Tag Archives: fund

Cisco Beats On Revenue, Guides Higher: Tech ETFs In Focus

One of the tech primes – Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO ) – reported third-quarter results after the closing bell on Wednesday. While the company met our earnings estimates, it beat revenue estimates for the sixth consecutive quarter, spreading some bullishness into the sector. This is especially true given that the company clearly emerged as a strong winner amid dollar strength and succeeded when its major rivals International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM ) and Oracle (NYSE: ORCL ) faltered on revenue growth by missing our estimates earlier this earnings season (read: IBM Revenues Fall Again in Q1: ETFs to Watch ). Further, Cisco guided higher for the ongoing quarter at its conference call. Nonetheless, the company’s shares fell about 0.7% at the close in aftermarket hours. Cisco’s Q2 Results in Focus Earnings per share came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 48 cents (accounting for stock-based compensation). Revenues rose 5% year over year to $12.14 billion and were well ahead of our estimate of $12.06 billion. The better-than-expected revenue performance was aided by solid demand for its high-end switches and routers. The world’s largest network equipment maker expects revenues to grow 1-2% year over year and earnings per share in the range of 55-57 cents for the ongoing quarter. Earnings guidance is above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 51 cents. Cisco is the leading player in routers and switches business and the fastest-growing company in the $50 billion market for servers. Earlier in the month, the company announced Chuck Robbins as the new CEO, who will replace John Chambers on July 26. Market Impact Cisco’s revenue beat and solid guidance put tech ETFs having the largest allocation to the network giant in focus for the days ahead. Investors should closely monitor the movement in these funds and grab the opportunity when it arises (see: all the Technology ETFs here) . iShares North American Tech-Multimedia Networking ETF (NYSEARCA: IGN ) This ETF provides concentrated exposure to the domestic multimedia networking securities by tracking the S&P North American Technology Multimedia Networking Index. Holding 24 securities in its basket, Cisco takes the third spot with an 8.92% allocation. The product has a definite tilt toward mid caps, which comprise half of the portfolio. The fund has accumulated $148.1 million while it sees moderate volume of less than 50,000 shares a day. Expense ratio comes in at 0.47%. The fund has added 4.7% in the year-to-date time frame and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 or “Strong Buy” rating with a High risk outlook. First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index ETF (NASDAQ: TDIV ) This fund provides exposure to the dividend payers in the technology sector by tracking the NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index. The product has amassed about $712.4 million in its asset base and trades in good volume of more than 207,000 shares per day. The ETF charges 50 bps in annual fees. In total, the fund holds about 110 securities in its basket. Of these firms, CSCO occupies the third position, making up roughly 8.17% of the assets. In terms of industrial exposure, the fund allocates nearly one-fifth portion in semiconductor and semiconductor equipment, followed by software (16.5%), technology hardware, storage & peripherals (16.4%), and communications equipment (14.2%). The fund is up 1.4% so far this year (read: Chipmakers Q1 Earnings Fail to Fuel Semiconductor ETFs ). PowerShares Dynamic Networking Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: PXQ ) This fund follows the Dynamic Networking Intellidex Index, holding 30 securities in its basket. Out of these, Cisco is the fifth firm accounting for 4.94% share. From a sector look, communications equipment dominates the fund’s portfolio, holding less than half the assets, followed by 29% in software and programming. The fund is less popular and illiquid in the broad tech space with AUM of $27.6 million and average daily volume of about 3,000 shares. It charges 63 bps in annual fees and has returned 5.5% in the year-to-date time frame. PXQ has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 or “Hold” rating with a High risk outlook. Original post

A Flurry Of IPOs Might Lift IPO ETFs

The U.S. IPO space, which was subdued at the start of 2015, looks to be on fire this week. As per Renaissance Capital , as many as 14 companies are slated to go public this week. This makes the week starting from May 4 the ‘busiest week’ of 2015 so far, per 247wallst.com . Investors should note that after a massive run last year, the IPO market cooled down considerably in the first quarter of 2015. Per Renaissance , 34 IPOs raised $5.4 billion in capital, making Q1 of 2015 the most inactive per IPO tally since 1Q of 2013. Also, the proceeds from IPO were the least since 3Q of 2011. Only, the health care sector managed to tread water in the gloomy U.S. IPO market. Rising rate worries, a strong greenback and later a moderation in U.S. growth have probably raised concerns over the space. However, with the Fed repeatedly hinting at a delayed rate hike, the space has now bucked up. Renaissance Capital’s IPO schedule indicated that the following companies are making a public market debut this week. These are Tallgrass Energy GP LP, Adaptimmune Therapeutics, International Market Centers, Commercial Credit, Bojangles, Collegium Pharmaceutical, aTyr Pharma, CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, Klox Technologies, MultiVir, Gelesis, Anterios, HTG Molecular Diagnostics and OpGen. The deal size ranges from $15 million to $900 million with OpGen having the lowest and Tallgrass Energy leading. Like Q1, the offerings are ruled by the health care and biotech space, with 10 out of 14 companies being bio-pharmaceuticals. Looking at the trend, one can assume that the sagging scenario of Q1 in the U.S. may turn around in Q2. Things are looking better at the international arena as ample cheap money will shore up corporate activities at foreign shores. Still, investors having faith in the revival of domestic operations might take a look at two IPO ETFs that are presently on offer. This is especially true given that the U.S. markets are now in the most active IPO week ‘ since the week of July 28, 2014 ‘, per Renaissance Capital. Renaissance IPO ETF (NYSEARCA: IPO ) Holding 56 stocks in the basket, the fund follows the Renaissance IPO Index, which holds the largest and most liquid newly listed U.S. initial public offerings. New companies seek inclusion on a ‘fast entry basis’ on the fifth day of trading. Currently, the product allocates more to Alibaba at 9.04%, closely followed by Twitter (7.46%) and Hilton (5.91%). Mid caps rule the portfolio with over half of the allocation. IPO ETF has attracted $28 million in its asset base. The ETF sees low volume of nearly 10,000 shares, suggesting additional cost beyond the expense ratio of 0.60%. From a sector look, technology stocks make up for over one-third share followed by consumer discretionary (20%), financials (17%) and health care (10%). The fund has added 6% year to date (as of May 4, 2015). First Trust US IPO Index Fund (NYSEARCA: FPX ) This ETF targets the U.S. IPO market and follows the IPOX-100 U.S. Index. It has accumulated $673.3 million in AUM and charges 60 bps in fees a year. Volume is decent as it exchanges around 75,000 shares in hand on average. In total, the fund holds 100 securities. The product has a nice mix of sectors, with the top two being consumer discretionary (23.87%) and information technology (22.01%). The red hot IPO sector health care takes about 18.55% of the basket. Since the ETF focuses on the 100 largest and most liquid U.S. IPOs, new companies can find entry into the fund’s holding after trading for a minimum of 100 days. FPX is up 7.5% so far this year (as of May 4, 2015). Original Post

3 Large Cap Blend Mutual Funds To Diversify Your Portfolio

A blend fund is a type of equity mutual fund which holds in its portfolio a mix of value and growth stocks. Blend funds are also known as “hybrid funds”. Blend funds aim for value appreciation by capital gains. They owe their origin to a graphical representation of a fund’s equity style box. In addition to diversification, blend funds are great picks for investors looking for a mix of growth and value investment. Meanwhile, large cap funds usually provide a safer option for risk-averse investors, when compared to small cap and mid cap funds. These funds have exposure to large cap stocks, providing long-term performance history and assuring more stability than what mid cap or small caps offer. Below, we will share with you 3 potential large cap blend mutual funds . Each has either earned a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) or a Zacks #2 Rank (Buy), as we expect these mutual funds to outperform their peers in the future. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all large cap blend funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of funds. Fidelity Large Cap Core Enhanced Index Fund No Load (MUTF: FLCEX ) seeks capital growth over the long run. The fund invests a lion’s share of its assets in large cap companies listed on the S&P 500 Index. Factors including historical valuation, growth and profitability are considered before investing in a company. FLCEX aims to provide return greater than that of the S&P 500 Index. It invests in companies throughout the globe. The Fidelity Large Cap Core Enhanced Index Fund has returned 14.9% over the past one year. FLCEX has an expense ratio of 0.45%, as compared to a category average of 1.08%. Schwab Core Equity Fund Inv (MUTF: SWANX ) invests a major portion of its assets in equity securities of domestic companies. The fund seeks to maintain a portfolio which is expected to provide a higher total return than the S&P 500 index. Though SWANX invests in companies having a market capitalization of more than $500 million, the fund allots a sizable portion of its assets in large cap stocks. The Schwab Core Equity Fund has returned 17.2% over the past one year. Jonas Svallin is one of the fund managers, and has managed this fund since 2012. Schroder North American Equity Fund Advisor (MUTF: SNAVX ) seeks capital appreciation over the long term. The fund invests a large chunk of its assets in companies that are located or traded in North America. Though SNAVX focuses on acquiring stocks of large cap companies, it may also invest notable portion of its assets in mid and small cap companies. SNAVX invests in equity securities, including common and preferred stocks. The fund has returned 11.6% over the past one year. As of March 2015, SNAVX held 407 issues, with 4.21% of its assets invested in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL ) Original Post Share this article with a colleague