Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
Despite some big intraday swings last week for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) and the rest of the market, Friday came along and saved the week, as the Dow gained back its losses from the day before, adding 168 points and finishing the week up 146 points, or 0.93%. One reason for the great Friday was the October jobs number from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which showed that 204,000 new positions had been created during the month, compared with the 125,000 economists had been expecting. The bureau also revised August and September's numbers higher by a combined 60,000. �
That news also helped the S&P 500 gain 0.5%. But it wasn't enough to save the Nasdaq, which ended the week down 0.07%.
Before we jump into the Dow's big losers, let's review the big winner. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) stock climbed after news broke that the company had created a short list of possible candidates to take over the CEO role when Steve Ballmer steps down sometime in the coming months. One name mentioned was Ford CEO Alan Mulally. Another was former Nokia COO Stephen Elop, who,�once Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's handset division closes, will be employed by Microsoft regardless of whether he gets the CEO spot. It's difficult to say who will win the job and whether that person will even want the job, so investors should sit tight for now. �
Best Growth Stocks To Own For 2015: Maximus Inc (MMS)
MAXIMUS, Inc., incorporated on October 18, 2007, provides business process services (BPS) to government health and human services agencies under its mission of Helping Government Serve the People. The Company is primarily focused on operating government-sponsored programs, such as Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), health insurance exchanges and other health care reform initiatives, Medicare, welfare-to-work, child support services and other government programs.
The Company is one of the pure-play health and human services administrative providers to governments in the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. The Company�� segments include Health Services and Human Services. Effective July 1, 2013, MAXIMUS, Inc. acquired Health Management Ltd.
Health Services Segment
The Company's Health Services segment provides a variety of business process services, as well as related consulting services, for state, provincial and federal government programs, including Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), Medicare, the Affordable Care Act and Health Insurance BC (British Columbia). In this segment, the Company's BPS and consulting services include government health insurance program administration; Health insurance program eligibility and enrollment services to improve access to health care for citizens and help beneficiaries make the best choice for their health insurance coverage; Eligibility and enrollment modernization for government health benefit programs; Health insurance exchange design and operations; Consumer outreach and education, including multilingual customer contact centers and multi-channel self-service options, such as Web-based portals, for easy enrollment; Application assistance and independent enrollment counseling to beneficiaries; Premium payment processing and administration, such as invoicing and reconciliation; Objective, evidence-based health appeals; Independent medical! reviews; Health plan oversight; eHealth solutions with the Medigent product suite; Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) planning and oversight, and Specialized program consulting services.
Human Services Segment
The Company's Human Services segment provides federal, national, state and county human services agencies with a variety of business process services, as well as related consulting services for welfare-to-work, child support, higher education and K-12 special education programs. The Company's services include welfare-to-work services, including eligibility determination, case management, job-readiness preparation, job search and employer outreach, job retention and career advancement, and selected educational and training services, to help disadvantaged individuals transition from government assistance programs to sustainable employment and economic independence; Full and specialized child support case management services, customer contact center operations, and program and systems consulting services; Management tools and professional consulting services for higher education institutions; K-12 special education case management solutions; Program consulting services, including independent verification and validation, cost allocation plans, repeatable management services and other specialized consulting offerings, and Tax credit and employer services.
The Company competes with Serco, Atos Origin and Ingeus.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Tuesday
Earnings Expected From: Five Star Quality Care, Inc. (NYSE: FVE), Maximus, Inc. (NYSE: MMS), Nustar Energy (NYSE: NS), D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE: DHI), DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) Economic Releases Expected: German CPI, British CPI, British PPI, US Redbook, Indian manufacturing output, Indian industrial productionWednesday
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Iron Mountain have fallen 2.3% to $25.72 today, while comparable have been mixed. Leidos Holdings (LDOS) has ticked up 0.6% to $46.28 and Amdocs (DOX) has risen 0.8% to $37.20. Maximus (MMS), on the other hand, has fallen 1.2% to $46.22 and Xerox (XRX) is off 0.3% to $10.62.
Top 5 High Tech Companies To Buy For 2014: Universal Technical Institute Inc(UTI)
Universal Technical Institute, Inc. engages in the provision of postsecondary education for students seeking careers as professional automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle, and marine technicians in the United States. It offers undergraduate degree, diploma, and certificate programs through its campuses under various brands, including Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute and Marine Mechanics Institute, and NASCAR Technical Institute. The company also provides manufacturer-specific training programs comprising student paid electives at its campuses and manufacturer or dealer sponsored training at certain campuses and dedicated training centers. Universal Technical Institute, Inc. was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Universal Technical Institute (NYSE: UTI ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By Laura Brodbeck]
Tuesday
Earnings Expected From: Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO), United Natural Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: UNFI), OmniVision Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI), Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE: UTI) Economic Releases Expected: Chinese HSBC Services PMI, Australian GDP, Brazilian GDP, eurozone PPI, British construction PMI.Wednesday
Top 5 High Tech Companies To Buy For 2014: Saks Incorporated(SKS)
Saks Incorporated operates retail stores in the United States. Its stores offer an assortment of fashion apparel, shoes, accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, and gifts. The company operates stores under the brand name of Saks Fifth Avenue (SFA) that are principally free-standing stores in shopping destinations or anchor stores in upscale regional malls. It also operates Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH (OFF 5TH) stores, which are primarily located in upscale mixed-use and off-price centers. As of January 28, 2012, the company operated 46 SFA stores; and 60 OFF 5TH stores. Saks Incorporated also sells its products online at saks.com, as well as through catalogs. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Andrew Marder]
Earlier this week, the New York Post reported that high-end retailer Saks (NYSE: SKS ) had brought in Goldman Sachs to explore a possible sale. The company also reported its first-quarter results, and is looking fairly strong. Comparable sales grew, and earnings per share�hit analyst expectations. The combination of quarterly results and sale rumors conspired to push the stock up 11% yesterday, and overnight it rose another 18%. Is this the right time for Saks to sell, and if so, what should investors be on the lookout for?
Top 5 High Tech Companies To Buy For 2014: Advance Auto Parts Inc(AAP)
Advance Auto Parts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items. It operates in two segments, Advance Auto Parts (AAP) and Autopart International (AI). The AAP segment operates stores, which primarily offer auto parts, including alternators, batteries, chassis parts, clutches, engines and engine parts, radiators, starters, transmissions, and water pumps; accessories comprising floor mats, mirrors, vent shades, MP3 and cell phone accessories, and seat and steering wheel covers; chemicals consisting of antifreeze, freon, fuel additives, and car washes and waxes; and oil and other automotive petroleum products. This segment also provides battery and wiper installation, battery charging, check engine light reading, electrical system testing, video clinics and project brochures, loaner tool programs, and oil and battery recycling services; and sells its products through online. The AI segm ent operates stores that offer replacement parts for domestic and imported cars, and light trucks to customers in northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, as well as to warehouse distributors and jobbers in North America. As of January 1, 2011, the company operated 3,369 AAP stores, including 3,343 stores located in the northeastern, southeastern, and Midwestern regions of the United States under the Advance Auto Parts and Advance Discount Auto Parts trade names; 26 stores situated in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands under the Advance Auto Parts and Western Auto trade names; and 194 stores under the Autopart International trade name in the United States. It serves do-it-yourself, do-it-for-me, or commercial customers. The company was founded in 1929 and is based in Roanoke, Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
What's interesting, though, is that historically, auto-parts makers are seen as relying on the lack of success among automakers. After all, new cars don't need parts nearly as often as older cars do, and when Ford and GM perform well, their customers don't have to rely as much on Genuine Parts or competitors AutoZone (NYSE: AZO ) and Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP ) for replacements. Yet, even though Advance's 15% gain, and AutoZone's 20% rise year to date, aren't quite as substantial as Genuine Parts, they still signal a paradigm shift in the way investors look at the industry, perhaps recognizing that for every new car sold, there's usually a used car that gets traded in, and so good news for Ford and GM sales might actually translate into more business for the parts industry.
- [By John Udovich]
Auto parts retailers like large cap O'Reilly Automotive Inc (NASDAQ: ORLY) and mid cap Advance Auto Parts, Inc (NYSE: AAP)�along with small cap auto parts stock Federal-Mogul Corp (NASDAQ: FDML) have been a bright spot on the economy as consumers try to stretch the lives of their automobiles or vehicles in the bad or uncertain economy. In fact, Investors Business Daily has recently noted that the�average age of cars on the road is about 11.5 years and that�� of course good news for auto parts retailers while�any uptick in sales or production of auto parts in general�will be good for companies like Federal-Mogul Corp. With that in mind, here�is a look at�how these three auto parts retailers or auto parts stocks are taking investors for a ride in a good way:
- [By Daniel Miller]
Rather than pull my money out at the wrong time, as so many people did, I invested in specific trend-bucking, low-beta stocks -- O'Reilly (NASDAQ: ORLY ) , Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP ) , and AutoZone (NYSE: AZO ) . I did so while following Lynch's advice to "invest in what you know." To allow me to tell my story, let me briefly explain what the beta number is and how it works. Then I'll tell you why I picked those stocks and explain how you can do it next time.
- [By Matt Thalman]
Competitor Advanced Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP ) also announced earnings this morning, which resulted in shares of the company increasing by 12.74% today. Revenue at Advanced rose 6% year over year to hit $1.41 billion, but that was below the $1.43 billion analysts were expecting. Despite that miss, earnings per share came in at $0.94, which was $0.13 higher than Wall Street had predicted. The company maintained a strong gross margin at 49.8%, but that fell from 49.9% during the same quarter last year, which was explained as a side effect from a higher mix of commercial sales, an area that has lower margins. Lastly, management forecasted that 2014 fiscal year earnings per share will fall within a range from $7.20-$7.40, while analysts had that number pinned at just $7.03 per share.�
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