SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) ��Netflix Inc. shares surged in the extended session Monday after the streaming video company�� first-quarter earnings and outlook topped Wall Street estimates.
/quotes/zigman/87598/delayed/quotes/nls/nflx NFLX 348.49, +2.75, +0.80% Netflix 12-month share price
Best Information Technology Companies To Watch For 2015: Sonde Resources Corp (SOQ)
Sonde Resources Corp. (Sonde) is engaged in the exploration for, and acquisition, development and production of, petroleum and natural gas with operations in Western Canada and North Africa. On June 23, 2011, the Company sold its interests in Block 5(c) and the assumption of certain liabilities in respect of the MG Block through the Niko Sale Agreement. On September 23, 2011, the Company acquired a block of producing and non-producing assets in Drumheller from a third party, which includes the bulk of producing interests in the Mannville I oil pool. On January 1, 2012, the Company amalgamated Seeker Petroleum Ltd., Challenger Energy Corp. and Sonde Resources Trinidad and Tobago Ltd. into Sonde Resources Corp. On February 8, 2012, the Company completed the sale of 26,240 gross undeveloped acres (24,383 net acres) in its Kaybob Duvernay play in Alberta. Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
While Bakken formation oil and gas stocks have grabbed the attention of�American investors, small cap Alberta or Saskatchewan oil and gas stocks Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd (NYSE: AAV), Sonde Resources Corp (NYSEMKT: SOQ) and up and coming Centor Energy Inc (OTCBB: CNTO) have been largely overlooked as they seek to exploit oil and gas (including oil sands) in the resource rich Canadian provinces of Alberta or Saskatchewan or seek strategic alternatives for their assets in these areas or themselves. It should be mentioned that Canada�� oil reserves are third only to Venezuela and Saudi Arabia with over 95% of these reserves being the oil sands of Alberta plus that province contains much of the country�� conventional oil reserves as well. In addition, the province of Saskatchewan along with offshore areas of Newfoundland contain substantial production and reserves. Excluding oil sands, Alberta would have 39% of Canada�� remaining conventional oil reserves,�followed by�offshore Newfoundland with�28% and Saskatchewan with 27%.
Top Up And Coming Companies To Watch In Right Now: Carriage Services Inc (CSV)
Carriage Services, Inc. (Carriage), incorporated in December 1993, is a provider of death care services and merchandise in the United States. The Company operates in two business segments: funeral home operations and cemetery operations. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated 159 funeral homes in 25 states and 33 cemeteries in 12 states. The Company provides funeral and cemetery services and products on both an at-need (time of death) and preneed (planned prior to death) basis. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Carriage completed two of the six acquisitions of funeral home businesses, one in Kentucky and the other in New York. In September 2011, the Company acquired Franklin & Downs Funeral Homes. In October 2011, the Company acquired Carman Funeral Home and Roberson Funeral Home, both in Northeast Kentucky. In February 2012, the Company acquired James J. Terry Funeral Home, Inc. On February 21, 2012, the Company acquired a funeral home business in Pennsylvania. In June 2012, the Company acquired Lawton Ritter Gray Funeral Home, Gray Funeral Home and Sunset Memorial Gardens in Lawton and Grandfield, Oklahoma. In December 2012, the Company acquired Cumby Family Funeral Service. In November 2013, Carriage Services Inc acquired Heritage Funeral Homes & Cremation Service.
Funeral Home Operations
The funeral homes offer a range of services (traditional burial and cremation) to meet a family�� death care needs, including consultation, the removal and preparation of remains, the sale of caskets and related funeral merchandise, the use of funeral home facilities for visitation and services, and transportation services. It provides burial and cremation services and sells related merchandise, such as caskets and urns. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated 159 funeral homes in 25 states.
Cemetery Operations
The Company�� cemetery products and services include interment services, the rights to interment in cemetery sites (including gr! ave sites, mausoleum crypts and niches) and related cemetery merchandise, such as memorials and vaults. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated 33 cemeteries in 12 states.
The Company competes with SCI, Stewart and StoneMor Partners L.P.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
The first thing to realize about StoneMor is that arcane and flexible accounting rules make it important to dig beneath its GAAP earnings. Growth throughout the industry has been substantial, as up-and-coming Carriage Services (NYSE: CSV ) continued to stay on pace for double-digit sales growth as it rapidly expands its reach. Even well-established player Matthews International (NASDAQ: MATW ) managed to grow revenue by nearly 14% in the quarter that ended in March, although its earnings fell slightly from the year-ago quarter. Still, StoneMor's sales haven't been able to rise as quickly as its peers, with its previous report including just a 6% gain in revenue.
Top Up And Coming Companies To Watch In Right Now: IMF (AUSTRALIA)
IMF (Australia) Ltd investigates, manages, and funds litigation and arbitration claims primarily in Australia and the United States. Its litigations include commercial claims, insolvency claims, and group actions. The company offers funding for litigation and investigations preliminary to litigation; payment of adverse costs orders; strategic planning, monitoring, and managing of litigation; factual investigation, including asset tracing; and assistance in facilitating settlements and maximizing the value of each claim. IMF (Australia) Ltd is based in Sydney, Australia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By GURUFOCUS]
News Corp. (0.4%) (NWSA - $16.06 (0.3%) NWS - $16.43 (0.1%) - NASDAQ)(NWSA), based in New York, operates in five segments: 1) News and information services ��U.S., United Kingdom, and Australian publishing businesses, including The Wall Street Journal, the Times of London, and the New York Post, along with News America Marketing Corp., a leading provider of free standing inserts (FSIs or cents off coupons); 2) Cable network programming ��Fox Sports Australia; 3) Digital real estate services ��a 62% interest in publicly traded REA Group Ltd. (Australia); 4) Book publishing ��Harper Collins, one of the largest English language publishers in the world; and 5) Other ��primarily the company's K-12 education business ��Amplify. On June 28, 2013, 'old News' Corp. (now Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (2.4%)) spun off most of its non entertainment assets ('new News') to holders on a one for four basis. We estimate that the company will generate about $800 million of EBITDA on $8.7 billion of revenues for the year ending June 30, 2014.�
- [By Charles Mizrahi]
Companies rely on third party contractors, such as Atwood Oceanics (ATW) to provide rigs in these deep-water environments. High utilization rates have resulted in rig shortages, creating upward pressure on prices. Atwood's largest customers include Chevron (Australia), Noble, and Kosmos Energy Ghana.
Top Up And Coming Companies To Watch In Right Now: Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited (CCM)
Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates a network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in the People�s Republic of China. The company�s services comprise linear accelerators external beam radiotherapy, gamma knife radiosurgery, head gamma knife systems, body gamma knife systems, proton beam therapy, diagnostic imaging, and other treatment and diagnostic modalities. It offers clinical support services; develops treatment protocols for doctors; and organizes joint diagnosis between doctors in its network and clinical research. The company also operates a specialty cancer hospital, as well as leases medical and diagnostic equipment. As of March 31, 2011, it operated a network of 121 centers with 68 hospital partners that cover 46 cities and 24 provinces, and administrative regions in China. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People�s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
China is set to ease the one child policy, something that could benefit Chinese stocks in general but be especially beneficial to insurance stocks like China Life Insurance Company Ltd (NYSE: LFC) and CNinsure Inc (NASDAQ: CISG) plus health care stocks like Mindray Medical International Ltd�(NYSE: MR) and Concord Medical Services Hldg Ltd (NYSE: CCM). First, let�� be clear that China is NOT abolishing the one child policy as the changes will merely�allow married couples to have two children if one spouse is an only child plus it will be up to China�� 34 province-level administrations to revise�their laws and put the new policy into effect. Moreover, China�� family-planning bureaucracy employs more than 500,000 full-time workers and six million part-time workers all the way down to the village level to�collect billions of dollars in fines and these bureaucrats have fought for years against policy changes���meaning they could throw up roadblocks if not placated. With that said, the insurance and health care sectors are two sectors with publicly Chinese stocks that look set to�take advantage of the coming changes.
Top Up And Coming Companies To Watch In Right Now: AutoNation Inc (AN)
AutoNation, Inc. (AutoNation), incorporated on May 30, 1991, is an automotive retailer in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had three operating segments: Domestic, Import, and Premium Luxury. As of December 31, 2011, it owned and operated 258 new vehicle franchises from 215 stores located in the United States, predominantly in metropolitan markets in the Sunbelt region. Its stores sell 32 different brands of new vehicles. The core brands of vehicles that it sells, representing approximately 90% of the new vehicles that it sold during the year ended December 31, 2011, was manufactured by Ford, Toyota, Nissan, General Motors, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Chrysler. The Company offers a diversified range of automotive products and services, including new vehicles, used vehicles, parts and automotive repair and maintenance services , and automotive finance and insurance products, which includes the arranging of financing for vehicle purchases through third-party finance sources. The Company retailed approximately 400,000 new and used vehicles through its stores in 2011. It acquired one automotive retail franchise and related assets during 2011.
Domestic segment consists of retail automotive franchises that sell new vehicles manufactured by General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. Its Import segment is comprised of retail automotive franchises that sell new vehicles manufactured primarily by Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. Its Premium Luxury segment is consists of retail automotive franchises that sell new vehicles manufactured primarily by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Lexus. The franchises in each segment also sells used vehicles, parts and automotive repair and maintenance services, and automotive finance and insurance products. For the year ended December 31, 2011, Domestic revenue represented 34% of total revenue, Import revenue represented 37% of total revenue, and Premium Luxury revenue represented 28% of total revenue. Corporate and other is consist of its other businesses, incl! uding collision centers, e-commerce activities, and an auction operation, each of which generates revenues, as well as unallocated corporate overhead expenses and retrospective commissions for certain financing and insurance transactions that it arranges under agreements with third parties.
The Company�� stores acquires vehicles for retail sale either directly from the applicable automotive manufacturer or distributor or through dealer trades with other stores of the same franchise. it acquires used vehicles from customer trade-ins, auctions, lease terminations, and other sources. It recondition used vehicles acquired for retail sale at its stores��service facilities and capitalize costs related thereto as used vehicle inventory. Through its VVOs, which are located on existing store facilities, it sells vehicles that it would have traditionally wholesaled with an average retail price lower than that of used vehicles it typically retail. Used vehicles that the Company do not sell at its stores or VVOs generally are sold at wholesale prices through auctions.
The Company offers a variety of automotive finance and insurance products to its customers. The Company arranges for its customers to finance vehicles through installment loans or leases with third-party lenders, including the vehicle manufacturers��and distributors��captive finance subsidiaries, in exchange for a commission payable to the Company. It also offers its customers various vehicle protection products, including extended service contracts, maintenance programs, guaranteed auto protection (GAP, this protection covers the shortfall between a customer�� loan balance and insurance payoff in the event of a casualty), tire and wheel protection, and theft protection products. The vehicle protection products that its stores offers to customers are underwritten and administered by independent third parties, including the vehicle manufacturers��and distributors��captive finance subsidiaries. The Company sells t! he produc! ts on a straight commission basis; however, it also participate in future underwriting profit for certain products pursuant to retrospective commission arrangements. Commissions that it receives from these third-party providers may be subject to chargeback, in full or in part, if products that it sells, such as extended service contracts, are cancelled. Its stores also provide a range of vehicle maintenance, repair, paint, and collision repair services, including warranty work that can be performed only at franchised dealerships and customer-pay service work. The Company has entered into framework agreements with vehicle manufacturers and distributors. It operates each of its new vehicle stores under a franchise agreement with a vehicle manufacturer or distributor.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By tonyg34]
In a recent interview right here on GuruFocus, Tom Gayner of Markel (MKL) had a few things to say about CarMax (KMX). This prompted me to give the company a closer look. What follows is a business analysis. We will save considerations of stock analysis, such as price, for a later discussion.
I think that is a business that will continue to grow. I don't see any reason why you can't have a Carmax in a lot of towns way beyond what they're talking about right now. I think being the number one dealer, and having the number one market share in used car arena gives you great information on what transaction prices are. Then you work on the process to be as quick and as cost efficient in fixing the car and getting it sold, and have the confidence from customers when you offer warranties on the products. Those factors create a virtuous cycle. The more you do, the more you can do, the better the pricing is, the more the customers like you, the more your brand matters. The company will be around for a good long time. The management has done a very good job of creating the system and executing it.
CarMax was formed as a unit of Circuit City in 1993 and was spun off in 2002. Used-car sales account for about 80% of revenue. Competitors include, but certainly are not limited to, AutoNation (AN) and America's Car-Mart (CRMT) as well as private party sellers. - [By Miles Weiss]
Lampert, who took over as chief executive officer at Sears in February, distributed stock in the retailer rather than cash to investors exiting his fund, forcing him to surrender majority control. While such redemptions in kind are rare within the hedge-fund industry, Lampert has used the technique several times, paying investors who want to withdraw their money with shares from his stakes in companies such as AutoZone Inc. (AZO) and AutoNation Inc. (AN)
- [By Sally Jones] ng>Predictability: 1 out of 5 Stars
Up 9% over 12 months, AutoNation Inc. has a market cap of $5.86 billion; its shares were traded at around $48.20 with a P/E ratio of 17.70. The company does not pay a dividend.
Incorporated in 1991, AutoNation Inc. is an automotive retailer in the US. The company owns and operates 265 new vehicle franchises from 221 stores located in the United States, as of December 31, 2012. AutoNation Inc. offers a range of automotive products and services, including new vehicles, used vehicles, parts and automotive services, and automotive finance and insurance products. The company also arranges financing for vehicle purchases through third-party finance sources.
The company reported financial results for the third quarter of 2013 with a 14% year-over-year increase in revenue at $4.5 billion. Operating income was reported at $187 million, also up 14% compared to the third quarter of 2012. AutoNation reported net income for the third quarter of 2013 at $93 million, up from $82 million in the same quarter a year ago. Earnings of $0.75 per share were also up 14% over $0.66 per share in the third quarter of 2012.
The company�� total vehicle sales have also increased by 14% over the same quarter of 2012, and the nation�� largest automotive retailer plans to buy a Honda store and a Hyundai store in Chicago, Illinois, set for completion in the last quarter of 2013, bringing in additional annual revenue of $85 million.
AutoNation�� chairman and CEO Mike Jackson, commented in a company press release, ��e delivered double-digit growth in EPS and operating income in the third quarter of 2013 compared to the prior year, driven by gross profit growth in all of our business sectors.��/p>
Tracking share price, revenue and net income:
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Edward Lampert�� average 12-month return is currently 34.5%. His top buys, sells and holdings in graphic summary:
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Top Up And Coming Companies To Watch In Right Now: Gray Fox Petroleum Corp (GFOX)
Gray Fox Petroleum Corp., incorporated on September 22, 2011, is a domestic oil and gas exploration and development company. The Company focuses on the acquisition and exploration of oil and natural gas properties in the Western United States.
The Company has 100% working interest and an 82% net revenue interest in the 32,723 acre West Ranch Prospect. The Company�� West Ranch Prospect is located in the Butte Valley Oil Play Region of north central Nevada in Elko and White Pine Countries, which has produced over 50 million barrels of oil in Nevada from structures and reservoir horizons similar to those under the West Ranch Prospect. The prospect consists of 22 Federal leases in the Butte Valley Oil Play Region.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
On Friday, small cap mining stocks Maverick Minerals Corp (OTCMKTS: MVRM) and Liberty Coal Energy Corp (OTCMKTS: LBTG) plus oil stock Gray Fox Petroleum Corp (OTCBB: GFOX) sank 30.9%, 16.67% and 11.2%, respectively. However, only one of these stocks appears to have been the subject of some kind of paid promotion in the form of an investment in some shares. So will these three small cap mining or oil stocks keep coming up empty for investors this week? Here is a closer look:
Top Up And Coming Companies To Watch In Right Now: Tremor Video Inc (TRMR)
Tremor Video, Inc.( Tremor Video), incorporated on November 22, 2005, is a provider of technology-driven video advertising solutions enabling brand advertisers to engage consumers across multiple Internet-connected devices, including computers, smartphones, tablets and connected televisions. The Company�� clients include brand advertisers globally, including automakers and consumer packaged goods companies. The Company�� technology, VideoHub, analyzes in-stream video content, detects viewer and system attributes, and leverages its repository of stored data to optimize video ad campaigns for brand-centric metrics. VideoHub also provides advertisers and agencies with analytics and measurement tools enabling them to understand why, when and where viewers engage with their video ads.
VideoHub
VideoHub powers the Company�� video advertising solutions. Through VideoHub it delivers brand-centric key performance indicators, distinct signals to drive optimization, brand-centric optimization, in-stream video analysis and categorization, ad performance transparency, ad placement transparency, and cross site and channel measurement.
The Company has a range of brand-centric key performance indicators (KPIs), such as engagement (that is, the interaction of a viewer with a video ad), brand lift (that is, a positive shift in preference towards a brand or branded product driven by exposure to a video ad and brand education), and time spent (that is, the amount of time a viewer spends with a video ad), which are tailored to the needs of brand advertisers. Throughout a campaign VideoHub analyzes and stores data for all KPIs in its suite. Using a training algorithm, VideoHub trains a series of statistical predictive models to build a decision tree, which predicts performance of the video ad campaign for the chosen KPI.
VideoHub performs an analysis on every video stream and categorizes it among one of approximately 72 video content categories. It also has the ab! ility to scan and categorize content by analyzing the audio track and certain visual elements. VideoHub offers advertisers transparency into the workings of its decision tree. VideoHub tracks the number of impressions served to a specific publisher site and whether a video ad placement is fully, partially or not visible to a viewer, which it refer to as viewability.
The Company�� metric, eQ score+, allows advertisers to compare video inventory quality across different publisher sites by measuring attributes such as viewability, the size of the video player and ad completion rate. When coupled with pricing information, these insights help advertisers compare the relative value of video inventory across publishers.
Tremor Video Network
The Tremor Video Network offers advertisers access to video inventory at scale across multiple devices in brand safe environments. Through the Tremor Video Network it delivers scale and reach across multiple devices, premium video content, brand safety, in-stream video focus, advanced ad formats, and pricing models. The Tremor Video Network delivers scale and reach across multiple Internet-connected devices, including computers, smartphones, tablets and connected television, enabling its clients to use its solutions to address their online video advertising needs across these devices.
The Company�� technology scans and categorizes every video within the Tremor Video Network and prevents video ads from being served within content, which is identified as objectionable for the brand advertiser, including content which contains accidents, distasteful or obscene language, substance abuse, violence, gambling, sex or crime. It specializes in delivering in-stream video advertisements, which can be served to viewers prior to or during the publisher's content when they are the most engaged.
The Company�� ad formats include Super Pre-Roll, Pre-Roll Plus and Pre-Roll Extended Play. The Company offers brand perform! ance-base! d pricing models for in-stream video advertisements, which are tied to the effectiveness of the Tremor Video Network, as advertisers using these models pay the Company only if their video ad campaigns perform.
VideoHub for Advertisers (VHA)
The Company is licensing VHA, a software platform, which client access through a Web portal. By licensing VHA, advertisers and their agencies can use VHA across the entirety of their video ad buys, including on publisher sites. In order to analyze video ad campaigns running outside the Tremor Video Network, VideoHub generates a tracking code which is associated with the video ad unit that the advertiser or agency wishes to analyze through VHA. Advertisers and agencies can then access VideoHub's advanced analysis of this data through VHA in order to gain valuable insights into campaign performance, including the performance of the campaign on a particular publisher's site.
The Company competes with Hulu, LLC, Google Inc., BrightRoll, Inc., YuMe, Inc., CBS, CNN, ESPN, Adap.tv, Inc., Videology, Inc., Facebook, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Yahoo! Inc. and Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rick Munarriz]
Tremor Video (NYSE: TRMR ) -- $7.97
Tremor went public at $10 a share late last month, and it's already a busted IPO.The company seems to be at the right place at the right time. Tremor runs an online video advertising network at a time when everyone is gravitating to video content. Tremor's VideoHub platform analyzes in-stream video content to serve up optimal video ad campaigns. Its clients include all 10 of the largest automakers and all but one of the 10 largest packaged goods companies.
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