Author Archives: Scalper1

4 Best-Rated Utility Mutual Funds For Stable Returns

Investors with a conservative mindset looking for stable current income would do well to consider utility funds. They are used as defensive instruments, which protect investments during a market downturn. This is because the demand for essential services such as those provided by utilities remains unchanged even during difficult times. In recent years, many funds in this category have increased their exposure to emerging markets and unregulated companies. Though this strategy has increased the risk involved, it has also generated higher returns. Below, we will share with you 4 top-rated utility mutual funds . Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) as we expect these mutual funds to outperform their peers in the future. AllianzGI Global Water Fund A (MUTF: AWTAX ) seeks long-term capital growth. AWTAX invests a major portion of its assets in common stocks of companies that are represented in the S&P Global Water Index, the NASDAQ OMX US Water or Global Water Indices or the S-Network Global Water Index, or are involved in water-related activities. AllianzGI Global Water A is a non-diversified fund and has a three-year annualized return of 3.6%. Andreas Fruschki is the fund manager since 2008. Kinetics Alternative Income Fund C (MUTF: KWICX ) invests a large portion of its assets in the Alternative Income Portfolio, a series of Kinetics Portfolios Trust that holds a portfolio of primarily fixed-income securities. KWICX seeks to provide current income. Kinetics Alternative Income Fund C is a non-diversified fund and has a three-year annualized return of 1.3%. As of September 2015, KWICX held 327 issues, with 11.58% of its total assets invested in the iShares 1-3 Year Credit Bond. American Century Utilities Fund Inv (MUTF: BULIX ) seeks current income and capital appreciation. BULIX invests a major portion of its assets in equities related to the utility industry. BULIX’s portfolio is based on qualitative and quantitative management techniques. In the quantitative process, stocks are ranked on their growth and valuation features. American Century Utilities Fund is a non-diversified fund and has a three-year annualized return of 9.9%. BULIX has an expense ratio of 0.67% as compared to the category average of 1.25%. Putnam Global Telecommunication Fund B (MUTF: PGBBX ) invests a large portion of its assets in both mid and large capitalization companies across the world. PGBBX generally invests in securities of companies that are part of the telecommunication industry. Putnam Global Telecommunication B is a non-diversified fund and has a three-year annualized return of 6.5%. Vivek Gandhi is the fund manager since 2008. Original post

Shopify Q4 Earnings Beat, Showing Strength Of Social Marketing

Shopify ( SHOP ) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday morning and provided guidance above expectations, sending the stock upward. Shopify reported revenue of $70.2 million, up 99% year over year and beating the consensus estimate of $61.2 million, as polled by Thomson Reuters. It reported a 1 cent per-share loss, minus items, where analysts had expected a 5 cent loss. The company reported a 3 cent per-share loss in the year-earlier quarter. Shopify stock jumped as much as 21% in early trading in the stock market today , but it pared the advance to a 7% gain, near 22, by midday Wednesday. Shopify raised $131 million with its May 2015 initial public offering that priced shares at 17. Shares popped 55% on their first day of trading and peaked in June at above 42. Shopify provides a cloud-based e-commerce platform that businesses use to build websites and sell goods online and across multiple sales channels, including mobile and social media. Shopify says it was among the first e-commerce providers to add the ability to sell over the leading social media platforms, including Facebook ( FB ) and Twitter ( TWTR ). More than 25% of Shopify merchants have enabled social media selling. In November, Shopify announced a partnership with Facebook that lets shoppers buy Shopify merchants’ products through their Facebook pages. In September,  Amazon.com ( AMZN ) selected Shopify to be its preferred platform for helping small and midsize retailers build and manage online stores. The plan lets Shopify businesses use Amazon’s payment system and other services, part of a plan that Amazon announced a year ago to ultimately shut down its Amazon Webstore business, which provides a similar service. More than 243,000 merchants use the Shopify platform, the company says. For Q1, Shopify expects revenue of $65 million to $67 million, above the analyst consensus of $62.1 million. At the midpoint, that would be a 76% increase from the year-earlier quarter. It expects an adjusted operating loss of $6.5 million to $7.5 million. For 2016, Shopify expects revenue of $320 million to $330 million, where analysts had modeled $286.7 million. “Over the holiday season, our merchants collectively sold almost $3 billion worth of products, a huge increase from the year before,” Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke said in the company’s the earnings release.