was firing on all cylinders as the deal closed, and both would soon enjoy phenomenal success with their flagship titles. Activision had launched the Modern Warfare subseries of Call of Duty shortly before announcing the merger, and a Black Ops prequel was launched during the 2008 holiday season. Each of these sold more than 11 million copies apiece across all platforms. WoW's Wrath of the Lich King expansion, also launched during the 2008 holiday season, became the fastest-selling PC game of all time (only to be displaced by the next WoW expansion two years later) and would push the MMO to its all-time peak of 12 million subscribers within two years of release.

Activision Blizzard shareholders, unfortunately, did not enjoy much gain from this industry-leading tie-up. Shares only returned to near breakeven for the five years following the merger's close at the start of 2013. The video game industry can be brutal, and even Activision Blizzard isn't immune: World of Warcraft has lost more than a million subscribers since the merger was first announced. Activision lived through the video game crash that destroyed Atari. Will it apply the lessons of that collapse to avoid its own?

The end of an error
The New Coke fiasco came to an end for Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO  ) on July 10, 1985. That day, less than three months after introducing its new formulation, the company announced the return of Coke Classic. Coke's backtracking was so momentous that famed news anchor Peter Jennings interrupted a daytime soap opera on ABC to break the news to the nation.

Replacing Coke had been almost like replacing Santa Claus -- a marketing icon Coke had a hand in developing. People just weren't ready or willing to accept something different from what they had grown up with. Coke President Donald Keough admitted as much at the time, saying, "We did not understand the deep emotions of so many of our customers for Coca-Cola."

The high-profile flameout of New Coke gave the public a new cultural touchstone for corporate failure. Whenever a new product bombed spectacularly, it would be a "New Coke moment." New Coke stuck around for a while, but it was never especially popular. Coke Classic, on the other hand, surged on its return to store shelves. The company rode Coke Classic and the hugely popular new Diet Coke -- which actually lent its formulation to New Coke -- to greater sales, and its dominance of the soft-drink industry earned it a placement on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) two years later.

Like Coke, Apple is also known for creatively destroying its own products. However, Apple knows its customers want something newer, better, and cooler, and it's willing to bet big on revolutionary new products that will make "Apple classic" obsolete. Read about the future of Apple in the free report "Apple Will Destroy Its Greatest Product." Can Apple really disrupt its own iPhones and iPads? Find out by clicking here.

Lincoln picks China over U.S. to show new MKX SUV

In another sign of China's growing influence on the auto industry, Ford's Lincoln luxury brand took the unveiling of its new MKX midsize crossover direct to Beijing, skipping the New York Auto Show last week for the reveal.

Ford officials say it is the first time that a concept has been revealed in a market other than the U.S.

The MKX concept displayed at the Auto China 2014 show in Beijing, is a nice update to the current version of the midsize SUV, but nothing radical.

The new MKX concept, which gives the general direction of the production version, has a sloping roofline, big 21-inch wheels, LED headlights and the latest version of the Lincoln split grille, indicating the brand isn't ready to go into a different design direction with this vehicle.

It's the third of four new Lincolns coming to market by 2016. Most recently, Lincoln's focus has been on its smaller MKC crossover based on the Ford Escape platform. The current MKX is a version of the Ford Edge

With 245,000 sales last year, China's midsize SUV market has grown 9,650% in the past five years while it only grew 13% in the U.S., Lincoln says.

"Great emphasis was put on the proportions of this concept vehicle," said Andrea Di Buduo, exterior design manager of the Lincoln MKX Concept, in a statement. "It's a very emotional, athletic design."

These Dow Stocks Are Up in Advance of the Fed's Statement

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) is down slightly as the market eagerly awaits the 2 p.m. EDT release of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee's statement, followed by the 2:30 p.m. EDT press conference with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. As of 1:15 p.m. EDT the Dow is down 21 points, or 0.13%, to 15,298. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) is down 0.14% to 1,649.

There were no U.S. economic releases today, so the market is focused solely on the Fed's statement. To review, as part of its quantitative-easing program, the Federal Reserve is purchasing $85 billion worth of long-term assets each month -- $45 billion in long-term Treasuries and $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities. This is an effort to keep rates down and the economy chugging along.

Investors have begun to worry about when and how the Fed will wind down its quantitative-easing program. Bernanke has made a big effort to communicate the Fed's thinking so as to not to surprise investors. In its previous statements, the Federal Reserve has said it will keep the purchases going until unemployment falls to 6.5%, inflation rises past the Fed's target range of 2% to 2.5%, or long-term inflation expectations take off.

Right now we're not close to any of the Fed's targets, with unemployment at 7.6%, inflation below 2%, and long-term inflation expectations at 2% (as per the TIPS Spread -- the difference between the yields on Treasury Inflation Protection Securities and the nominal U.S. Treasury bond yield). Still, investors are worried. While the Dow has not really reflected it, the bond markets have fallen since May: 10-year Treasury yields have risen from 1.6% to roughly 2.2% now.

10 Year Treasury Rate data by YCharts.

So what will the Fed say, and how will the markets react? I don't know, and anyone who claims to know is lying. You can make educated guesses, but they're just that -- guesses. While thousands of people closely monitor the Fed and all its members, surprises are bound to happen. However, as the Fed has been clear on its stance so far, your investment strategy should not be predicated upon small changes in the Fed's statements. If it is, your outlook is too short-term for successful investing.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming Fed statement, some Dow stocks are making decent gains. Among today's leading Dow stocks is Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) , up 0.9%. Earlier today, HP hit a new 52-week high of $25.87. The company has been on a tear this year, up 81% year to date as it continues its slow turnaround under the guidance of CEO Meg Whitman. Signs of this were seen yesterday when HP announced that it would replace the head of its printing and PC business with Dion Weisler, who was hired last year from Lenovo. The PC business has been struggling this year; in the first quarter, worldwide PC sales saw their worst drop in history, down 14%.

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The massive wave of mobile computing has done much to unseat the major players in the PC market, including venerable technology names like Hewlett-Packard. However, HP is rapidly shifting its strategy under Whitman's leadership. But does this make HP one of the least-appreciated turnaround stories on the market, or is this a minor detour on its road to irrelevance? The Motley Fool's technology analyst details exactly what investors need to know about HP in our new premium research report. Just click here now to get your copy today.

And leading the Dow this afternoon is Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO  ) , up 1%. This morning Credit Suisse analysts initiated coverage on Coca-Cola, saying the company has "the potential to generate returns in excess of the peer group over the next two to three years." The ratings agency continued, "We see upside to 2013/14 EPS estimates based on optionality in key markets in Asia and the U.S., and we also expect margins and ROIC to improve."

Speaking of Asia, today Coca-Cola announced a reshuffling of its management for its Pacific operations. The current chief executive for India and Southwest Asia, Atul Singh, will become deputy president for the Pacific. Coke has been focused on growing its business in emerging markets, especially India and China. Investors can take comfort in Coke's business model, knowing that no matter what the Fed announces, people around the world will continue to drink Coke for decades to come.

Nabors' Shareholders Balk at Executive Compensation -- Again

It should be three strikes and you're out.

Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR  ) claims that it listened to shareholder concerns about its executive compensation and used those critiques to reformulate its compensation structure. However, for the third year in a row, it failed to gain majority shareholder support for its executive compensation.

Also, shareholders again voted on a shareholder proposal pushing Nabors to clear future severance agreements above a certain threshold with shareholders. While that proposal didn't pass this year (as in 2012), it received 45.9% shareholder support. In fact, more shares voted in favor of the proposal than against it. However, including broker non-votes and abstentions in the final tally tipped the balance against the proposal's supporters.

The shareholders have spoken -- repeatedly. It remains to be seen, however, whether the board will finally give shareholders what they want.

Outrageous compensation at Nabors
I believe shareholders are right to balk at Nabors' compensation decisions.

For starters, shareholder concerns about severance packages didn't come out of left field. When he left the CEO position, board Chair Eugene Isenberg was granted a $100 million severance. While Isenberg later forfeited the payment, the board defended the initial severance by claiming that its payments are "paid pursuant to binding contractual agreements," giving shareholders reason to worry that the board may make mistakes in the future that require them to make similarly outrageous payouts.

And that's not the only concerning compensation decision approved by Nabors' board. The SEC was suspicious enough of Nabors' decision to allow directors and executives significant personal access to company aircraft that they chose to investigate. And as is observed by corporate-governance expert Nell Minow's organization GMI Ratings, companies with the highest personal jet use costs often display other red flags associated with their compensation and accounting systems, including pay packages that lack sufficient performance requirements.

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The Foolish takeaway
I hope shareholders' continued disapproval of Nabors' executive compensation, along with their repeated calls for more control over decisions about compensation, sends a strong message to Nabors' leadership. With the incorporation of two new board members in response to pressure from major shareholder Pamplona Capital Management, there may be more of a push for governance revisions that are more hospitable to shareholders. Without a clear sign that these changes will happen, however, I believe investors would do best to avoid the stock.

GM sticks with marketing plan despite recall

DETROIT -- General Motors, under siege for the recall of 2.6 million small cars with defective ignition switches, will not change the strategy for selling its current lineup of new cars and trucks.

The recall, which began in February and was expanded last month, is the company's largest crisis since it emerged from bankruptcy in 2009.

While GM's U.S. market share has declined 2.3% for the first three months of this year, it's too early to say that the recall is hurting sales of its newest models. GM's sales rose 4% in March from a year earlier, well above analysts' expectations and better than Ford's 3.3% increase.

STORY: Judge: GM need not tell owners to park recall cars

Congress, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. Justice Department are investigating how early GM learned of the flawed ignition switches and why there was no recall earlier.

Tim Mahoney, chief marketing officer and global Chevrolet and global GM marketing operations leader, said the automaker is not spending more on advertising or incentives than previously budgeted and isn't likely to change that strategy.

"There are really a lot of positive things happening, and it is really about staying focused on the product," Mahoney said.

Chevrolet already has a commercial with a safety message called "The New Us."

"There is not going to be a specific recall ad," Mahoney said. "We are coming at it from the models, and all of the new products we have introduced recently."

GM CEO Mary Barra has apologized to customers during congressional testimony and in other forums. GM is reluctant, however, to incorporate an apology into its marketing.

Mahoney also said GM doesn't plan to advertising directly to owners of Chevrolet Cobalts, HHRs, Pontiac 5s, and Saturn Ions and Skys to buy new vehicles as Toyota did when it recalled millions of vehicles amid concerns about unintended acceleration in 2009 and 2010.

"At some point, perhaps, that is a possibility," Mahone! y said. "We are offering some incentives for people who want to trade up. But that's a fine line you have to walk."

GM is offering a $500 incentive to owners of the recalled models that they can apply toward the purchase or lease of a new GM vehicle.

Chevrolet and GMC likely will spend more marketing money and energy on its full-size pickups and SUVs this year. In March, Chrysler's Ram pickup outsold Chevrolet Silverado for the first time that anyone in the automotive industry can remember.

Mahoney said he is not concerned about Ram's market share gains.

Chevrolet is reducing incentives on Silverado while Ram has been offering bigger rebates and discounted financing.

In March, Ram's pickup incentives increased 12.5% from a year earlier to an average of $4,769, according to Edmunds.com. Incentives for Silverado, meanwhile, were $4,180 or 30% lower than March 2013.

"When you start hearing things like that, it's a sure sign that you are getting ahead," said Reid Bigland, Chrysler's head of U.S. sales and the Ram brand.

GM creating new global safety organization

NEW YORK — General Motors is creating a new organization within the company to focus on safety across all of its vehicle lines, CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday.

The Global Product Integrity organization will be modeled on a similar group within GM that is centered on product quality.

"We will mirror this approach to focus on safety performance," Barra told the NADA/J.D. Power Automotive Forum in New York. "Our goal is to ensure the highest levels of execution consistently across all our vehicles."

The new organization will report directly to Mark Reuss, GM's global product development chief, and will incorporate the team under Jeff Boyer, the safety chief recently appointed by Barra.

She says the goal is to "provide the highest levels of safety, quality and customer service … and ensure that a situation like the ignition-switch recall doesn't happen again."

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Her appearance on the eve of the New York Auto Show once again put her center stage on a recall that of 2.6 million small cars worldwide for faulty ignition switches. The switches are blamed for 12 deaths in the U.S. and one in Canada, and GM is the target of multiple government investigations.

In a Q&A after her remarks, Barra was asked about why GM quietly upgraded the switch design in 2006 without assigning a new part number and without a recall of earlier vehicles. She said it is "not good engineering" and that future problems will be dealt with as soon as they are evident. While she talked of putting two switch engineers on paid leave last week "while we seek the truth about what happened," she declined to discuss the departure this week of GM's global public relations chief.

She lamented that the recall has overshadowed progress GM has made on other fronts — from sales growth to positive reviews for its new vehicles. But she said GM is committed to the recall and lauded! efforts of GM dealers to go to extra lengths to fix recalled cars and provide customers with loaners.

Although on the job as CEO only months, the debacle has put Barra in a national — if unfavorable — spotlight and made her a target for late-night comedy.

The most personal, perhaps, was an opening skit on NBC's Saturday Night Live a week ago. Barra, a regular SNL watcher, said that she saw the skit. Asked about it, she said, "I think it's important to maintain your sense of humor." Asked to rate how well actress Kate McKinnon captured her, she replied, "There are probably better people than me to judge."

Market Wrap-up for Apr. 14 – Investment Advice You Should Always Ignore

The investing landscape is a virtual minefield of bad advice, with unqualified would-be prognosticators lying in wait, ready to blow up your portfolio with terrible market opinions. Here are four types of people you should never listen to when it comes to investments.

1. Doomsday Newsletter Guy

If you’ve been around the markets for a while, you’ve likely received some solicitations (or at least seen web advertisements) for services proclaiming that “the end is nigh.” These sensationalist publishers were the ones who predicted that gold would hit $10,000 an ounce, the Dow would go to zero, and basically called for the end of civilization as we know it. These are nothing more than scare tactics by snake oil salesmen and can always be safely ignored.

2. Your Cousin/Sister/Uncle/Grandson/Friend

A concept known as “The Fool’s Dilemma” dictates that people who know the least are often the most cocksure, while the smartest, most well-informed folks are full of doubt. You’ve probably heard some very strong investment opinions from a loved one, but unless your relative is a full-time market analyst, why would you listen to their opinions at all? I’ve heard way too many horror stories of wannabe market experts gambling away a family member’s life savings. There’s nothing wrong with saying “Thanks, but no thanks.”

3. Random Person on Twitter/Elevator/Golf Course/Subway

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Despite their lack of sophisticated market knowledge, at least your loved ones have your best financial interests at heart. The same can’t be said for a random stranger who offers you a stock tip. If I were rating the unsolicited advice of strangers in general, the phrases I’d choose would range from “pretty bad” to “potentially catastrophic.” So, you get the idea. Avoid at all costs!

4. Just About Anyone on Television

The era of business television is long past its heyday. Before the Internet, you used to have to watch CNBC or call your broker to get instant stock quotes. Now, real-time market quotes and other facts are just a click or a tap away.

Occasionally, business television will feature a qualified market mind with some prescient or timeless advice. Most of the time, however, the airwaves are jammed with ill-informed media types arguing about things they know nothing about. Reporting facts is a thing of the past – all you’ll get now is a steady stream of conflicting and equally useless opinions designed with only one goal in mind: generating higher ratings.

Lockheed Lands JASSM, Sniper, and Airplane Defense Contracts

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT  ) landed a trio of Pentagon contracts Friday, worth a combined $67.2 million. In ascending order of value, they consisted of:

A $16.4 million contract to supply 10 Large Aircraft Infra-Red Counter Measures aircraft modification kits, or A-Kits, for installation upon Marine Corps KC-130J transport aircraft by November 2015. Lockheed will also supply, install, and validate the installation of a "test" A-Kit. A $16.6 million award to supply the Air Force with five Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods, five Compact Multiband Data Links, five Digital Data Recorders, and six pylons, as well as spare parts for the above. Lockheed will also perform integration, support, and program management work related to the sale through Dec. 31, 2014. Sniper is an exterior-mounted target acquisition system used on USAF and allied air force F-15, F-16, B-1, A-10, Harrier, and CF-18 aircraft. A $34.2 million award to develop a Precision Targeting Module software package, including several test vehicles, GPS-controlled "radiation pattern antennas," and other equipment -- all to be used in upgrading the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM. DoD clarifies that this contract is "in support of foreign military sales to Finland" and will be completed by Jan. 31, 2016.

Tax Day freebies get goofier this year

Here's a Tax Day stumper: Would you rather pay your taxes — or eat a cookie?

Pay your taxes — or get a massage?

Pay your taxes — or sing for your supper?

Oops. Did we forget to mention that on April 15, these all will be free?

Tax Day means lots of things to lots of people, but to most folks it means giving, not receiving. Which may explain why a parade of companies have embraced Tax Day freebies, deals and promos. To brands looking for a star on which to hitch their marketing wagon, almost nothing could be easier than this. "Everyone hates sending money to the government," says brand guru Allen Adamson. But everyone loves free stuff. "It's a theme that unifies." And, just as important, he says, tends to drive social media buzz. Which may help explain this Tax Day loot:

• Free dinner. Got a song in your heart? Perform a complete song between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time on the live music stage at one of 40 Hard Rock Cafes on Tax Day — and you've just sung your way into a free entree. The chain expects to give away "thousands" of entrees valued at up to $14.95 each, says John Galloway, chief marketing officer.

• Free cookies. For those with a bitter taste after filing their taxes, Great American Cookies has a sweet reward — a freebie chocolate chip cookie. OK, the limit is one per person. But no purchase is required, notes Vice President David Kaiser, "nor proof of completed taxes."

• Free massage. You need to sign up in advance, but free mini-massages are on tap April 14 through 18 at participating HydroMassage locations. Since the tradition began six years ago, the chain has given away almost 500,000 free massages "in this traditionally stressful time of year," says Paul Lunter, president.

• Free shredding. For those with super-secret tax documents to shred, folks who print special Office Depot coupons can shred up to 5 pounds of papers between now and April 29.

• Free sandwich. Well, there's a Tax Day catch to getti! ng a free sandwich (The Original) at Schlotzsky's — you have to buy a 32-ounce drink and a bag of chips. But, hey, that's a pretty small price to pay for deli sandwich.

• Free fries. Arby's will hand out snack-sized curly fries free on April 15 for guests with coupons from Arbys.com or Arby's social channels. But you won't be able to print the coupons until April 14.

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• Free chips and dip. At California Tortilla, you can get free chips and queso dip on Tuesday but only if you tell your server these secret passwords: "Taxes Shmaxes."

Facebook and Netflix Lead Nasdaq Down as Jobless Claims and Rite Aid Improve

The Dow  (DJINDICES: ^DJI  )  plummeted 267 points Thursday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq suffered its worst decline in 2.5 years.

1. Nasdaq Composite stock index falls over 3%
The Nasdaq Composite is an index that tracks stocks listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The index is composed of over 3,000 individual (mostly) tech stocks, and it took a dive of 3.1% Thursday as investors bailed en masse on tech. It's the worst day for tech stocks in two and a half years (or since the Microsoft Zune was created).

Where's the AV Club when you need em? The Nasdaq is the home for tech stocks and companies with a start-up feel (there's a foosball table next to the Nasdaq's fro-yo machine). Since reaching peaks on March 6, the Nasdaq has fallen 7%, but even worse is Facebook  (NASDAQ: FB  ) ...

Facebook is down 18% in the past month and your news feed didn't even mention it. Facebook and Netflix both fell 5.2% Thursday.

So what's happening? The biggest victims of the recent turn against tech stocks are those with the highest valuations. Facebook and Netflix both have market values that are more than 90 times what the company makes in profits in a year (i.e., the price/earnings ratio). These ridiculously valuable stocks are getting beaten like an escape button during a computer freeze as investors fear the stocks are overvalued.

2. Easter helps weekly jobless claims hit 7-year low
300,000 is the figure of the day -- that's the total number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits since last Thursday and it's the lowest level of weekly jobless claims since May 2007. Plus, the 32,000-claim drop over the last week was the greatest decrease in the stat in over 10 years. That's a greater relief than the fact that it hasn't snowed in April (yet) this year.

So why didn't Wall Street party like Rio during Carnivale? Because of the Easter bunny. The Labor Department adjusts its economic data based on seasonal factors, like holidays, which can sometimes occur at different weeks each year. Easter happens to be one of those holidays, so Wall Street wasn't too confident in the big drop, as adjustments could have swayed the data.

3. Rite Aid boasts healthy earnings
Rite Aid is back and announced its second straight annual profit after six years of horrible losses. Rite Aid's  (NYSE: RAD  )  stock climbed 8.4% after the company announced $55 million in earnings between December and March and a total profit of $249 million for the year.

Rite Aid went two years without opening a new drugstore. And that just may have been the prescription the company needed. During the financial crisis, the company was losing money steadily. Now it has remodeled 335 total drugstores to make you feel more comfortable and less freaked out by blaring florescent lights and scary grandmas. It's also branching out by acquiring health-coaching and health clinic subsidiaries.

Despite fierce competition from CVS and Walgreen, the company's stock has climbed 300% in the past year as it came out to Wall Street as a profit maker. 

As originally published on MarketSnacks.com. 

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Here’s the Very Best Way to Manage Your Dividend Portfolio

Popular Posts: How to Analyze Dividend Stock Investment OpportunitiesWhen to Buy Dividend-Paying Stocks3 Places to Search for Dividend Stock Opportunities Recent Posts: Here’s the Very Best Way to Manage Your Dividend Portfolio How to Analyze Dividend Stock Investment Opportunities When to Buy Dividend-Paying Stocks View All Posts

The hardest part about investing is sitting down, and not doing anything. Just monitoring your dividend portfolio even when its quoted value drops by 50% in a given year, is something that only a very small number of investors can achieve.

Studies have shown that the most investors usually perform very poorly when making investments. Those that buy and hold on, are a very rare breed. However, these are the types that save a ton in commissions, taxes and have the best chances of generating the most bang for their investment bucks.

Wall Street makes its money if you actively buy and sell stocks. It nickels and dimes you in commissions, bid/ask spreads, annual fees etc. The hedge fund managers and high speed computers are all operating at a day to day or minute to minute time frame. They see orders from small investors as prey.

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However, as dividend portfolio investor, you should not care whether you paid $37 or $37.01 per share for Coca-Cola (KO). Your edge lies in the fact that you would hold the stock for as long as it maintains and raises its dividend. This is where your edge against the Wall Street types comes from.

Your other edge as a long-term investor comes from deferring taxes paid to the IRS. If you bought Coca-Cola in 1988 for a split-adjusted $3 per share, you are now sitting on an unrealized capital gain of $35 – $36. At 15% in taxes, this is more than what you paid for the stock. Those who buy and sell securities frequently, end up paying a ton to the tax man. Of course, if they are really bad at investing, they can generate a lot of tax deductions for themselves to use for years against taxable incomes.

Your other edge comes from the fact that you should not care how you are doing against a benchmark like S&P 500. Many mutual fund manager are evaluated based on how they did against a benchmark within a 3 month period. This is non-sensical – as quotations in the short run are just noise. You can't judge the performance of an investment strategy based on short-term period of less than one year.

You also have a much better chance of succeeding, if you have a strategy that fits your investment goals and objectives ( see first article in the series). If your goal is to generate a rising stream of income, that would pay for your expenses in retirement, you should not worry that the quoted value of your dividend stocks is down by 50%, as long as the underlying fundamentals are still intact.

What I am trying to show with those examples above is that your portfolio management should be very passive in nature. You should sit tight, and watch your dividends deposited in your accounts.

I usually sell only after a dividend cut. I have modified my criterion of selling if I thought stock was severely overvalued, but so far my results are pretty mixed with that. In retrospect, I would have been slightly worse off sticking with the original investment I sold.

Therefore, you should be very careful about selling securities. This is because a factor that might influence you to sell could seem important at the time of sale, but in reality could be just noise in the data. With long term buy and hold investing, you stand the greatest chances of earning the most in dividends and capital gains. The best results are probably still ahead for you.

If you think about it, if you focus on strong franchises such as Coca-Cola, Wal- Mart (WMT) and McDonald's (MCD), chances are that 20 years from now, your investment would likely be worth several times your initial capital outlay. If history is any guide, you can likely expect an annual dividend income stream which is equivalent to approximately 20% yield on cost. Therefore, while your amount at risk is fixed, your upside is virtually unlimited.

There are a few more traps that suck investors into selling their stock prematurely, and therefore not participating fully in any dividend upsides:

- Do not sell simply because you have a huge gain - Do not sell if your stock trades at a P/E of 23 and replace with a stock with a P/E of 20 - Do not sell because of dividend freeze - Do not sell because of spin-offs

The most important thing about investing is to be patient. It is true that you won't make money on all of your stock selections. A portion of the businesses you purchase today would likely be obsolete in 20 -30 years, thus cutting or eliminating distributions, while another portion would likely be mediocre dividend growers. The dividend growth from the remaining winners however would likely more than compensate for the lost dividend income from the losers.

As a result, it is wise to accumulate dividends in cash, and use it to buy the most attractive securities at the time. If a position accounts for more than 5%, do not add to it. Unfortunately, if it becomes 10%, determine if new cash added over next year to other positions can lower positions weight in portfolio. Otherwise, you might need to trim it.

Full Disclosure: Long KO, WMT, MCD,

EU Monetary Policy Change: What's the Impact on Vanguard European Stock Index?

The European Central Bank could make an important decision soon. Pricing data in the European Union has been coming in weak, hitting the lowest level in more than four years. This adds pressure to ECB President Mario Draghi, who might start looking for ways to counter the deflationary threat in the region. What can he do? Two things: cut interest rates and/or start a round of quantitative easing to boost activity levels and push prices up. During last week's monthly meeting, the ECB left its policies unchanged, but calls for action are mounting, and Draghi says measures including asset purchases are on the table.

With the U.S. Federal Reserve winding down its quantitative-easing program and the Japanese central bank finishing its strong QE of 2013, it might be Europe's turn to try a more aggressive policy to drive its economy. After all, the austerity measures designed to curtail the unsustainable deficit spending kept demand soft in the region and did not solve its problems.

How could this impact European assets?  
Normally, a drop in interest rates and expansive monetary policies are positive for capital markets. In Japan, for example, the Nikkei grew more than 60% last year, while the U.S.' S&P 500 gained 28%.

For a closer look at how Europe is doing, consider the best-known broad European index ETF, Vanguard European Stock Index (NYSEMKT: VGK  ) . This fund invests in large- and mid-cap stocks based in 17 developed European markets, representing most of the investable market.  Many of the fund's largest holdings are quality multinational names such as Nestle (NASDAQOTH: NSRGY  ) , Royal Dutch Shell, Roche, and HSBC (NYSE: HSBC  ) . But if you consider weight by country, the U.K. comes first with 33%, followed by Switzerland with 14% and France with 14%.

The good news about this ETF is that it has limited direct exposure to the weakest members of the eurozone, like Italy and Spain, which together account for less than 9% of the portfolio. And regarding its large positions in Swiss and U.K. assets, these countries have not adopted the euro, so the ECB's potential monetary-policy change would not directly affect these positions.

Following this line of thought, a position in HSBC is good for counter-balancing the exposure to Europe, as this bank enjoys the benefits of its geographic diversification. HSBC is now highly focused on growing in the emerging markets, and it reduced its retail operations in the U.S. because they were not performing as desired. Growth in Europe has been slow, especially in the U.K., but HSBC's solid foothold in fast-growing markets in Asia and Latin America should allow it to outperform its stagnating European peers.

A similar outlook applies for Nestle, which has a presence in almost every market in the world. However, the company's management has said 2014 will be challenging and in line with its sluggish 2013 performance. Last year, Nestle recorded the slowest organic growth rate in four years at 4.6%. Unfortunately, Nestle CEO Paul Bulcke does not foresee strong growth in Europe for this year. However, he is a bit more optimistic about the emerging markets, where the company has a strong position. He reckons Nestle will continue to grow in these economies, but at a slower pace. Nestle showed 8.8% organic growth in the emerging markets in the first nine months of 2013 versus a 1.1% rate in the developed markets.

Final foolish thoughts
The European economy is slowly recovering, and although avoiding deflation is important, the ECB is more focused on growth. According to the Markit Eurozone Purchasing Managers' Index, business activity across the eurozone has been expanding for nine consecutive months, so let's not get ahead of ourselves.

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In addition, according to Moody's, full-blown deflation of the euro area is unlikely. The firm expects a low-inflation, low-growth scenario to persist, and it announced that there might be an increase in the debt burden for the next five years.

The Vanguard European Stock Index ETF is a good option for investors who want passive exposure to European equities. This applies especially if they believe that a recovery will gain traction.

Europe still faces significant economic risks. The roughly 11% unemployment rate across the E.U., and the headwinds created by the austerity measures are proof that many issues still need to be resolved. So if prices become an extra concern, the ECB will eventually have to do something.

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3 Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- At Stockpickr, we track daily portfolios of stocks that are the biggest percentage gainers and the biggest percentage losers.

>>5 Breakout Trades Under $10

Stocks that are making large moves like these are favorites among short-term traders because they can jump into these names and try to capture some of that massive volatility. Stocks that are making big-percentage moves either up or down are usually in play because their sector is becoming attractive or they have a major fundamental catalyst such as a recent earnings release. Sometimes stocks making big moves have been hit with an analyst upgrade or an analyst downgrade.

Regardless of the reason behind it, when a stock makes a large-percentage move, it is often just the start of a new major trend -- a trend that can lead to huge profits. If you time your trade correctly, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends, discipline and sound money management, you will be well on your way to investment success.

>>5 Stocks With Big Insider Buying

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at a several stocks under $10 that are making large moves to the upside today.

OraSure Technologies

OraSure Technologies (OSUR) develops, manufactures, markets and sells oral fluid diagnostic products and specimen collection devices using its proprietary oral fluid technologies. This stock closed up 6.8% to $6.38 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $5.90-$6.58

52-Week Range: $3.75-$8.32

Thursday's Volume: 1.75 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 520,143

From a technical perspective, OSUR spiked sharply higher here right off its 50-day moving average of $5.98 with strong upside volume. This stock has been trending sideways for the last month and change, with shares moving between $5.72 on the downside and $6.69 on the upside. Shares of OSUR are now starting to spike higher and move within range of triggering a breakout trade above the upper-end of its sideways trading chart pattern. That breakout will hit if OSUR manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $6.69 to $6.70 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in OSUR as long as it's trending above Thursday's low of $5.90 or above more support at $5.72 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 520,143 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then OSUR will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $7.50 to $8.

RealD


RealD (RLD) is a licensor of 3D technologies. This stock closed up 1.4% to $7.04 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $6.94-$7.11

52-Week Range: $6.19-$16.05

Thursday's Volume: 402,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 467,389

From a technical perspective, RLD trended modestly higher here right above some near-term support at $6.83 with decent upside volume. This move is starting to push shares of RLD within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if RLD manages to take out its 50-day moving average of $7.18, and then once it clear more near-term overhead resistance at $7.20 to $7.56 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in RLD as long as it's trending above near-term support at $6.83 or at $6.19 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 467,389 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then RLD will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $8.26 to $9. Any high-volume move above $9 will then give RLD a chance to tag $11 to $12.

Axcelis Technologies

Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) designs, manufactures and services ion implantation, dry strip and other processing equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips in the U.S., Europe and Asia. This stock closed up 3.1% to $2.33 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $2.30-$2.42

52-Week Range: $0.82-$2.48

Thursday's Volume: 1.32 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 667,714

From a technical perspective, ACLS spiked sharply higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $2.23 with strong upside volume. This stock has been uptrending very strong for the last six months, with shares ripping higher from its low of $1.27 to its recent high of $2.48. During that uptrend, shares of ACLS have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of ACLS within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if ACLS manages to clear Thursday's high of $2.42 to its 52-week high at $2.48 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ACLS as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $2.23 or above more support at $2.05 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.32 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ALCS will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $3 to $4.

To see more stocks that are making notable moves higher today, check out the Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

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Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Who Says There’s No Biotech Bubble?

Biotech stocks are plunging today, which once again raises the question: Are we witnessing the popping of the biotech bubble?

It’s hard not to think it might be. Today, Gilead Sciences (GILD), Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT), Celgene (CELG), Amgen (AMGN) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX).

Credit Suisse analyst Ravi Mehrotra still doesn’t think biotechs are in a bubble:

In our view, we are/were in a biotech bull-run vs. biotech bubble. We remain bullish for the 2014 year-end biotech sector performance: (1) we do expect continued sector-wide volatility; (2) there are elements of the biotech sector which are analogous between ’99/’00 (biotech bubble) and ’13/’14 (biotech bull) markets – most notably, a relative plethora of platform/early-stage companies – however, we highlight that the business models for platform technology companies in ’99/’00 and ’13/’14 are markedly different – now, new gen platform technology companies are actually trying to bring products to market (vs. just selling tools and services). (3) For the large-caps, unless we see fundamental disappointment(s) from the "leadership" companies, we think their valuations actually provide room for upside (Large-cap biotech is now trading at a 2016 PE discount, but 4 times the EPS growth, to/of the S&P500). Our two keys picks in large-cap land remain [Biogen (BIIB) and Gilead Sciences].

Best Logistics Companies To Buy For 2014

ISI Group’s Joe Ruggieri looks for signs of a bottom:

I do think we have a few potential fundamental catalysts over the next few weeks/months (AACR this weekend ([Pfizer (PFE)] Palbo data), EASL next week ([Merck (MRK)/Gilead (GILD)/Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY)/Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT)]), MNKD PDUFA 4/15, earnings, [Celgene (CELG)] Markman hearing 4/29, [Amgen (AMGN)] Kyprolis phase data 2Q, [Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX)] phase 3 CF data mid-yr, ASCO, etc) that could provide an inflection point.  While this continues to be painful, correlations remain high and hedge fund de-risking/capitulation not helping, think we could start to see buyers dip toe into high conviction ideas soon.

How soon is now?

Why Kforce Shares Cratered

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of staffing service specialist Kforce (NASDAQ: KFRC  ) plunged 16% today after its quarterly results missed Wall Street expectations.

So what: The stock has slumped in recent weeks on concerns over slowing growth, and today's second-quarter results -- adjusted EPS slumped 25%, while revenue slipped 1% -- only reinforce those worries. Additionally, ADP's private survey results this morning indicated that the labor market is cooling, giving investors even more reason to doubt a near-term turnaround.

Now what: Management now sees second-quarter EPS of $0.19-$0.21 on revenue of $277 million-$281 million. "We are making progress toward our goal of accelerating revenue growth in the back half of the year, but there remains much work to do," CFO David Kelly said. "We remain confident in our strategy and long term prospects and expect to capitalize on the operating platform we have built to grow revenue and generate operating leverage." More important, with the stock now off about 25% from its 52-week highs, and trading at a forward P/E of 10, buying into that optimism might be worth looking into.    

Interested in more info Kforce? Add it to your watchlist.

Another High Note for Lululemon

We know, we know. Another day, another Lululemon Athletica (LULU) upgrade.

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After a great ride last week following earnings, analysts continue to sing the company's praises. Today's moment of Lululemon love comes courtesy of Corinna Freedman of Wedbush, who upgraded her rating to Outperform from Neutral and hiked the price target to $64 from $54.

In a note today, Freedman declared Lululemon’s woes to be "largely priced into the stock" and explains why now is the time to get bullish:

We previously anticipated becoming more constructive on a reset of earnings expectations to a drastically lowered bar and we found several positive takeaways from recent earnings commentary to support our pivot in outlook. We further believe the near- term set up is positive given upcoming management marketing (which should clear up lingering concerns regarding gross margin guidance,) high short interest, the April Analyst Day and a scarcity of mid-cap Consumer growth stories.

Like many of her peers, Freedman also feels upbeat about the company's prospects under new CEO Laurent Potdevin.

We further anticipate additional capsule product to drive interest post-Analyst Day and anticipate the company's recently issued guidance of $1.80-1.90 to prove beatable providing confidence in the new CEO's regime.

Shares of Lululemon have gained 1.1% to $52.48 at 3:46 p.m., while Nike (NKE) has risen 0.5% to $73.88, Under Armour (UA) has dropped 0.3% to $114.88 and the Gap (GPS) has dipped 0.1% to $40.14.