Ronald Martinez/Getty Images News Halliburton ( HAL ) up 3.7% to as high as $40.36, its best level in nearly two years, as J.P. Morgan reiterated its Overweight rating while raising its price target to $40 from $35 previously, anticipating the company's Q1 results will remain in line with estimates despite Middle East disruptions. JPM analyst Arun Jayaram said he was expecting a hit to his Q1 expe...
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images News Halliburton ( HAL ) up 3.7% to as high as $40.36, its best level in nearly two years, as J.P. Morgan reiterated its Overweight rating while raising its price target to $40 from $35 previously, anticipating the company's Q1 results will remain in line with estimates despite Middle East disruptions. JPM analyst Arun Jayaram said he was expecting a hit to his Q1 expectations for Halliburton ( HAL ) due to the Middle East war and adverse winter weather in North America but "heard limited bellyaching" in his recent catch-up call with the company, while primary oilfield services c ompetitor SLB ( SLB ) pre-announced a Q1 EPS shortfall of $0.06-$0.09 associated with Middle East disruptions. Halliburton ( HAL ), meanwhile, was more upbeat, and Q1 guidance appears intact, likely stemming from the company's previous conservative guidance, particularly for Saudi Arabia and North America, the analyst said. H alliburton ( HAL ) originally guided for a 7%-9% sequential decline in revenues for its completions and production business with a ~300 bps contraction in margins and a 2%-4% sequential decline in drilling and evaluation revenues with a 25-75 bps drop in margins; despite the impact of winter weather and war-related disruptions, Jayaram said he is sticking with his Q1 EPS and EBITDA estimates of $0.51 and $954M, respectively, which is in line with Wall Street estimates. More on Halliburton Halliburton: Higher Oil, Higher Estimates Likely To Come Halliburton: Skate To Where The Puck Is Going (Rating Upgrade) Halliburton: Keeping An Eye On Venezuela, But Maintaining Our Previous Rating - Hold
Artit_Wongpradu/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Back when I last covered Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. ( IIPR ), I highlighted this REIT's excellent balance sheet and significant discount, with the AFFO feeling some more tenant pressure that could threaten the double-digit dividend. Following a solid quarter and some improvements seen so far in Q1, IIPR remains a Strong Buy, with the...
Artit_Wongpradu/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Back when I last covered Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. ( IIPR ), I highlighted this REIT's excellent balance sheet and significant discount, with the AFFO feeling some more tenant pressure that could threaten the double-digit dividend. Following a solid quarter and some improvements seen so far in Q1, IIPR remains a Strong Buy, with the stock still trading at a significant discount despite very important developments in the industry seen not long ago. Internal Developments Innovative Industrial Properties IR IIPR reported a strong Q4, beating the market’s FFO and revenue estimates and delivering an increase in AFFO compared to previous quarters, while 2025’s AFFO fell to $205.41 million. They also announced some improvements regarding rent collection from tenants, with $3.74 million from the defaulted tenant Gold Flora and $0.24 million from PharmaCann, with some improvements seen so far in 2026 while the company is diversifying, with the IQHQ deal mentioned previously also adding interest payments going forward, with Q4 benefitting from $5.0 million worth of interest from it. A couple of weeks ago, IIPR also announced significant updates , executing on 122,000 square feet of new leases in March 2026 while resolving all pending litigation with PharmaCann for their prior lease defaults and actively working on finding new tenants for their properties. Meanwhile, they announced leasing the properties previously held by Gold Flora, reaching some tentative agreements for the four assets leased to 4Front, while The Cannabist Company defaulted on one Pennsylvania property that represents 2.7% of their total rental revenues (out of 20 leased to them - 6.3% of total rent), similar to Battle Green. Innovative Industrial Properties IR Financially, based on IIPR’s latest report , we continue to see a very strong balance sheet, with some of the lowest levels of leverage in the entire REIT sector, although they have $2...
Nike (NYSE: NKE) , the world's largest athletic footwear and apparel maker, was once a stable blue chip stock . But over the past three years, its stock has declined nearly 60% as it disappointed investors with slowing sales and declining margins. Should you buy Nike's stock as a contrarian play ahead of its next earnings report on March 31? Nike, like many of its industry peers, struggled with sl...
Nike (NYSE: NKE) , the world's largest athletic footwear and apparel maker, was once a stable blue chip stock . But over the past three years, its stock has declined nearly 60% as it disappointed investors with slowing sales and declining margins. Should you buy Nike's stock as a contrarian play ahead of its next earnings report on March 31? Nike, like many of its industry peers, struggled with slowing sales during the pandemic. But after the pandemic passed, its revenue grew at a steady 11% CAGR from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2023 (which ended in May 2023) as it expanded Nike Direct (its e-commerce marketplace and first-party stores) to reduce its dependence on wholesale retailers. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
rivermartin/iStock via Getty Images The industry-wide headwinds within the spirits sector have decimated all major players within the industry and are now spurring deals that a couple of years ago would have seemed unlikely. Discussions about a potential acquisition of Brown-Forman ( BF.B ) by Pernod Ricard ( PRNDY ) are now being held, and this could create a truly global brand powerhouse in the ...
rivermartin/iStock via Getty Images The industry-wide headwinds within the spirits sector have decimated all major players within the industry and are now spurring deals that a couple of years ago would have seemed unlikely. Discussions about a potential acquisition of Brown-Forman ( BF.B ) by Pernod Ricard ( PRNDY ) are now being held, and this could create a truly global brand powerhouse in the sector that will rival the current leader, Diageo ( DEO ). All three names mentioned above are down by more than 60% over the past 5 years, which shows the severity of the current downturn that has likely facilitated the ongoing talks. Data by YCharts Additionally, the fact that both BF.B and PRNDY are down significantly over that period, and trading at relatively comparable multiples means that a share-based acquisition would not hurt BF.B investors when it comes to their future share within the combined entity. Therefore, the more important questions right now are how accretive a potential deal would be for both companies and what the potential benefits and risks involved are. A Major Rival Of Diageo Right off the bat, a potential acquisition would allow the combined entity to rival the current hegemon in the sector—Diageo. In terms of revenues, it would still be smaller than DEO, but in a much better position to take advantage of economies of scale. Prepared by the Author, Using Data from Seeking Alpha In terms of valuation multiples, BF.B now trades at a notable premium to both DEO and PRNDY. The difference is noticeable both on EV/EBITDA (see the graph above) and on a forward price/earnings basis (see the graph below). Prepared by the Author, Using Data from Seeking Alpha While this is good news for BF.B shareholders, it should be noted that the company was trading at significantly higher multiples relative to PRNDY just a couple of years ago. That means that Brown-Forman's management is obliged to negotiate a higher target price for the company. Data by YCharts Synerg...
Yesway Inc., a convenience store and gas station operator focused on rural communities in the Midwest and the Southwest, filed for an initial public offering.
Yesway Inc., a convenience store and gas station operator focused on rural communities in the Midwest and the Southwest, filed for an initial public offering.
Super Micro Computer is facing a class-action lawsuit. The server maker is accused of misleading investors about exposure to China and compliance risks tied to the sale of export-controlled Nvidia Corp. chips. Investors Allege Hidden China Sales And Compliance Failures On Wednesday, shareholders claimed SMCI overstated its growth prospects by failing to disclose that a significant portion of its s...
Super Micro Computer is facing a class-action lawsuit. The server maker is accused of misleading investors about exposure to China and compliance risks tied to the sale of export-controlled Nvidia Corp. chips. Investors Allege Hidden China Sales And Compliance Failures On Wednesday, shareholders claimed SMCI overstated its growth prospects by failing to disclose that a significant portion of its server sales were linked to China, potentially in violation of U.S. export controls, Reuters reported
Aziz Shamuratov /iStock Editorial via Getty Images Oil prices have exploded higher since the military operations in Iran began on February 28. West Texas Intermediate ( CL1:COM ), or WTI, crude oil trades in the futures market on the CME’s NYMEX division, along with liquid futures contracts on oil products, gasoline, and heating oil. The WTI contract reflects the crude oil produced in North Americ...
Aziz Shamuratov /iStock Editorial via Getty Images Oil prices have exploded higher since the military operations in Iran began on February 28. West Texas Intermediate ( CL1:COM ), or WTI, crude oil trades in the futures market on the CME’s NYMEX division, along with liquid futures contracts on oil products, gasoline, and heating oil. The WTI contract reflects the crude oil produced in North America. Brent North Sea crude oil ( CO1:COM ) trades in the futures market on the Intercontinental Exchange and reflects the crude oil produced in Europe, Africa, Russia, and the Middle East. WTI is a light, sweet crude oil well-suited for refining into gasoline. Brent is also a light, sweet petroleum, but its slightly higher sulfur content makes it suitable for refining into distillate products, including heating oil, diesel, and jet fuel. Valero Energy Corporation ( VLO ) is an oil refining company. I last wrote about VLO on Seeking Alpha on January 5, 2026, when I rated the company a Buy, concluding with the following: The prospects for increased refining business from Venezuela in light of the U.S. actions over the last weekend increase the potential for VLO shares in 2026. I rate VLO a "Buy" and expect the stock to rise to over $200. Venezuela turned out to be the tip of a bullish iceberg for VLO shares, which blew through $220 per share as a hot knife goes through butter. VLO Shares Have Exploded Higher in 2026 VLO shares were trading at $181.60 on January 5, 2026, after closing 2025 slightly lower at $181.43. Monthly Chart of VLO Shares (Barchart) The monthly chart shows the explosive rally that has propelled VLO shares to a new high of $254.68 on March 27, 2026. The over 40% rally in 2026 has taken VLO to a new all-time high. When the global pandemic sent crude oil and oil product prices to lows in March 2020, VLO found a bottom at $31 per share. By late March 2026, the stock had risen more than eightfold. Valero Energy Corp. is a Leading U.S. Oil Refining Company At $25...
DesignRage/iStock via Getty Images Meta Platforms, Inc. ( META ) recently received an adverse ruling by the New Mexico Department of Justice (NMDOJ) that may result in a complete shift in how Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is used to separate social media platforms from content. With Section 230 acting as a critical protection for social media platforms in terms of how they facilita...
DesignRage/iStock via Getty Images Meta Platforms, Inc. ( META ) recently received an adverse ruling by the New Mexico Department of Justice (NMDOJ) that may result in a complete shift in how Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is used to separate social media platforms from content. With Section 230 acting as a critical protection for social media platforms in terms of how they facilitate user-generated content, the contradictory ruling could potentially open the door to additional litigation that may spark significant changes in how Meta operates its social media platforms. Despite these headwinds, I do not believe the rulings will significantly influence user adoption and advertising spend, given how central Instagram and Facebook have become in many people' lives regarding communication with others. Given these factors, I remain confident that Meta will overcome these challenges and maintain its prominent position as a leading platform for content sharing and AI. I am reiterating my Strong Buy with a price target of $893/share at 17x eFY27 EV/EBITDA. You can review my previous report covering Meta Platforms here . Meta Platforms Operational Update Meta faced an adverse legal ruling by the New Mexico Department of Justice on March 24, 2026, finding Meta to be liable for “misleading consumers about the safety of its platforms and endangering children.” The outcome amounts to $5,000 per violation for a total sum of $375mm in civil penalties for violating New Mexico’s consumer protection laws. Meta has a bench trial scheduled to begin May 4 th to receive a final claim and potentially additional damages and charges. The lawsuit was largely centered around Meta being the enabler of harm towards children, which includes intentionally designing the platform to addict young people while exposing them to dangerous content. The challenge that this lawsuit presents is that the legal protections social media platforms had previously received through Section 230 of ...
Golf star involved in rollover crash in Florida Sheriff says crash happened Friday on Jupiter Island Woods’ condition unclear as inquiry gets underway Golf star Tiger Woods was involved in a rollover crash in Florida on Friday afternoon, ABC News reported, citing the local sheriff’s office. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Continue reading...
Golf star involved in rollover crash in Florida Sheriff says crash happened Friday on Jupiter Island Woods’ condition unclear as inquiry gets underway Golf star Tiger Woods was involved in a rollover crash in Florida on Friday afternoon, ABC News reported, citing the local sheriff’s office. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Continue reading...