Appellate court quashes convictions linked to lease violations but Lai may still spend rest of his life in prison A Hong Kong appellate court on Thursday overturned fraud convictions against the media mogul Jimmy Lai, a rare victory in the prominent pro-democracy activist’s legal battles. Lai, 78, an outspoken critic of China’s ruling Communist party who founded the now defunct Apple Daily, will s...
Appellate court quashes convictions linked to lease violations but Lai may still spend rest of his life in prison A Hong Kong appellate court on Thursday overturned fraud convictions against the media mogul Jimmy Lai, a rare victory in the prominent pro-democracy activist’s legal battles. Lai, 78, an outspoken critic of China’s ruling Communist party who founded the now defunct Apple Daily, will stay in prison because weeks ago he was sentenced to 20 years after being convicted in another case brought under a China-imposed national security law. Continue reading...
The average one-year price target for Austin Engineering (OTCPK:AUSTF) has been revised to $0.37 / share. This is an increase of 27.89% from the prior estimate of $0.29 dated February 8, 2023. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analysts
The average one-year price target for Austin Engineering (OTCPK:AUSTF) has been revised to $0.37 / share. This is an increase of 27.89% from the prior estimate of $0.29 dated February 8, 2023. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analysts
The average one-year price target for Calumet (NasdaqGS:CLMT) has been revised to $26.52 / share. This is an increase of 38.67% from the prior estimate of $19.12 dated February 1, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analysts. The l
The average one-year price target for Calumet (NasdaqGS:CLMT) has been revised to $26.52 / share. This is an increase of 38.67% from the prior estimate of $19.12 dated February 1, 2026. The price target is an average of many targets provided by analysts. The l
4kodiak/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Fortune Brands ( FBIN ) is doing a good job in terms of gaining share in a challenging market and outperforming its end markets. The company posted good incremental builder wins last year and has grown its premium luxury water and smart home platform offerings. This positions the company well for eventual market recovery, which I believe should happen in ...
4kodiak/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Fortune Brands ( FBIN ) is doing a good job in terms of gaining share in a challenging market and outperforming its end markets. The company posted good incremental builder wins last year and has grown its premium luxury water and smart home platform offerings. This positions the company well for eventual market recovery, which I believe should happen in the medium term as interest rates continue to come down and home equity remains at healthy levels. The company is facing some near-term margin pressure due to tariff-related higher cost inventory and normalizing incentive compensation. However, it is taking pricing action and cost savings initiatives to offset it. This positions it well in the medium term. While FY26 is likely to be a tough year for the company, I believe the stock is already pricing that at the current levels after the post-earnings decline. Management guidance also looks conservative. I believe the risk-reward profile is attractive given we are close to the bottom of the cycle. Hence I rate FBIN stock a buy. Recent Financial Performance FBIN reported a 2.4% year-over-year decline in the net sales for Q4 2025. Sales went down 4.3% year-over-year in the water business, as orders were cut back by wholesalers due to slow demand and Chinese sales fell because of a halt in government subsidies for some housing products. Excluding China, sales were 1% down on a year-over-year basis in the water business. Sales also fell 2.7% year-over-year in the outdoors business because of inventory destocking in the wholesale channel in the Therma-Tru and Fiberon businesses. Sales went up 5% year-over-year in the security segment, which was helped by higher pricing and volume growth. New product launches such as Yale Smart Lock with Matter and enhanced traction in retail, e-commerce, and digital channels have helped in volume growth. Due to lower sales volumes, unfavorable mix, and targeted brand investments, the consolidated...
matejmo/iStock via Getty Images Proto Labs' ( PRLB ) stock jumped after the release of its Q4 earnings, even though the results were actually fairly poor under the surface. While revenue growth improved in the fourth quarter, this is increasingly being driven by parts of Proto Labs' business that have poor margins. In addition, Proto Labs' growth appears set to return to the mid- to high single-di...
matejmo/iStock via Getty Images Proto Labs' ( PRLB ) stock jumped after the release of its Q4 earnings, even though the results were actually fairly poor under the surface. While revenue growth improved in the fourth quarter, this is increasingly being driven by parts of Proto Labs' business that have poor margins. In addition, Proto Labs' growth appears set to return to the mid- to high single-digit range in 2026. I previously suggested that low-quality growth was a problem for Proto Labs. Despite this, the stock has risen significantly over the past 12 months, due to the combination of a low initial valuation and rising investor sentiment about a return to consistent growth. I am now negative on the stock’s prospects, though, due to structural margin headwinds and Proto Labs' modest growth prospects. Proto Lab's Network business also continues to grow in importance, which is problematic as it is sub-scale and poorly positioned from a competition perspective. Market Conditions While manufacturing survey data suggests that the demand environment has stabilized, conditions are still highly variable across end markets. Proto Labs' exposure to aerospace and defense is a tailwind at the moment and appears to be driving CNC machining revenue growth. Prototyping weakness continues to impact injection molding and 3D printing, Proto Labs pivoting towards production manufacturing in response. This is more suitable to Proto Labs' Network business, though, which has worse margins and isn't as well positioned competitively as Proto Labs' Factory business. Proto Labs Business Updates Proto Labs' has a number of initiatives that appear designed to return the business to solid growth, despite the challenging demand environment. Proto Labs is launching ProDesk in Q1, which is a solution designed to help customers in areas like ordering and collaboration. This appears to be similar to Xometry's ( XMTR ) Teamspace software. Proto Labs is also trying to create a more unified platform ...