Hasbro's (NASDAQ: HAS ) $112 million deal for a majority stake in small yet profitable mobile games developer Backflip Studios became clearer after the country's second-largest toy maker posted disappointing quarterly results.
Hasbro's 35% drop in toys for boys may explain why it's expanding its licensing deal with Disney (NYSE: DIS ) for more Marvel and Star Wars playthings, but it also helps explain the push for digital downloads. Kids are moving away from traditional toys, and if that wasn't evident when Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT ) posted a 12% drop in Barbie sales last week, it is now.
In this video, longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz discusses the mad scramble to gain dot-com relevance with young and potentially jaded gamers.
Toys may not be hot, but these retailers are doing just fine
The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they'll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool's special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.
Best Information Technology Companies To Watch For 2015: Popular Inc.(BPOP)
Popular, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a range of retail and commercial banking products and services primarily to corporate clients, small and middle size businesses, and retail clients in Puerto Rico and Mainland United States. It offers deposit products; commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans, as well as lease finance; and finance and advisory services. The company also offers trust and asset management, brokerage and investment banking, and insurance and reinsurance services. As of December 31, 2010, it owned and occupied approximately 94 branch premises and other facilities in Puerto Rico; and 119 offices, including 20 owned and 99 leased in New York, Illinois, New Jersey, California, Florida, and Texas. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]
Popular Inc.(BPOP), Puerto Rico’s largest bank, said Wednesday that regulators approved its plan to repay the $935 million rescue package it received during the financial crisis. Popular was the U.S. government’s largest remaining crisis-era bailout after auto-lender Ally Financial Inc.(ALLY), which has paid back more than the $17.2 billion bailout it received during the financial crisis as a result of going public in April.
- [By Paul Ausick]
Among multinationals, Sterne Agee recommends three banks. The first is Puerto Rico�� Popular Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP). The mid-cap bank�� stock closed at $28.21 on Friday in a 52-week range of $20.31 to $34.34. Based on Sterne Agee�� 2014 price target of $40.00, Popular has an upside potential of nearly 42% and a 2014 EPS estimate of $2.90. The investment firm�� forward multiple is just 9.6, below the Thomson Reuters consensus multiple of 10.3. Popular received TARP funds in 2009 and could repay the loan in the first quarter of next year, which will give the stock a shot in the arm as well.
Top Prefered Companies To Watch In Right Now: JTH Holding Inc (TAX)
JTH Holding, Inc. (JTH Holding), incorporated in September 2010, is a holding company engaged through its subsidiaries as a franchisor and operator of a system of income tax preparation offices located in the United States and Canada. The Company is a retail preparer of individual tax returns. JTH Holding's principal operations are conducted through its subsidiary, JTH Tax, Inc. (JTH Tax). Through this system of income tax preparation offices, JTH Holding also facilitates to its customer refund-based tax settlement financial products, such as refund anticipation loans, electronic refund checks, and personal income tax refund discounting. On September 30, 2010, JTH Tax entered into an Agreement of Merger and Plan of Reorganization with JTH Holding. At the closing of the merger on September 30, 2010, JTH Tax merged with and became a wholly owned subsidiary of JTH Holding.
As of September 2, 2011 (fiscal 2011), the Company had 3,900 tax offices and the number of United States tax returns prepared in its offices is approximately 1.7 million. The Company provides its customers with value-added federal and state tax preparation services and related financial products both in retail offices and online. During fiscal 2011, the Company and its franchisees operated 3,590 offices in the United States in tax season. Approximately 63% of its revenue for fiscal 2011 was derived from franchise fees, royalties and advertising fees. During fiscal 2011, during tax season its online customers prepared approximately 98,000 tax returns using its online tax offering, eSmartTax.
The Company earns franchisee fees from its franchisees and advertisements (Ads). The Company offers its franchisees structures and financing options for franchise fees and royalty payments. The Company earns royalty revenue from its franchisees. Its franchise agreement requires franchisees to pay the Company a base royalty equal to 14% of the franchisee's tax preparation revenue, subject to certain specified minimums. Fran! chisees acquiring territories under its no franchise fee alternative will be required to pay it franchise royalties of 25% through their first five tax seasons, and thereafter 14% of their tax preparation revenue. The Company earns advertising fee revenue from its franchisees. Its franchise agreement requires all franchisees to pay the Company an advertising fee of 5% of the franchisee's tax preparation revenue.
The Company offers two types of financial products: refund transfer products, such as electronic refund checks (ERCs), which involve providing a means by which a customer may receive his or her refund, and refund-based loans, such as refund anticipation loans (RALs) and instant cash advances (ICAs). The Company earns fees from the use of these financial products. The Company also earns tax preparation revenue directly from both the operation of company-owned offices and the provision of tax preparation services through its eSmartTax online product.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
H&R Block (NYSE: HRB ) will release its quarterly report on Tuesday, and as you'd expect outside of tax season, the tax-preparation company will almost certainly post a sizable loss. But the bigger question investors want answered is whether H&R Block can meet the long-term threat of Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU ) and its TurboTax software on one end, as well as the live tax-preparation competition of JTH Holdings' (NASDAQ: TAX ) and its Liberty Tax Service chain.
- [By John Udovich]
April 15th is tax day and tax preparer stocks like small cap�JTH Holding Inc (NASDAQ: TAX), mid cap�H & R Block Inc (NYSE: HRB) and large cap�Intuit Inc (NASDAQ: INTU) help millions of Americans to figure out just how much they owe to ��ig brother.��But which of these tax preparation stocks is the best investment for investors looking for a way to offset that tax bite? First, here is a quick overview of�each tax preparer:
Top Prefered Companies To Watch In Right Now: WebMD Health Corp (WBMD)
WebMD Health Corp. provides health information services to consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals, employers, and health plans through its public and private online portals, mobile platforms, and health-focused publications in the United States. The company?s public portals enable consumers to obtain health and wellness information, including information on specific diseases or conditions; check symptoms; locate physicians; store individual healthcare information; receive periodic e-newsletters on topics of individual interest; and participate in online communities with peers and experts. Its public portals for physicians and healthcare professionals provide access to clinical reference sources; stay abreast of the latest clinical information; learn about new treatment options; earn continuing medical education credit; and communicate with peers. The company also provides mobile health information applications for use by consumers and physicians. In addit ion, WebMD Health Corp. offers e-detailing promotion and physician recruitment services, content syndication and distribution, and information services, as well as print services, including the advertisements in WebMD the Magazine, a consumer magazine distributed to physician office waiting rooms. The public portals? sponsors and advertisers include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and consumer products companies. The company?s private portals enable employers and health plans to provide their employees and members with access to personalized health and benefit information and decision support technology that helps them to make more informed benefit, treatment, and provider decisions. Further, it offers telephonic health coaching services on a per participant basis across an employee or plan population for clients of its private portals. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Keith Speights]
For example, WebMD's (NASDAQ: WBMD ) Medscape application allows physicians to check drug interactions, look up information about procedures, and see medical news updates on the fly. Medscape ranks first among the most frequently downloaded medical apps for iPhones and iPads.
- [By Bryan Murphy]
A comparison to WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD) is conjured up almost immediately, but it's not a comparison an investor or patient would want to make. WBMD is primarily aimed at individuals who don't have a medical background, and are looking more for tips than for science. The CollabRx site is exclusively built for doctors (oncologists in particular) and diagnostic laboratories that need detailed information parsed out of a sea of data that could be overwhelming were it not curated and focused. Indeed, unlike WebMD or the kind of websites that Bridgeline Digital is going to provide for its new client, the information that's going to be found via CollabRx may be little more than gibberish to a layperson, but it will be highly instructive to doctors and caregivers.
- [By Bryan Murphy]
Eat your heart out Foundation Medicine Inc. (NASDAQ:FMI). And WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD)? Don't even bother trying. CollabRx Inc. (NASDAQ:CLRX) has built a better mousetrap, and if yesterday's announcement is a sign of things to come, CLRX could prove to be a very compelling investment.
- [By Keith Speights]
It's not surprising that leading online health information provider WebMD (NASDAQ: WBMD ) chose Qualcomm recently as its partner in building a expansive new offering. WebMD plans to integrate�digital health apps and third-party devices across various disease categories and lifestyle interests to target consumers and physicians.
Top Prefered Companies To Watch In Right Now: ATAC Resources Ltd (ATC)
ATAC Resources Ltd. (ATAC) is a Canada-based exploration-stage company. ATAC is in the business of exploring for metals and minerals with a particular emphasis on gold. The Company holds interests in a number of other mineral properties outside of the Rackla Gold project area, which is located in the Mayo Mining District of central Yukon. ATAC�� wholly owned Rackla Gold project consists of an approximate center of the project area is 100 kilometers northeast of Keno City. The Rackla Gold project area is comprised of over 8,000 mineral claims. The claims cover an area of 1,700 square kilometers. The Rackla Gold project area includes Rau Trend and the Nadaleen Trend. Joint venture properties include the Connaught property. ATAC and Klondike Silver Corp. each hold a 50% interest in the Connaught property. Property interests under option include the Rosy Property, Green Gulch, Touleary, Dan Man and Shamrock Properties. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Patricio Kehoe]
Management�� efficiency is also evidenced by its decision to reduce its non-core assets in order to concentrate on its most profitable businesses. Consequently, almost nine months after its initial tender, Orange divested its Dominican unit to Luxemburg-based Altice SA (ATC) for $1.4 billion last week.
Top Prefered Companies To Watch In Right Now: Petrobras Argentina S.A.(PZE)
Petrobras Argentina S.A. operates as an integrated energy company. The company engages in oil and gas exploration and production activities in Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia; and provides technical and operating support services in Mexico. It also operates refineries that produce premium gasoline, ultra high octane gasoline, regular gasoline, diesel oil, fuel oil, solvents, aromatics, asphalts, and liquefied propane and butane gases. In addition, the company sells gas produced by the company, as well as imported; produces petrochemical products, such as styrene, polystyrene, and synthetic rubber; provides oil, gas, and LPG brokerage and trading services; engages in transporting gas in southern Argentina, as well as processing and marketing natural gas liquids; and involves in the gas-fired, thermal, and hydro electric power generation, transmission, and distribution. As of December 31, 2010, it has crude oil and natural gas proved reserves of approximately 248. 4 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company also operated 2 refineries in San Lorenzo and Bah� Blanca, as well as a network of approximately 604 gas stations in Argentina and 27 Spacio 1 convenience stores, including 360 points of sale. It has operations in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, and Venezuela. The company was formerly known as Petrobras Energia S.A. and changed its name to Petrobras Argentina S.A. in July 2010. Petrobras Argentina S.A. was founded in 1946 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Petrobras Argentina S.A. operates as a subsidiary of Petroleo Brasileiro.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jonathan Yates]
For investors, the rebound of YPF SA (NYSE: YPF) and Petrobras Argentina (NYSE: PZE), both oil and gas firms in Argentina, should serve as profitable examples for remaining bullish about the long term prospects of Petrobras Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR).
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