Buy or sell: Top stock trading ideas by Aditya Agarwal, Prakash Gaba & Rajesh Agarwal

The Nifty50 which started higher gathered momentum in the last one hour of the trading session on Thursday and closed above its crucial resistance level of 10,500 on Thursday. It made a strong bullish candle which closely resembles a Hanging Man kind of pattern on daily charts.

The index rallied 83 points after falling over 100 points in the previous trading session. Bulls pushed the index above crucial 50-DMA and 100-DEMA. Investors who went long in the index tracking the momentum, should ideally keep a stop below 10,410 levels. The index saw some value buying at lower levels along with short covering which helped Nifty to reclaim 10,500 on closing basis which is a positive sign.

The Nifty50 which opened at 10,464 slipped to an intraday low of 10,419 before bouncing back above 10,500. It hit an intraday high of 10,535 before closing the day at 10,513, up 83 points.

According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,444.0, followed by 10,374.2. If the index starts moving upwards, key resistance levels to watch out are 10,559.4 and 10,605.

related news Top stock picks by Ashwani Gujral & Mitessh Thakkar which are good bets in near term Markets@Moneycontrol: Nifty likely to open flat; Infosys, ITC top buys

The Nifty Bank index closed up 1.29 percent at 26,016.80 on Thursday. The important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 25,759.1, followed by 25,501.4. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 26,173.8, followed by 26,330.8.

Here is the list of top stock ideas by market experts which can give good returns in short term:

Aditya Agarwal of Way2Wealth Brokers

Buy Infosys around Rs 1,214 -1,208 with target at Rs 1,300 and stop loss at Rs 1,170

Buy ITC around Rs 272 - 268 with target at Rs 300 and stop loss at Rs 260

Sell Maruti Suzuki around Rs 8,460 - 8,500 with target at Rs 8,000 and stop loss at Rs 8,810

Prakash Gaba of prakashgaba.com

Buy GSFC with target at Rs 115 and stop loss at Rs 110

Buy HDFC Bank with target at Rs 2010 and stop loss at Rs 1974

Buy Piramal Enterprises with target at Rs 3450 and stop loss at Rs 2380

Buy Mahindra & Mahindra with target at Rs 857 and stop loss at Rs 837

Rajesh Agarwal of AUM Capital

Buy Infosys with stop loss at Rs 1197 and target at Rs 1246

Buy Coal India with stop loss at Rs 274 and target of Rs 288

Buy Housing Development Finance Corporation with stop loss at Rs 1775 and target at Rs 1845

Buy Balrampur Chini Mills with stop loss at Rs 66 and target at Rs 76

Buy Just Dial with stop loss at Rs 450 and target at Rs 484

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Balchem (BCPC) Reaches New 1-Year High and Low at $96.61

Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) shares reached a new 52-week high and low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $96.61 and last traded at $96.33, with a volume of 2460 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $95.08.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BidaskClub cut shares of Balchem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 12th. Vertical Group cut shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 7th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Finally, Pivotal Research raised shares of Balchem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, May 7th.

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The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.23 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.16.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $161.41 million for the quarter. Balchem had a net margin of 15.18% and a return on equity of 14.50%.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Balchem in the fourth quarter valued at $113,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Balchem by 57.1% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Boston Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Balchem in the first quarter valued at $211,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Balchem in the first quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB bought a new position in Balchem in the fourth quarter valued at $286,000. 87.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Balchem Company Profile

Balchem Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets specialty performance ingredients and products for the food, nutritional, feed, pharmaceutical, medical sterilization, and industrial markets in the United States and internationally. The company's Human Nutrition & Health segment supplies ingredients in the food and beverage industry.

Beneficial Bancorp (BNCL) Lifted to “Hold” at BidaskClub

BidaskClub upgraded shares of Beneficial Bancorp (NASDAQ:BNCL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

Shares of Beneficial Bancorp opened at $16.35 on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.44 and a beta of 0.55. Beneficial Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $14.40 and a fifty-two week high of $17.50.

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Beneficial Bancorp (NASDAQ:BNCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 20th. The bank reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13. The firm had revenue of $49.87 million during the quarter. Beneficial Bancorp had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 3.74%.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 10th. Investors of record on Monday, April 30th were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 27th.

In related news, Director Roy D. Yates sold 20,000 shares of Beneficial Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.80, for a total value of $316,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Frank Farnesi sold 27,498 shares of Beneficial Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.08, for a total transaction of $414,669.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 85,494 shares of company stock valued at $1,322,258 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BNCL. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Beneficial Bancorp by 3,025.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,844 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 6,625 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Beneficial Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $125,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in Beneficial Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $179,000. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB purchased a new position in Beneficial Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $192,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Beneficial Bancorp by 30.3% in the first quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,311 shares of the bank’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 3,326 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.83% of the company’s stock.

About Beneficial Bancorp

Beneficial Bancorp, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides consumer and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations in Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey area. The company accepts various deposit products, including non-interest bearing demand deposits, such as individual checking accounts; interest-bearing demand accounts comprising NOW, municipal, and money market accounts; savings accounts; certificates of deposit; and commercial checking accounts, as well as checking accounts primarily for small businesses.