World News – USA – Cisco plans to add artificial intelligence capabilities to its existing customer relationship management solutions

DUBLIN, Dec. . Nov. 11, 2020 / PRNewswire / – ResearchAndMarkets. com published a new article on the CRM industry, « Cisco Wants to Add Artificial Intelligence to Its Existing Customer Relationship Management Solutions »

Cisco Systems Inc has agreed to sell customer service software developer IMImobile Plc worth approximately &pound (543 million euros). USD (727 million. USD)) to buy. . IMImobile offers software and services that enable companies and organizations to stay in touch with their customers through advanced interactive channels such as social media, messaging and voice. The deal comes as Cisco seeks to add artificial intelligence capabilities to its existing customer relationship management solution to improve how its customers communicate with their end users. With the software and services of IMImobile&rsquo, Cisco can automate the outreach process more effectively than ever before. For example, customer reps can get contextual information about the customer to ensure the interaction is tailored to their needs and help their customers connect with end users through the channel of their choice. The IMImobile acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.

For the full article and a list of related reports in the marketplace, see « Cisco Endeavors to Add Artificial Intelligence Capabilities to Existing Customer Relationship Management Solutions »

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Investing is all about profits, and part of generating profit is knowing when to start the game. The old saying goes that one should buy cheap and sell high, and while it is tempting to ignore such stereotypes, they have migrated into the common currency because they embody a fundamental truth. Buying low is always a good place to start when building a portfolio. The trick, however, is to identify the right stocks to buy cheap. Prices fall for a reason, and sometimes that reason is a fundamental obscurity. Fortunately, Wall Streets analysts are busy sorting the chaff among the market’s cheap stocks, and some top stock pundits have flagged multiple stocks for big gains. These stocks are currently trading low – but the reasons aren’t necessarily bad for investors. We used the TipRanks database to pull up the dates and ratings on two stocks that are currently cheap but may be looking to make a profit. They have received positive reviews and, despite their stock depreciation, hold buy ratings and have an upside potential of over 60%. Digital Media Solutions (DMS) We’re starting with Digital Media Solutions, an adtech company that connects online advertisers with customers through performance-based branding and marketplace solutions. DMS has a powerful consumer intelligence database that can be used to refine customer acquisition campaigns. At the same time, the advertisers are given responsibility for the project budget. DMS went public in July of this year through a merger with a special purpose vehicle, Leo Holdings. The combination took the DMS name for the ticker and started trading at $ 10 per share. The stock has been volatile since then, down 27% since it started trading. Digital advertising is a huge and growing sector, valued at $ 100 billion in 2019 and an estimated $ 130 billion by the end of next year. DMS has a solid piece of that cash cow, and the Q3 numbers show it. Quarterly sales hit a company record of $ 82. 8 million, an increase of 10% over the previous quarter and 44% over the previous year. From these total sales, the company made gross profits of $ 25. 1 million with a gross margin of 30%. Overall, the first quarter of DMS as a listed company showed strong results. Canaccord’s stock is covered by analyst Maria Ripps, who is rated 5 stars by TipRanks and below 7+. 100 equity analysts in the top 1%. “The company saw significant volume growth in both new and existing customers, particularly in auto insurance, e-commerce, education, and nonprofits. We continue to assume that investors will gradually appreciate the similarities of DMS with others. Digital marketing leaders who trade higher premium ratings and expect multiple expansion over time as the story is better understood,  » noted Ripps. To this end, Ripps is giving the DMS share a buy, and their target price of $ 15 indicates an upward movement of 106% from the current share price of $ 7. 20th. (To see Ripps’ track record, click here. ) Overall, DMS’s consensus rating for moderate purchase is based on two recent ratings that are both positive. The stock has an average price target of $ 14, indicating an upside of 92%. (See DMS stock analysis on TipRanks) ViaSat, Inc. . (VSAT) We are moving from digital advertising to digital networking. ViaSat offers customers high-speed broadband access over a secure satellite network system. The company serves both military and commercial markets and meets the growing need for secure communications links. The anti-coronavirus shutdown guidelines have particular implications for ViaSat. This may sound counterintuitive as online networking has never been busier, but a large part of ViaSat’s business comes from the airlines. With air traffic lying on the ground initially and still facing low travel volumes, ViaSat shares have yet to recover from their February / March swoon. On the positive side, ViaSat received $ 577 million in contract awards in the third quarter, up 29% year over year. This is an indication of the importance of secure satellite communications in today’s connected economy. For the year to date, the company has received awards totaling $ 1. 9 billion, an increase of 5% over that time last year. Revenue and earnings for the third quarter (Q2 of the company) were somewhat inconsistent, due to both the increase in orders placed and the decline in the aviation business. Revenue was $ 554 million, a 6% decrease from last year but an increase of nearly 4% sequentially. The EPS was 3 cents per share and significantly exceeded the forecast loss of 5 cents. JPMorgan analyst Philip Cusick writes on ViaSat: “[We] believe that long-term growth levers will remain intact, highlighted by the record segment backlog of $ 1. 1b… We see ViaSat as a leader in innovation for satellites and believe that the company’s future ViaSat 3 fleet will accelerate the growth of satellite services in the years to come. At the same time, we are seeing a long-term tailwind from government systems driven by the company’s wireless portfolio, mobile broadband and SATCOM. In line with his bullish comments, Cusick rates VSAT stocks as overweight (i. e. Buy), and its price target of $ 60 implies an uptrend of ~ 72% over a one year time horizon. (To see Cusick’s track record, click here. ) In total, the stock has 5 current ratings, including 3 buys and 2 holds. The price of shares is $ 34. 14, and the average target price of $ 55 suggests upside potential of 61% at that level. (See VSAT stock analysis on TipRanks. ) To find great ideas for trading stocks at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks ‘Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that brings together all of TipRanks’ stock insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the presented analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important that you do your own analysis before making any investment.

(Bloomberg) – Oracle Corp. . , a staunch Silicon Valley worker, has relocated its headquarters to Texas, making it the latest tech company to leave its home state in the face of higher taxes in California, the higher cost of living, and a wider shift to remote work. The move from Redwood City to Austin means many of our employees can choose their office location and continue to work from home part-time or all the time, Oracle said in a filing for approval on Friday. The company will continue to support its former headquarters and other U. S.. . Offices in Santa Monica, California; Seattle; Denver; Orlando Florida; and Burlington, Massachusetts, according to filing. The software manufacturer stated 135 at the end of May. Having employed 000 people. Like many other companies, the spread of coronavirus has led Oracle to provide more flexible arrangements for employees, including the ability to work from home. It’s just one of several companies, executives, and employees leaving California due to tax rate and high cost concerns, as well as the hassle of commuting in some regions. Oracle’s resource relocation from California dates back to at least 2018, led by Larry Ellison, executive chairman, and Mark Hurd, the late co-chief executive officer. That year, Oracle opened a campus in Austin with an apartment building for on-site employees to attract younger, lower-cost employees. The campus could eventually 10. 500 employees, Oracle said at the time. The company also said last year that its largest annual conference, OpenWorld, would leave its traditional home, San Francisco, in favor of Las Vegas. The world’s second largest software manufacturer was increasingly unable to keep pace with its home country. Ellison, the eleventh richest person in the world, and CEO Safra Catz were key supporters of outgoing Republican President Donald Trump, who reliably lost Democratic California in his re-election this year. The company has also become a harsh critic of the internet companies that are now defining modern Silicon Valley, particularly its longtime enemy, Google, Alphabet Inc. Belongs. Texas Governor Greg Abbott welcomed Oracle in a tweet in response to the news. The move comes amid Oracle’s drive to reduce costs during the transition from legacy software to cloud computing, which has resulted in a two-year revenue decline. The company expects sales to grow 2% to 4% in the period through February on Thursday, which puts Oracle on the right track to break this downward streak and increase sales for the current fiscal year. The software giant, which provides databases, business applications, and cloud services, has spent more than a decade redesigning its product line and business model to keep up with much younger Internet-age competitors like Google and Amazon. com Inc. . Founded in 1977, Oracle is a founding company in Silicon Valley and its silver-blue cylindrical buildings in Redwood City visible from the U.. S.. . Highway 101 is the rare landmark in the otherwise sprawling region. It follows other tech innovators when it comes to emphasizing their California roots. Server manufacturer Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. . said dec. . 1 that it would move its headquarters to the suburbs of Houston, where it is building a new campus. Palantir Technologies Inc. . moved to Denver from Palo Alto, California this year. Tesla Inc. . Co-founder Elon Musk said this week that he moved to Texas to focus on large projects for Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies Corp.. he also runs. Before that, he relocated his California-based private foundation to Austin. The move has enormous tax implications for wealthy individuals. Texas has no personal income tax, while California imposes the highest personal income taxes in the country on its wealthiest residents. « Wow, » said Erik Hallgrimson, vice chairman of Cushman & Wakefield brokerage firm in Silicon Valley, upon hearing of Oracle’s actions. « You really see a lot of business movement outside of the state. « Oracle’s decision only shows how much tax and public order can affect corporate decision-making, » added Hallgrimson. Even if businesses want to leave California, it’s still a place to nurture innovative businesses, said Phil Mahoney, executive vice chairman at Newmark, a commercial real estate broker who has operated in Silicon Valley for more than three decades. Lots of offloading firms are still present in the state, and some of the qualities that make it a good place to start and grow a business – from top-rated universities to great weather – haven’t changed. « There is no birthright that says Silicon Valley must win all the big tech companies, » Mahoney said in an interview prior to Oracle’s announcement. “But there is a special sauce that no other place has been able to recreate. ”(Updates with more details from the fifth paragraph. ) For more articles like this, please visit us on Bloomberg. comSubscribe now to stay one step ahead with the most trusted business news source. © 2020 Bloomberg L. . P. .

What are the fastest growing stocks in 2021? Here’s a list of GRWG stocks, Square, Micron, and five other stocks that are expecting up to 144% growth.

The SECURE Act has raised the age for mandatory pension plan distributions to 72 years. Now lawmakers are hoping to pass another bill to further boost payouts until the age of 75. But don’t look for a convention to stop there.

American depository receipts from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers have risen this year in hopes of growth in the Chinese electric vehicle market. All three companies now have a price to pay for perfection, and profit-taking seems prudent.

Well-known IPOs DoorDash Inc (NYSE: DASH) and Airbnb, Inc. . (NASDAQ: ABNB) started the market volatile this week. Some investors believe these two growth stocks are just getting started, while others are skeptical of the stocks’ massive valuations. Buffett On Uber: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. . (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) CEO and legendary Wall Street investor Warren Buffett didn’t specifically rate DoorDash and Airbnb, but did talk about yet another high profile IPO on Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER)) in 2019. « Berkshire has never bought a new edition in 54 years, » Buffett told CNBC. « The idea of ​​saying the best place in the world to put my money is something that has all the incentives to sell, commissions are higher, animal spirits are rising, and that’s better than 1. 000 other things I could buy there is not a similar craze . . . just doesn’t make sense. Related Link: Why Warren Buffett Is Unlikely to Actually Invest in SnowflakeResist The FOMO: Fear of missing out on a popular IPO can tarnish investors’ judgment and lead them to make poor investment decisions, Buffett said. Berkshire made headlines when it invested in the IPO of Snowflake Inc (NYSE: SNOW) earlier this year. Most Buffett supporters believe that Berkshire’s portfolio managers, Todd Combs or Ted Weschler – not Buffett himself – were responsible for buying Snowflake. So far, DoorDash and Airbnb’s IPOs have been huge hits, but Buffett also has some advice for investors who missed the chance to get cheap. Just because an investment happens to work for others doesn’t mean it was a wise investment. « You don’t really have to worry about what is really going on in an IPO. People win lotteries every day, but there’s no need to let that affect [your investment strategy] at all, « Buffett said in 2016. « You don’t want to get into a stupid game just because it’s available. « Gas Gas Take: DoorDash and Airbnb are hugely successful and popular companies. Just because you know and love a product or service does not mean that the company’s stock is a good investment at any cost. Latest Ratings For ABNB DateFirmActionFromTo Dec 2020BTIGInitiates Coverage OnNeutral Dec 2020Atlantic EquitiesInitiates Coverage OnOverweight View More Analyst Ratings For ABNB View the Latest Analyst RatingsSee More From Benzinga * Click Here For Benzinga Benzinga Option Deals. com. Benzinga does not offer investment advice. All rights reserved.

It’s been up and down for the markets since the end of September. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 are trading within 3% of their recent record highs after taking daily fluctuations into account. This is a clear sign of optimistic sentiment among investors. And that bullish sentiment finds fertile ground with Wall Street equity analysts who do not hesitate to make buy-side calls. There are some signs that analysts are hedging their bets as several buy ratings recently released are also offering strong dividend yields. Yield-minded investors will find a measure of security in high-yield stocks. The advantage of such a fundamentally defensive strategy is obvious: stocks that are going up now bring immediate gains as stocks appreciate, while strong dividends ensure a steady stream of income regardless of market conditions. Using the data available in the TipRanks database, we pulled three stocks with high returns – from 7% to 9%. . Better still, these stocks are viewed as strong buys by Wall Street analysts. Let’s find out why. First up is Energy Transfer LP (ET), a major name in the North American hydrocarbon midstream sector. The company’s main network spans 38 states and connects three major oil and gas producing regions – the Midwest Appalachian and Texas-Oklahoma-Louisiana regions and North Dakota. Energy Transfer has smaller assets in the Colorado Rockies, Florida, and northern Alberta. These assets include pipelines, terminals and storage tanks for natural gas and crude oil. The value of ET’s services is derived from the company’s market cap of $ 18 billion and annual sales of $ 54 billion. That figure, as well as the impact of the 2020 health and economic crisis, can also be seen in the company’s recent release of the company’s third quarter results. On the negative side, sales fell by 26% and earnings per share by 18% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. . In absolute terms, the return on sales was $ 9. 96 million, while the end result was stated at 30 cents per share. Both numbers far exceeded the forecasts. Surpassing the forecasts was a positive note. Second, the company reported cost savings of $ 400 million year-to-date from initiatives to control and streamline spending. Total long-term debt remained stable at 54 million. USD. In an announcement in late October, Energy Transfer declared its dividend for the third quarter at Jan.. 25 cents per common share. This was a 50% reduction from previous payments and was implemented for a number of reasons. The main reason for this is to release cash for debt reduction. The dividend cut also keeps the dividend yield in line with historical values ​​(since stocks were down this year, the yield has been artificially increased) and affordable at current income levels. The new dividend payment is 61 cents per common share and – even after the reduction – gives a high return of 8. 8th%. On Raymond James’ stock analyst Justin Jenkins said, “We still view ET’s world-class integrated midstream footprint as very positive, but the risks are and will remain high. Ultimately, we believe that core business and long-term free cash flow generation (which will improve dramatically in 2021) will help ET differentiate itself in the midstream space. ET’s large valuation discount over competitors is unlikely to decrease entirely in the short term. We see the risk / reward as positive in most scenarios. In line with these comments, Jenkins rates ET as a strong buy and its target price of $ 9 suggests there is room for 26% growth in the year ahead. (To see Jenkins’ track record, click here. Wall Street appears to be broadly in line with Jenkins as ET stocks maintain a strong buy rating from analyst consensus. There were 8 recent reviews including 7 purchases and a single hold. The share is priced at $ 9. The average price target of 29 is slightly more bullish than Raymond James’ position, implying ~ 31% upside potential against the $ 7. 09 retail price. (See ET stock analysis on TipRanks) Omega Healthcare (OHI) REITs are often known for high-yield dividends as tax regulations require these companies to return a minimum percentage of profits to investors. Omega Healthcare, a real estate investment trust, is no different from its peers in this regard, but it does offer investors a twist. The company’s portfolio consists of qualified care facilities and retirement homes with a breakdown of 83% to 17%. The portfolio is valued at more than $ 10 billion. It includes 957 facilities in 40 states and the UK. Omega saw sales decline in the third quarter. The reported 119 million. USD declined 53% sequentially and 16% year over year. That was the bad news. Adjusted funds from operations (FFO), a common metric used to assess REIT income levels, topped forecast by 5% and came in at 82 cents per share. In other positive notes this year, Omega reported that 99% of the rents due in each quarter of 2020 were collected, and last October it successfully collected 700 million senior notes. USD at 3 issued. 375% and due in 2031. The company intends to use the funds raised to repay existing debts and to cover general operations. Omega currently pays out a dividend of 67 cents per common share, and that payment has stayed constant for nearly three years. The company has a 6 year history of reliable dividend payments. The annualized payment is $ 2. 68 per common share, so the yield is 7. 1%. The company’s performance, including its reliable dividend, prompted JMP analyst Aaron Hecht to rate OHI as an outperform (i. e. To buy). His target price of $ 43 shows an upward trend of 14% over the next 12 months. (To see Hecht’s track record, click here. ) Hecht confirms his stance: “We believe that the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines will arrive within the next two weeks and that qualified residents of care facilities will be prioritized based on their vulnerability. We see this as a huge benefit for OHI as the largest qualified care facility owner in the US. While OHI’s tenants have generally performed well during the pandemic, a surge in demand would be a derisking event … Given the tailwind in demand, we believe OHI deserves a slight premium on its three-year prepandemic awards. We are the buyers of the stock… ”In the meantime, OHI has a strong buy rating from the analyst consensus based on 8 ratings, limited to 6 buys and 2 holds. Omega’s share price is up 28% since the first week of November following the third quarter earnings. This has raised the stock’s trading price from the current $ 37. 69, something over the $ 36. 88 average target price. (See OHI stock analysis on TipRanks) Owl Rock Capital Corporation (ORCC) Last but not least, Owl Rock Capital, a specialty finance firm based in New York. Owl Rock operates in the midsize financial sector, providing midsize businesses with access to capital to make acquisitions, fund operations, and perform recapitalizations. The company’s portfolio is $ 10. Balance sheet total 2 billion. of which 97% are senior secured assets. Owl Rock is currently invested in 110 companies. Owl Rock’s third quarter results were slightly below expectations. The EPS was 33 cents per share, which corresponds to a decrease of 3% compared to the previous quarter and misses the estimates by 2 cents. Net asset value per share increased 1% from $ 14 last quarter. 52 to $ 14 at the end of June. 67 at the end of September. To support liquidity, Owl Rock rated a public offering of $ 1 billion in 3. 4% grades in the first week of December. The issue matures in 2026 and provides funding to repay existing debt in the Revolving Credit Facility and to fund general operations. Also in the first week of this month, Owl Creek confirmed that it was in talks to acquire Dyal Capital. The move would combine Owl Creek’s direct loan platform with Dyal’s access to capital solutions. Owl Creek has a regular dividend payment of 31 cents per quarter, which has been supplemented by a series of 6 special dividend payments of 8 cents since May 2019. If we calculate the return using the regular dividend, we find it at 9. 6% based on an annual rate of $ 1. 24 per common share. For comparison: the average dividend among companies listed on S&P is 2%. The review here was written by Devin Ryan, 5-star analyst at JMP Securities. Focusing on Dyal Capital’s announcement, Ryan commented, “Although it is important to distinguish that this merger is between the management companies and not directly with the BDC and we do not expect any major changes in the end, we believe that a transaction will be a positive outcome could for ORCC shareholders over time. «  » We continue to see the opportunity in ORCC stocks as attractive due to: 1) strong credit performance and expectations; 2) a well-positioned balance sheet; 3) the profit scale increases as leverage moves on target 1. 0x to 2H21; and 4) an increase in the portfolio’s return profile through a higher mix of Unitranche loans, ”concluded the analyst. To this end, Ryan rates Owl Creek shares as outperforming (i. e. Buy) and its $ 14. The price target of 50 points to an increase of 13% in the coming year. (To see Ryan’s track record, click here. ) Owl Creek’s Consensus Rating for Strong Buy is based on 6 ratings. These show a 5: 1 split between buying and holding. ORCC trades at $ 12. 78 and its $ 13. Average price target of 90 implies an uptrend of ~ 9%. (See ORCC stock analysis on TipRanks. ) To find great ideas for trading dividend stocks at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks ‘Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that brings together all of the insights into TipRanks’ stocks. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the presented analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important that you do your own analysis before making any investment.

The yield on 10-year government bonds has also been below 1% since March, and high-income investors again have few attractive options. First and foremost is Target. Maybe its dividend yield of 1. 6% leaves much to be desired for most high-income investors, but rest assured as this is the only one of the 15 picks that comes down to less than 2%.

The coronavirus is accelerating a major tech exodus from California. Oracle (ORCL) announced Friday that it had relocated its headquarters from Redwood City to Austin, Texas on Friday. The move came just days after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla (TSLA), announced he was moving from Los Angeles to Austin.

Nasdaq said Friday it would remove shares in four Chinese construction and manufacturing companies from the indices it maintains in response to a U.. S.. . Order to restrict the purchase of their shares. The securities that are not traded on the Nasdaq exchange will be listed on Dec.. removed from the indexes. 21st. A White House order last month ruled U out. S.. . Investors from buying securities from blacklisted companies as of November 2021.

Jim Cramer on Thursday recommended investors reduce their exposure to stocks of auto-related special purpose vehicles, CNBC reported. What Happened: The host of the CNBC show « Mad Money » referred to the shares of QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE: QS), Luminar Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: LAZR) as well as the SPACs of Arrival and Canoo as speculative. « These stocks are out of control, so please take something off the table, » urged the former hedge fund manager. Cramer asked investors to be responsible speculators. « Speculative stocks can get overheated, so it’s important to take profits while you have them, » he advised. Why It Matters: The former hedge fund manager endorsed the four electric vehicle startups that started moving down the SPAC path since October, according to CNBC. He recommended QuantumScape, supported by Bill Gates and Volkswagen AG (OTC: VWAGY) in late October, which merged with Kensington Capital to go public. A week ago, he recommended Luminar and said the stock was priced at $ 15. The autonomous vehicle sensor company went public earlier this month via a SPAC. By United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) Assisted Arrival, a U. . K. . The EV manufacturer, which specializes in micro-factories, plans to go public through a merger with CIIG Merger Corp (NASDAQ: CIIC). . Cramer recommended SPAC shares at $ 17 last week. 50. Cramer also recommended Canoo Holdings Ltd, a California-based EV startup that is to merge with Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp IV (NASDAQ: HCAC). . The stock was named a buy at $ 15 by Cramer last Friday. 64. « You can always get in at lower levels and I am very confident that lower prices could be in sight, » Cramer advises investors. Price action: On Thursday, QuantumScape shares closed 1. 96% higher at $ 76. 61. Luminar Technologies shares closed Jan.. 45% lower at $ 34. 17 Extending the off-hours session decrease by nearly 7% to $ 31. 78. CIIG Merger stocks fell Jan.. 63% up to $ 31. 38 in the regular session. On the same day, Hennessy Capital stock closed 10% higher at $ 22 and fell $ 6. 82% up to $ 20. 50 in the meeting outside of business hours. Click here to see the latest EV news on Benzinga’s EV Hub. See More From Benzinga * Click Here For Benzinga Option Deals * Cramer Says This EV Startup Has « Best Claims To Be The Son Of Tesla » Gives Blessings For Buying SPAC Stock (C) 2020 Benzinga. com. Benzinga does not offer investment advice. All rights reserved.

Every week Benzinga conducts a sentiment poll to find out what traders are most excited about, what interests them or what they think about when managing and building their personal portfolios. We surveyed a group of over 300 investors on whether Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) shares would hit $ 300 by 2022. Microsoft shares were trading at $ 212 at the time of publication on Friday, after hitting a 52-week low of $ 133. Microsoft Stock Forecast Microsoft develops and licenses consumer and business software. It is known for its Windows operating systems and the office productivity suite. The company is divided into three higher-level segments: Productivity and Business Processes (Microsoft Office, cloud-based Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Skype, LinkedIn, Dynamics); Intelligence Cloud (infrastructure and platform-as-a-service offerings Azure, Windows Server operating system, SQL Server); and more personal computing (Windows client, Xbox, Bing search, display advertising, Surface laptops, tablets and desktops). Our survey found that 68% of respondents said Microsoft stock would hit $ 300 in the next year. Many respondents pointed to steps Microsoft has taken to improve the landscape of Software-as-a-Service offerings for 2020 and beyond. The SaaS market is one of the sectors that has been able to thrive during the pandemic. The surge in corporate adoption of cloud-based software during the digital transition was a catalyst for SaaS stocks like Microsoft in 2020. Among the company’s new SaaS offerings, Sept.. . 22 We reported that Microsoft launched Azure Communications Services, which consists of cloud-based voice and video calling, chat and telephony functions. Benzinga has been publishing actionable financial news and curating high quality financial data sets since 2009. Learn more about receiving stock and market data via APIs today. This survey was conducted by Benzinga in December 2020 and included responses from a diverse population of adults aged 18 and over. Participation in the survey was entirely voluntary, with no incentives to potential respondents. The study reflects results from over 300 adults. See More From Benzinga * Click Here For Benzinga Option Deals * Will Tesla’s Shares Reach (Again) 000 By 2022? * Will Boeing’s stock reach 0 by 2022? (C) 2020 Benzinga. com. Benzinga does not offer investment advice. All rights reserved.

Markets have largely risen since the elections as investors have measured the macro environment and appear satisfied. There is some expectation for political affairs to calm down and government, health officials and the business community to focus on defeating the next wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The big news on this front, of course, came from pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Moderna, both of whom have announced successes in testing COVID vaccines and are currently on the verge of receiving an emergency clearance (EUA). . The prospect of an early vaccine is bullish for the markets and investors look forward to it. John Stoltzfus, Oppenheimer’s Chief Investment Strategist, recently wrote about the bigger picture of the market: “In the coming week, investors will have a lot to think about. We anticipate that they will likely continue to look for segments of the stock market that can benefit from a post-COVID environment … “Post-COVID thinking will have an immediate impact on investment decisions, especially the willingness to take on higher risk. Stoltzfus notes that readiness and its impact on the market, “Evidence of the attractiveness of riskier assets [that] lifted the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 to new record highs. . . “Taking into account the outlook from Stoltzfus, we wanted to take a closer look at two stocks that were greeted with applause from Oppenheimer. The company’s analysts each forecast an upside potential of over 100%. Recro Pharma (REPH) Recro Pharma, as a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), occupies a special niche in the pharmaceutical world. . The company offers larger pharmaceutical researchers world-class manufacturing facilities so that these companies can focus on finding and testing new drugs – while Recro does the volume production for approved drugs. Recro is focused on controlled substances and modified release formulations and has a manufacturing facility of more than 120 people. 000 square meters. Recro’s growth and market position are based on a combination of new contracts and key partnerships with major pharmaceutical distributors. In this context, the company’s well-known generic manufacturing and distribution agreement with Teva is of critical importance. It gives Recro a solid position as the maker of Verapamil SR, an effective migraine and cluster headache remedy that contains over 4 million prescriptions. In addition to the agreement with Teva, Recro also makes Verapamil – and its synonym Verelan – for Lannett, another important name for generics. The company landed a major coup last month when it extended its Lannett contract through 2023. With stock exchange for $ 2. Oppenheimer analyst Leland Gershell sees Recro in a solid position for future growth. « The business development update from [Recro] signaled the resumption of the previous momentum in all service areas. REPH continues to expand into new CDMO initiatives, a three-year extension recently signed with Lannett, and a positive debt restructuring. We assume that REPH’s return to a steady growth path will solidify in the coming quarters, ”said Gershell. In view of his optimistic assessment, Gershell rates REPH as an outperform (i. e. Buy), along with a target price of $ 10. Should his thesis prevail, there could be a potential gain of 369% in the cards. (To see Gershell’s track record, click here. ) Overall, REPH has a moderate buy rating from the analyst consensus, based on 2 current buy ratings. With a potential return of ~ 217%, the consensus target for the stock is $ 6. 75. (See REPH stock analysis on TipRanks) Homology Medicines (FIXX) Homology Medicines is the research and development of new genetic medicines. The company uses gene editing and gene therapy as the basis for treating diseases caused by genetic mutations. Homology’s technology, which uses adeno-associated virus vectors derived from human hematopoietic stem cells, aims to treat these diseases through gene correction and insertion. In addition to its last third quarter profit, Homology also announced a $ 60 million investment from Pfizer. This was a strategic investment by Pfizer and included the larger company that bought 5 million shares of FIXX. The announcement helped stabilize Homology’s share value after a net loss of 62 cents per share in the third quarter. Under the agreement, Pfizer acquired 5 million common shares of FIXX for a fixed price of $ 12 each. Simultaneously with the Pfizer agreement, Homology announced that the clinical trial of pheNIX gene therapy for PKU treatment in adults will continue. The new phase will include a dose extension and comes after early studies showed that the drug candidate HMI-102 was well tolerated by patients and had a positive effect on the Phe / Tyr ratio at two doses. To move to the next step, Homology will conduct randomized, concurrently controlled trials. Oppenheim analyst Matthew Biegler noted Pfizer’s money investment in homology and its importance as a vote of confidence. The analyst wrote, “The proceeds from the investment will be used to further develop Homology’s phenylketonuria (PKU) gene therapy franchise, which includes HMI-102 and the HMI-103 preclinical in vivo gene editing program. We believe Pfizer’s decision was fueled by updated clinical data from the PheNIX trial of HMI-102 presented last week, which showed encouraging signs of phenylalanine (Phe) reduction in two PKU patients. Homology plans to expand the study to dose-expansion cohorts in early 2021. Biegler is bullish on homology, as indicated by his target price of $ 27. At the current share price of $ 10. 17, this target indicates an upward movement of 165% and fully supports its outperformance (i. e. Buy) Rating. (To see Biegler’s track record, click here. ) Other analysts are on the same page. With 3 purchases in the last three months, the word is on the street that FIXX is a strong buy. Add to that the $ 29. Average target price of 50 brings potential profit after twelve months to 190%. . To find great ideas for trading healthcare stocks at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks ‘Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that brings together all of TipRanks’ stock insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the presented analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important that you do your own analysis before making any investment.

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(Bloomberg Opinion) – Dear Janet Yellen: Congratulations! You are likely to be the U.’s next finance minister. . S.. . This will throw you into disheartening political cauldrons – from financing America’s massive deficits to administering China to taming tax law. With so much in your inbox, we urge you not to forget a large group of Americans: us. Were you. S.. . Expats, and there are 9 million of us. If we were one state, we would be the eleventh largest. And we have a problem that you can fix. We ended up abroad because we got a job in Canada, married someone in France, or retired in New Zealand. For others of us, “abroad” is actually home because we are “random Americans” – we were born in the United States. S.. . but never lived there. No matter how we got to U. S.. . Passports are subject to American taxation for all of us, as well as annual banking and asset reporting requirements, which are so burdensome and complex that many experts do not fully understand them. And that’s just the beginning of our problems, as we tried to explain earlier. The U. S.. . is the only country in the world that practices citizenship-based taxation. All other nations tax individuals based on their place of residence. OK, Eritrea also taxes its diaspora, but that’s not exactly the same thing. We certainly don’t live abroad to avoid taxes. After all, we already pay taxes in our countries of residence, which tend to have higher tax rates than the US. S.. . We can take these foreign taxes as credit for our U. S.. . Most of us never owe the Internal Revenue Service anything. The enormous compliance burdens and the draconian penalties for innocent mistakes are all the more unnecessary. Many of us cannot live normal financial lives because we are trapped in two incompatible tax systems at the same time. We cannot invest or save for retirement like our neighbors or other Americans because either the U. . S.. . or our country of residence does not recognize the other country’s financial products and rules. We can’t even open bank or brokerage accounts as financial institutions won’t take us. Many of us escape by foregoing our U.. S.. . citizenship. But the U. . S.. . has made this more expensive and difficult in recent years. And most of us would hate to give up our nationality anyway. If we were represented as a bloc in Congress, this problem would have been solved long ago. But we don’t. Instead, we vote in the U.. S.. . Indicate where we last lived. And our representatives and senators do not believe that listening to our concerns can help them be re-elected. While correcting the law is our preferred option, we’re not holding our breath. This is where you come in. As Treasury Secretary, you oversee the two offices we expats have to file reports with, the IRS and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (doesn’t that name say it all)?. There are simple changes you could make that would cost the U.. S.. . Nothing in lost revenue, you save a package on enforcement costs and make your life easier. The options are set out in an essay that I recommend to all employees: “A Simple Regulatory Solution to Taxing Citizenship” by John Richardson, Karen Alpert and Laura Snyder. One way is to change the rules for certain compliance nightmares that are out of date. Here is just one example. In the 1980s, the U. . S.. . passed tough rules to prevent Americans from deferring income in overseas financial instruments (called passive foreign investment companies) that were not required to distribute the accrued income and profits. But that was before the international boom in investment funds, which are also known as PFICs. Nowadays, U. . S.. . Expats often own these without knowing it – for example, when they are automatically included in a pension scheme by their overseas employer. The U. S.. . Taxing such PFICs – that is, pure vanilla but foreign mutual funds – is ruinous. In addition, the reporting requirements are so Kafkaesque that many professional accountants refuse to accept clients who have even one. However, in most developed countries, mutual funds are regulated almost exactly like their U’s. S.. . Analogs and also must distribute all income and profits. In one fell swoop, your Treasury Department could change regulations to exclude an entire category of funds from PFIC coverage, starting with these usual retail investments. You can customize dozens of other nonsensical rules in the same way. There is an even easier step, however. In contrast to tradition, there is no U. . S.. . Statute binding U. S.. . Nationality for tax liability. Instead, the Treasury Department made this link in previous regulations. That means you, Dr. . Yellen, can interrupt the connection again. Our suggestion – as detailed by Richardson, Alpert and Snyder – is that you introduce a new category of taxpayers in addition to the many you already have. It could be referred to as a « qualified non-residents » and would include U.. S.. . Citizens who live permanently in another country and pay taxes there as if they were its citizens. These qualified non-residents would be exempt from filing tax returns with the IRS and FinCEN, as well as paying taxes on non-US income. S.. . You already owe nothing, so the loss of revenue would be close to zero. Additionally, the IRS could redirect its own resources from this complex and unprofitable area of ​​enforcement to others that are more worthwhile. This change would align American taxation of individuals with the systems of all other industrialized countries. It would give us expats the freedom to live, earn, save and invest like other people. And whenever one of us goes back to the U.. S.. . We are yours again. It would never have cost so little to help so many with so little effort. Please consider it. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or Bloomberg LP or its owners. Andreas Kluth is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. Before that he was editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt Global and author of the Economist. He is the author of « Hannibal and Me ». « For more articles like this, please visit us on Bloomberg. com / opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead of the curve with the most trusted business news source. © 2020 Bloomberg L. . P. .

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