Is Acceleron Pharma a Buy?

Drug development is a risky endeavor. So when a small-cap company with a promising pipeline brings in a deep-pocketed partner to front development and commercialization expenses, then announces its lead drug candidate shined in two late-stage trials, investors should be able breathe a sigh of relief. But despite recent success in the clinic, Acceleron Pharma (NASDAQ:XLRN) hasn't been able to put uncertainty behind it just yet.

The $2 billion development-stage company and Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG) partnered to develop the red blood cell-boosting treatment luspatercept. Positive results in multiple phase 3 trials in 2018 stoked confidence that the drug candidate could become the preferred treatment option for certain blood disorders that typically require blood transfusions. Some even speculated Celgene would move to acquire its partner, which wasn't entirely out of the question considering it already owns a roughly 13% stake.

(Image Source: Getty Images)

Little did investors know Celgene would be the company getting gobbled up -- for a cool $74 billion offered by Bristol-Myers Squibb in early 2019. That likely means Acceleron Pharma will remain a stand-alone company for the foreseeable future, as does a recent share offering that stuffed $264 million in gross proceeds into the company's coffers. Assuming an exit through Celgene is off the table, should investors with a long-term mind-set consider the stock a buy? 

Luspatercept has blockbuster potential

Acceleron Pharma and Celgene are on track to file for marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of luspatercept during the first half of 2019, and it appears likely to succeed.

The drug candidate is being developed as a treatment for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), beta-thalassemia, and myelofibrosis -- blood disorders characterized by abnormal red blood cell development. Patients with late stages of the diseases have to undergo frequent and costly blood transfusions to address the deficiency. While treatment works, complications can significantly reduce quality of life.

Results from multiple phase 3 trials investigating luspatercept have suggested a promising future for patients. The Medalist (MDS) and Believe (beta-thalassemia) trials showed individuals taking the drug candidate could create meaningfully more healthy red blood cells on their own and the need for blood transfusions was significantly reduced over long periods of time. If luspatercept becomes the go-to treatment option in the United States and Europe, then Acceleron Pharma thinks it can reach peak annual sales of more than $2 billion. 

A promising pipeline is an expensive pipeline

Luspatercept seems likely to earn marketing approval from the FDA. While Celgene must pay for commercialization and marketing costs, Acceleron Pharma stands to receive significant milestone payments (up to $211 million total at the time the partnership was announced in 2011), split profits on North American sales, and low- to mid-20% royalties on European sales. It figures to be a pretty sweet deal for the development-stage company.

That said, management is already beginning to dedicate more bandwidth to the rest of the pipeline. Acceleron Pharma has four ongoing or planned phase 2 trials for two additional drug candidates: ACE-083 in neuromuscular disorders and sotatercept in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). None of the programs are currently partnered, which hints operating expenses are about to rise significantly.

That will be an area for investors to watch, especially considering in the first nine months of 2018, the business delivered an operating loss of $87 million, operating cash outflows of $66 million, and a 15% increase in research and development expenses compared to the same period last year. 

It should be no surprise, that the business has been accumulating cash lately, exiting September 2018 with cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of nearly $320 million. Add that to $260 million in gross proceeds from Acceleron's recent share offering, and the $2 billion company should have around $500 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments at the end of the first quarter of 2019. 

That suggests cash won't be an issue for Acceleron Pharma anytime soon, which is especially true if luspatercept earns marketing approval and hits the ground running in 2020. However, the company stated it may use some of the proceeds from its recent share offering for the "potential acquisitions of rights to additional programs from third parties." That could mean anything, but investors may want to consider the company might buy out Celgene's rights to sotatercept in PAH.

Image Source: Getty Images

Sotatercept was originally developed by Acceleron Pharma, then licensed to Celgene for study in a variety of diseases, but the originator reacquired the rights in PAH in late 2017 after discovering the drug candidate's disease-modifying potential. Individuals with PAH suffer from constricted lung arteries marked by significantly elevated blood pressure within their lungs. The debilitating disease makes daily activities cause shortness of breath, and the five-year survival rate is a sobering 57%. Acceleron Pharma thinks sotatercept has the potential to turn PAH into a manageable disease, though that judgment is based on animal data alone. 

Nonetheless, if Acceleron Pharma can buy out Celgene before results are announced from the ongoing phase 2 trial in early 2020, and the midstage study corroborates findings from promising animal studies (which often don't hold up in humans), then the company could have another potential blockbuster on its hands. PAH treatments have annual sales of $4 billion in the United States. And since sotatercept works through a unique mechanism of action, it could be combined with existing treatment options, potentially increasing its market potential beyond the existing opportunity. 

Acceleron Pharma has a favorable risk-reward profile

Investors with a long-term mindset should feel relatively comfortable with a position in Acceleron Pharma. The market potential for luspatercept is significant, and the drug's launch might be a key area of focus for growth-hungry Bristol-Myers Squibb once the dust settles from its Celgene acquisition.

If the drug is successfully commercialized, then Acceleron Pharma would significantly de-risk the development of its remaining clinical assets, including the under-the-radar drug candidate sotatercept in PAH. While the asset has yet to prove its worth in the clinic, Acceleron Pharma found its potential significant enough to reacquire the development and commercialization rights from Celgene in late 2017.

Now flush with cash, and with midstage data for the drug candidate on the way in the first half of 2020, investors should be intrigued by the possibility that Acceleron Pharma won't be a one-trick pony for much longer. That could mean the stock has more upside than Wall Street, which is currently focused on luspatercept alone, expects.

THE CEO WHO SUCCEEDED IN MAKING EMPLOYEES MILLIONAIRES

&l;strong&g;Dave Cote was named CEO of Honeywell in 2002 when the company was facing a tsunami of problems. To restore investor confidence in the company&a;rsquo;s prospects,&a;nbsp;&l;/strong&g;&l;strong&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.thestreet.com/story/13533183/1/honeywell-ceo-here-s-what-i-want-my-legacy-to-be.html&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Cote told analysts what they could expect him to do&l;/a&g;: &l;/strong&g;

First, he would make Honeywell a company where not just investors, but also suppliers, customers, and employees, would say when he retired, that they made a lot of money working with Honeywell.

Second, he would attract and grow talented leaders that recruiters would try to poach, but who wouldn&a;rsquo;t leave because they made good money and also had opportunities to build a career and grow as a person.

Third, he would commit to holding his company shares for 10 years after leaving the company.

Did Cote deliver on these promises? &l;a href=&q;http://investor.honeywell.com/Cache/1001233355.PDF?O=PDF&a;amp;T=&a;amp;Y=&a;amp;D=&a;amp;FID=1001233355&a;amp;iid=4121346&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Last year, in his 2017 shareholder letter&l;/a&g;, Cote reported that since he took the helm at Honeywell, the stock had returned over 400% to its investors.&a;nbsp; Among these investors were roughly 2,500 employees who had become 401(k) millionaires. He proudly added that 94% of these millionaire employees were below the executive level.

&l;img class=&q;dam-image bloomberg size-large wp-image-39251782&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/39251782/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Dave Cote

Throughout his career, Cote was aware of headhunter interest in Honeywell&a;rsquo;s high-performance leaders. Some left, but many stayed. His co-authorship of Honeywell&a;rsquo;s last two shareholder letters with his hand-picked successor, Darius Adamczyk, is evidence of his mentorship commitments.

Third, Cote wrote in his letter that he expected the Honeywell shares he owned would be worth significantly more after he left, thanks to the people processes, and the portfolio that he and the people of Honeywell had engineered to produce resilient results. He expected to hold them for ten years.

Why could Cote keep these promises? One explanation is his commitment to clear and candid communication. Consider the vocabulary in these perceptive quotes from his first letter as Honeywell CEO:

&l;blockquote&g;&l;em&g;Our free cash flow was just superb coming in at a record $2.0 billion, beating original expectations by more than $500 million. Cash means flexibility.&a;rdquo;&l;/em&g; &l;em&g;Honeywell has a culture of governance and integrity essential for the success of any company &a;hellip; to full compliance with all laws in all countries. There is no support, no &a;rsquo;wink and a nod&a;rsquo; for anyone violating the law&l;/em&g;.&a;rdquo; &l;em&g;Growth is most important initiative&a;hellip;because it&a;rsquo;s one where we&a;rsquo;ve had the least success&a;hellip;We have a tremendous productivity culture and we can apply that same mindset to growth.&a;rdquo;&l;/em&g; &l;em&g;Our customer commitment must be palpable and relentless. Honeywell&a;rsquo;s goal is to not just to outperform our competition, but to help our customers outperform their competition.&a;rdquo;&l;/em&g;&l;/blockquote&g;

Cote also told stories, a skill developed by leaders who want to align, educate, transform and inspire others. This story is from his 2002 letter:

&l;blockquote&g;&l;em&g;During my first weeks at Honeywell, I visited with about 20,000 employees in nine countries. The intent was to do some &a;lsquo;cheerleading&a;rsquo; and bring momentum to what I expected to be a dispirited group. Instead, I drew inspiration from them. There was no whining, no recriminations about the past, no disaffection. What clearly came across was a drive, a desire, a determination to move forward! They were asking for direction. I wasn&a;rsquo;t pushing &a;hellip;they were pushing me!&q;&l;/em&g;&l;/blockquote&g;

Words like &a;ldquo;whining,&a;rdquo; &a;ldquo;dispirited,&l;span&g;&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g; &a;ldquo;disaffection,&a;rdquo; and &a;ldquo;pushing&a;rdquo; are not typically found in CEO communications. These words evoke states of being and invite actions that go beyond most CEO comfort zones. Throughout his career, Cote chose words that challenged assumptions, clarified choices, showcased ambitions, and built trust. Honeywell&a;rsquo;s stakeholders have been the beneficiaries.

Cote&a;rsquo;s genius for leading with powerful vocabulary might have come from Ludwig Wittgenstein&a;rsquo;s playbook. This 20&l;sup&g;th &l;/sup&g;century philosopher believed that &a;ldquo;the limits of my language are the limits of my world.&a;rdquo; Apply this principle to CEOs and we can imagine that executives with limited vocabularies will see less of the world. They will be more limited in spotting risks and opportunities spotting, than is true for vocabulary-rich leaders. (Note to Boards of Directors: Add vocabulary depth and breadth to your CEO search criteria.)

&l;a href=&q;https://blogs-images.forbes.com/laurarittenhouse/files/2019/02/Darius_Adamczyk.jpg&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-922&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/laurarittenhouse/files/2019/02/Darius_Adamczyk.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;900&q; data-width=&q;665&q;&g;&l;/a&g; Darius Adamczyk

What can we expect from Honeywell&a;rsquo;s new CEO? Here&a;rsquo;s what Adamczyk promised in his 2017 letter:

&l;blockquote&g;&l;em&g;My intent is to create the best software-industrial company, which attracts, recruits, promotes, develops, and cultivates the best and most talented employees on the planet. We will drive an entrepreneurial culture which is bold yet thoughtful, and takes calculated risks to achieve superior results. I want each of our employees to improve every year and have a passion for winning. We also want to maintain customer intimacy in order to understand and solve our customers&a;rsquo; problems. We have to not only think big, but also deliver big.&q;&l;/em&g;&l;/blockquote&g;

His themes come from the Honeywell playbook: cultivate employees, take calculated risks, and solve customer problems. He introduces new vocabulary like &a;ldquo;passion for winning,&a;rdquo; &a;ldquo;a bold, yet thoughtful culture,&a;rdquo; and &a;ldquo;think big&a;rdquo; and &a;ldquo;deliver big&a;rdquo;.

Soon his first solo letter as CEO will be out. I am eager to read it.

Parallel Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Kimberly Clark Corp (KMB)

Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly Clark Corp (NYSE:KMB) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,762 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kimberly Clark were worth $200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kimberly Clark by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,068,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,962,461,000 after buying an additional 264,393 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc lifted its stake in Kimberly Clark by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc now owns 26,068,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,962,461,000 after buying an additional 264,393 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Kimberly Clark by 6.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,135,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $583,564,000 after buying an additional 325,606 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Kimberly Clark by 10.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,844,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,483,000 after buying an additional 477,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Kimberly Clark by 50.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,738,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,482,000 after buying an additional 1,595,818 shares during the last quarter. 73.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $118.44 on Friday. Kimberly Clark Corp has a fifty-two week low of $97.10 and a fifty-two week high of $120.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 51.24. The stock has a market cap of $40.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.57.

Kimberly Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.68 by ($0.08). Kimberly Clark had a return on equity of 1,156.45% and a net margin of 7.63%. The business had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Kimberly Clark’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Kimberly Clark Corp will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Kimberly Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Kimberly Clark’s payout ratio is 60.51%.

In other Kimberly Clark news, insider Anthony J. Palmer sold 6,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.11, for a total value of $704,703.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael T. Azbell sold 13,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $1,559,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,432 shares in the company, valued at $739,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KMB shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Kimberly Clark in a research note on Monday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly Clark and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kimberly Clark from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $129.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly Clark from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 24th. Finally, ValuEngine cut shares of Kimberly Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Kimberly Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.19.

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Kimberly Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care, consumer tissue, and professional products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Depend, Plenitud, Poise, and other brand names.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KMB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Kimberly Clark Corp (NYSE:KMB).

Cramer Remix: This single statement by Nvidia speaks volumes

Investors can trust that Nvidia's stock has bottomed following its upbeat earnings report for a few key reasons, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Friday after the chipmaker's shares gained 1.82 percent.

The first is CEO Jensen Huang's own outlook for his industry, which he put quite simply on the post-earnings conference call: "The world needs more computing."

"That simple statement is the main reason why I believe Nvidia can ultimately turn things around," Cramer said on "Mad Money."

Following several months of sharp declines in Nvidia's shares — tied largely to a breakdown in cryptocurrency mining, a gaming slowdown in China and slower-than-expected data center build-out — Cramer could understand why investors might be wary.

Click here for his full analysis.

Cramer's trade-tinged game plan Mark Schiefelbein | AFP | Getty Images (L-R) US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He pose for a group photo at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on February 15, 2019.

Cramer suggests that investors don't underestimate the importance of a U.S.-China trade deal as negotiations pick back up in Washington, D.C. next week.

President Donald Trump has signaled that he may hold off of hiking tariffs on Chinese imports as time inches closer to a March 1 agreement deadline. Stocks rallied, including many in the tech and retail sectors, Friday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added more than 443 points. It's a hint that economies around the world could return to sustainable global growth, Cramer said.

Wall Street watchers may be skeptical if a trade agreement between the world's largest economies would actually stop earnings from shrinking, but Cramer said there are a number of signs that a deal could give a boost to companies with exposure to China.

"If we get a deal ... I think the stocks of many international companies, or companies in other words that are based here that sell internationally, can rally because at this point the earnings estimates are too low," he said. "A trade deal translates into higher earnings and higher earnings almost always lead to higher stock prices."

Click here to read the full game plan.

Bringing tech to health care Adam Jeffery | CNBC Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson's collaboration with Apple on the Apple Watch will be a pivotal step in detecting heart irregularities that could lead to much more serious conditions, Johnson & Johnson chief Alex Gorsky told Cramer in an interview.

"One of the most exciting parts of my job right now is to see the technology that's usually equated with California and the West Coast, whether it's AI, machine learning [or] robotics, ... more and more being integrated into health care," said Gorsky, the chairman and CEO.

That's certainly the case with Johnson & Johnson and Apple's new partnership. The two giants are using the Watch in a cardiovascular health study to see how it impacts early detection of atrial fibrillation, or heart flutters, which can lead to stroke and other debilitating conditions. AFib, as it's known colloquially, affects some 33 million people worldwide.

Apple already introduced an electrocardiogram feature for the Watch in December, marking the first release of a mass-market product with an ECG. But there has been some debate around its accuracy, which this tie-up could help improve.

Click here to watch his full interview.

Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images A food delivery courier puts an insulated food bag in his UberEats, operated by Uber Technologies Inc. More run in Zoetis? Adam Jeffery | CNBC Juan Ramon Alaix, CEO of Zoetis

Most families that have pets see them as a part of the family. When owners treat cats and dogs as if they are owe of their children, the costs of health care tend to spike, Cramer said.

That's where Zoetis comes in. Cramer checked in with the CEO on Friday, who said the pet trend is now hitting countries that hadn't been companion-animal-friendly until recently.

"Brazil is growing very fast also. It has always been very strong in livestock — beef, pork, poultry. Now it's becoming a country where a companion animal is very important," Juan Ramon Alaix told Cramer.

Click here to watch his full interview.

Cramer tracks the delivery wars Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images A food delivery courier puts an insulated food bag in his UberEats, operated by Uber Technologies Inc.

Cramer also checked in on the food delivery industry, where GrubHub was once the undisputed leader. But with competitors including Square's Caviar, Uber Eats and DoorDash flocking to meet demand, he's getting a bit worried about GrubHub's chances.

"The delivery space is starting to feel mighty crowded," the "Mad Money" host said, adding that the intense rivalries have him wondering if the easy money has already been made in these stocks.

"When GrubHub had the online delivery industry pretty much to itself, its stock was a huge winner," he said. "Now, though, they've got all these competitors nipping at their heels, their market share is waning, and so is their profitability. And it's not just GrubHub — this is a case where too many cooks spoil the pot. Delivery may be booming, you may love it, but that doesn't mean there's a good way to invest in it."

Lightning round: EA's comeback

In Cramer's lightning round, he flew through his responses to callers' stock questions:

Activision Blizzard Inc.: "Look, they had the bounce. I'm not saying that it was necessarily a bounce that wasn't deserved, because the company is not as bad. But it's now kind of settled in. I think I'd rather own EA on the way up than that, frankly."

PCM Inc.: "To me, that seems like a copycat company. Kind of an online mall. I have to say that I would ka-ching, ka-ching."

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Asure Software Inc (ASUR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Asure Software Inc (NASDAQ:ASUR) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.50.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ASUR shares. Barrington Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Asure Software in a report on Thursday, November 1st. TheStreet cut Asure Software from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 11th. Craig Hallum decreased their price target on Asure Software from $21.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 12th. Canaccord Genuity decreased their price target on Asure Software from $22.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 12th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Asure Software from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 23rd.

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ASUR traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $6.14. 156,271 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 186,212. The company has a market cap of $92.08 million, a PE ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.98. Asure Software has a twelve month low of $4.26 and a twelve month high of $19.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.18.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASUR. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Asure Software during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $413,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Asure Software by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 132,250 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 6,418 shares during the last quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Asure Software during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,524,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Asure Software by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 51,282 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 16,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Asure Software by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 22,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.25% of the company’s stock.

Asure Software Company Profile

Asure Software Inc provides cloud-based software-as-a-service time and labor management, and workspace management solutions worldwide. The company's product line includes AsureSpace workplace management solutions that enable organizations to manage their office environments and optimize real estate utilization; and AsureForce time and labor management solutions to help organizations optimize workforce, as well as control labor administration costs and activities.

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Allianz (ALV) PT Set at €240.00 by Kepler Capital Markets

Kepler Capital Markets set a €240.00 ($279.07) target price on Allianz (FRA:ALV) in a research note published on Friday morning. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. DZ Bank reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Allianz in a research note on Friday. Barclays set a €225.00 ($261.63) price objective on Allianz and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Goldman Sachs Group set a €200.00 ($232.56) price objective on Allianz and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. Independent Research set a €230.00 ($267.44) price objective on Allianz and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a €224.00 ($260.47) price target on Allianz and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Allianz has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of €215.17 ($250.20).

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Shares of FRA ALV traded up €5.94 ($6.91) during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching €190.14 ($221.09). The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,094,131 shares. Allianz has a 52 week low of €167.30 ($194.53) and a 52 week high of €206.80 ($240.47).

About Allianz

Allianz SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides property-casualty insurance, life/health insurance, and asset management products and services worldwide. The company's Property-Casualty segment offers various insurance products, including motor liability and own damage, accident, general liability, fire and property, legal expense, credit, and travel insurance products to private and corporate customers.

Further Reading: How to Trade Using Analysts Ratings