Facebook Facebook closed above $40 a share for the first time today, banishing more than a year of deep doubts about the company�� prospects following its initial public offering of stock last year.
Technically, the closing price of $40.55, up more than 5% on the day, remains below the all-time high of $45. But that high came just seconds after the first day of trading on May 18, 2012, quickly falling back down to close just a little above the $38 offering price. But this is Facebook�� all-time closing high.
What pushed shares above that symbolic level? Nothing today beyond a positive analyst comment or two. But several reasons for the stock�� rapid rise, up more than 50% from the July 24 earnings announcement alone, stand out:
* The company�� growth has reignited on all fronts after a pause last year. In particular, second-quarter ad revenues shot up a surprisingly strong 61%. And despite persistent rumors that younger people are abandoning the site in favor of up-and-coming social services such as SnapChat, Facebook continues to grow its user base.
Best Regional Bank Stocks To Watch Right Now: CyberOptics Corporation (CYBE)
CyberOptics Corporation supplies optical process control sensors and inspection systems to control the manufacturing process and ensure the quality of electronic circuit boards worldwide. The company also manufactures and sells sensors that assist with yield enhancement during semiconductor fabrication. Its products include surface mount technology (SMT) electronic assembly alignment sensors, including LaserAlign sensor that is incorporated into component placement machines used in the SMT production lines; BoardAlign camera, which identifies fiducial markings on a circuit board and aligns the board in the component placement machine prior to component placement; and InPrinter inspection camera that identifies fiducial markings on a circuit board to ensure accurate board registration prior to placement of solder paste. The company also offers photovoltaic and fuel cell alignment sensors, such as solar wafer alignment cameras for alignment measurements; and embedded process verification inspection technology products and solder paste inspection sensors. In addition, it provides SMT stand-alone inspection system products, which include solder paste inspection and automated optical inspection products; and WaferSense sensors that provide measurements of critical factors in the semiconductor fabrication process, as well as wafer mapping and alignment sensors, frame grabber products, and machine vision subsystems. The company sells its products to the manufacturers of electronic circuit board assembly equipment, manufacturers of semiconductor DRAM memory, and semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers, as well as end-user electronic assembly manufacturers, including original design manufacturers and electronic manufacturing service providers. CyberOptics Corporation markets its products through independent representatives and distributors. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Emerson]
I even recorded a tax loss carry-forward on my original purchase of CAMT for which I had paid $2.05 per share. It seems that I was a slow learner in regard to the necessity of selling AOI companies long before they entered a cyclical trough in their earnings. Happily, I have since remedied that problem. For informational purposes I must disclose that in the spring, I repurchased shares of CAMT and made a larger purchase in a Cyberoptics (CYBE) another AOI company, which was near a multiyear low at the time.
Top 5 Rising Companies To Watch For 2014: HomeAway Inc (AWAY)
HomeAway, Inc. (HomeAway), incorporated on April 6, 2004, is an online marketplace for the vacation rental industry. As of December 31, 2012, the Company operated its online marketplace through 44 websites in 13 languages. During the year December 31, 2012, the Company had over 600 million Website visits. As of December 31, 2012, its global marketplace included more than 710,000 paid listings of vacation rentals. HomeAway portfolio includes the vacation rental Websites: HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com in the United States; HomeAway.co.uk and OwnersDirect.co.uk in the United Kingdom; HomeAway.de in Germany; Abritel.fr and Homelidays.com in France; HomeAway.es in Spain; AlugueTemporada.com.br in Brazil, and HomeAway.com.au in Australia. In April 2012, the Company acquired 100% of the outstanding stock of Top Rural S.L. In November 2013, the Company announced that it has secured a 55% interest of Bookabach Limited, the operator of a vacation rental site in New Zealand.
HomeAway operates BedandBreakfast.com, a global site for finding bed and breakfast properties, providing travelers with another source for lodging alternatives to hotels, and HomeAway Software for Professionals at software.HomeAway.com, to offer software solutions to property managers and innkeepers. Its online marketplace serves two major constituents: property owners and managers on one side and travelers on the other. Property owners and managers pay listing fees, which are annual subscriptions, to provide detailed listings of their properties on its Websites and reach an audience of travelers seeking vacation rentals. Travelers visit its marketplace at no charge and are able to search and compare its large and detailed inventory of paid listings to find vacation rentals meeting their requirements.
Products and Services for Property Owners and Managers
Paid listings are purchased in advance by property owners or managers as a form of advertising to promote their vacation rentals to ! prospective travelers on one or more of its Websites, typically for one year. Paid listings appear in search results on its websites when travelers search for vacation rentals based on traveler search criteria. During the year ended December 31, 2012, paid listings accounted for 84.9% of the Company�� revenue. ReservationManager includes tools and services to help property owners and managers run their vacation rental businesses more efficiently. ReservationManager enables property owners and managers to respond to and manage inquiries, prepare and send rental quotes and payment invoices, allow travelers to book online, including being able to enter into rental agreements with travelers online, and process online payments via Visa, MasterCard, Discover or eCheck. Additionally, through ReservationManager, property owners and managers can provide value-added products to travelers for purchase such as property damage protection.
Property owners and managers may purchase additional enhancements to their listings to increase the marketing exposure of their properties on certain of our websites, such as: Cross-Sell Listings or Bundles and Featured Listings, Special Offers and Deals. Performance-Based Listings property managers can use its enterprise and Web-based software solutions to manage their businesses, customers and properties. The Company provide software solutions to property managers under the brand names HomeAway Software for Professionals, Escapia, PropertyPlus, V12, Entech and First Resort and offer software tailored to professional bed and breakfast innkeepers under the brand names Webervations and Rezovations. Third-Party Services offer property owners and managers several ancillary products and services on selected websites. These products and services include credit card merchant accounts, trip insurance and property damage protection, and tax return services. BedandBreakfast.com Redistribution through its professional software for bed and breakfasts and professional property m! anagers, ! it make selected, online e-bookable properties available to online travel agencies, including Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline, as well as channel partners such as FlipKey.com and PackLate.com. Property Owner and Manager Community provide resources for property owners and managers to seek advice and obtain answers to optimize their business. These resources include a community site, email newsletters, online forums and online seminars.
Products and Services for Travelers
The products and services are offered to travelers at no cost, which include Search and Compare, Traveler Login, Trust and Security, Listing Reviews and Ratings, Traveler Community and Mobile Websites and Applications. Search and compare is an online marketplace provides travelers with tools to search for vacation rentals based on various criteria, such as location, type of property, number of bedrooms, amenities, availability or keywords. Travelers are able to create accounts that enable them to log in to certain of our websites. Travelers can then send inquiries to property owners and managers without having to fill in their information for each inquiry. Trust and security reviews new listings selectively for content, appropriateness, and quality of description. Travelers are invited to submit online reviews of the vacation rentals they have rented through its Websites. These reviews are intended to convey the accuracy of the listing information found on its Websites.
Traveler community who have made at least one inquiry on one of the Company�� Websites are maintained in a database and receive regular communications, including notices about places of interest, special offers, new listings, and an e-mail newsletter. Mobile Websites and applications provides versions of its Websites formatted for Web browsers on smartphones and tablets so that travelers can access its Websites and find and inquire about vacation rentals when they are away from a computer. It also provides applications for tra! velers to! find and inquire about vacation rentals using their smartphones and tablets.
Value-Added Services
The Company�� Value-Added Services includes Carefree Rental Guarantee, Insurance Products and Tax Filing Services. Carefree Rental Guarantee, which is offered at no cost to travelers, it offer a Carefree Rental Guarantee in the United States for a fee, which provides additional financial protection against fraud if the property found on its Website is illegitimate, not as advertised, or not available to the traveler upon check-in, and, as a result, the traveler incurs a financial loss. Insurance Products have contracted with third party insurance providers to offer travelers insurance products for purchase to protect against unexpected events relating to their trips, such as property damage protection, trip cancellation protection, personal liability, medical fees and legal expenses. Tax Filing Services to assist its property owners and managers in complying with applicable tax regulations, it contract with a third party in the United States to provide tax preparation and filing services for its property owners and managers.
Advertising
The Company�� advertising includes Display Advertising and Sponsorships and Site Integrations. Display Advertising sells Internet display advertising on the majority of the Company�� Websites. Advertisers, including those offering complementary products of interest to the visitors to its Websites, are able to purchase advertising positions for a fee based upon the number of impressions and the placement of the advertisement on the page. Sponsorships and site integrations sell sponsorships and site integrations to selected advertisers on its online marketplace. Sponsors purchase a certain number of impressions for a fee, or in the case of site integrations, pay the Company on a cost-per-action basis.
The Company competes with TripAdvisor.com, FlipKey.com, HolidayLettings.co.uk, Wyndam Worldwide Corp., I! nterHome,! AG, Hyatt Vacation Clubs, Four Seasons Resorts, VacationRoost; Expedia, Inc., Hotels.com LP, Kayak Software Corporation, Orbitz, Inc., priceline.com Incorporated, Travelocity.com Inc., Interval International, Inc. and RCI, LLC, Airbnb, Inc., craigslist, Inc., eBay Inc., Google Inc. and Bing.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
HomeAway has termites
Things were looking pretty good for HomeAway (NASDAQ: AWAY ) investors as last week drew to a close. Analysts at investment bank Piper Jaffray had just upgraded the stock to overweight on expectations of improved pricing growth in 2014. But the enthusiasm was short-lived, as Monday dawns with a new rating for HomeAway: Sell. - [By Michael Cintolo]
HomeAway (AWAY)
It�� not as sexy as some other stories, but we believe HomeAway has all of the characteristics of a big winner��t serves a mass market, it offers a major benefit to consumers, it dominates its market.
Top 5 Rising Companies To Watch For 2014: Brookfield Office Properties Inc. (BPO)
Brookfield Properties Corporation is a publicly owned real estate investment firm. The firm engages in the ownership, development, and management of premier commercial properties. It also provides ancillary real estate service businesses, such as tenant service and amenities. The firm invests in the real estate markets of the United States with a focus on North American cities, including New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Toronto, Calgary, Denver, and Minneapolis. It primarily invests in properties and development sites predominantly office buildings. The firm operates as a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. It was formerly known as Carena-Bancorp Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Le Holding Carena-Bancorp Inc. in 1978. The company further changed its name to Carena-Bancorp, Inc. in 1985; to Carena Developments Limited in 1989; and to Brookfield Properties Corporation in 1996. Brookfield Properties was founded in 1923 and is based in New York, New York wi th an additional office in Toronto, Canada
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Victor Selva]
Xerox Corporation (XRX), with a market capitalization of $13.11 billion, is among the largest companies in the global document markets. It is a provider of business process and document management. The company is a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company engaged in managing transaction processes.
- [By Luke Jacobi]
Brookfield Office Properties (NYSE: BPO) got a boost, closing up 13.71 percent to $19.07 after Brookfield Property Partners (NYSE: BPY) proposed to acquire Brookfield Office Properties for $19.34 per share.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Shares of Brookfield Office Properties (NYSE: BPO) got a boost, shooting up 13.45 percent to $19.02 after Brookfield Property Partners (NYSE: BPY) proposed to acquire Brookfield Office Properties for $19.34 per share.
- [By Mike Arnold]
Brookfield's public assets include a 21% stake (and potentially more given certain warrants held by Brookfield) in General Growth Properties (GGP), a 51% stake in Brookfield Office Properties (BPO), a 36% stake (again, more if certain warrants are exercised) in Rouse Properties (RSE) and 21% stake in Canary Wharf Group Plc, which is majority owned by Songbird Estates Plc (SBEPF.PK).
Top 5 Rising Companies To Watch For 2014: Washington Banking Company(WBCO)
Washington Banking Company operates as the bank holding company for Whidbey Island Bank that provides community commercial banking services in northwestern Washington. Its deposit products include interest-bearing demand and money market accounts, saving deposits, time deposits, NOW accounts, and noninterest-bearing demand deposits. The company?s portfolio of loans comprises secured and unsecured commercial loans for working capital and expansion; real estate mortgage loans, including one-to-four family residential and commercial real estate loans; and real estate construction loans, such as commercial real estate, one-to-four family residential construction, and speculative construction loans. Its consumer loan portfolio include automobile loans, boat and recreational vehicle financing, home equity and home improvement loans, and other secured and unsecured personal loans, as well as SBA guaranteed loans for small and medium sized businesses. In addition, the company pro vides non-deposit managed investment products and services, and sweep investment options. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 30 branches in 6 counties located in northwestern Washington. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in Oak Harbor, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
Washington Banking (NASDAQ: WBCO ) is diverting some of its capital to repurchase its own stock. The company announced that its board has authorized a buyback program for up to 775,000 shares. The program is expected to continue through the end of 2014, although the firm stressed that it "is under no obligation to repurchase a specific number or dollar amount of shares and the repurchase program may be discontinued at any time."
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