Arrests in a HK$315 million (US$40 million) insider dealing case underscore Hong Kong’s commitment to upholding the integrity of its stock market amid a surge in new listings and share placements, according to industry players. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Thursday said it had arrested eight people after joining forces with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) ear...
Arrests in a HK$315 million (US$40 million) insider dealing case underscore Hong Kong’s commitment to upholding the integrity of its stock market amid a surge in new listings and share placements, according to industry players. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Thursday said it had arrested eight people after joining forces with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) earlier this week to raid premises connected to a hedge fund and two securities firms. The joint action, the largest by the two agencies in recent years, was related to a hedge fund owner that allegedly paid HK$4 million to executives of two financial firms to obtain confidential information about the share placement plans of listed companies, using the information to gain HK$315 million via short selling, the ICAC and SFC said in separate statements. Advertisement “This joint operation of the ICAC and the SFC sent a very strong message to the market that Hong Kong will not tolerate insider dealing or other malpractices related to share placements or new listings,” said Wilson Chan, adjunct professor at City University, who was a banker for three decades before joining academia. Insider dealing refers to someone who uses confidential corporate information to trade stocks to earn profits or avoid losses, which is a criminal offence under Hong Kong law. Advertisement “Hong Kong is one of the largest fundraising hubs for mainland and international companies,” Chan said. “It is important for the SFC and ICAC to crack down on any corruption or insider dealing to uphold the integrity of the stock market, for Hong Kong to be an international financial centre.”
SEOUL, South Korea, March 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- WIRobotics today announced it has been selected for the second cohort of the Physical AI Fellowship, a virtual program powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) Startups and NVIDIA Inception that helps high-potential robotics startups build, refine, and scale physical AI solutions. ALLEX, WIRobotics’ humanoid robot (Photo courtesy of WIRobotics) Follow...
SEOUL, South Korea, March 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- WIRobotics today announced it has been selected for the second cohort of the Physical AI Fellowship, a virtual program powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) Startups and NVIDIA Inception that helps high-potential robotics startups build, refine, and scale physical AI solutions. ALLEX, WIRobotics’ humanoid robot (Photo courtesy of WIRobotics) Following the success of the inaugural Fall 2025 cohort, the 2026 cohort brings together nine promising physical AI startups across agriculture, construction and renewable energy, industrial automation, retail and logistics, robotics data infrastructure, teleoperation, and humanoid robotics applications. The Physical AI Fellowship provides hands-on technical guidance, compute resources, and go-to-market opportunities to help teams mature promising prototypes into reliable, real-world deployments. Fellows receive support from scientists and experts at the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, AWS credits, and NVIDIA resources, along with access to MassRobotics' facilities and its broader network in the robotics community. This opportunity will support WIRobotics' work to develop advanced humanoid robots that combine high-dexterity manipulation with AI-driven physical interaction for real-world environments. With AWS credits and expert guidance, NVIDIA's physical AI stack , and MassRobotics' testbed and network, WIRobotics will refine and deploy its humanoid robotics systems for real-world industrial, logistics, and service applications while validating performance in practical settings. "We are honored that WIRobotics has been selected for the Physical AI Fellowship as the only humanoid robotics company in the cohort," said Yong-Jae Kim, Co-CEO of WIRobotics. "By combining humanoid robotics technologies capable of human-like physical interaction with our AI expertise, we believe this will be a meaningful opportunity to explore new possibilities in Physical AI." Each Fellow will rec...
The basic assumptions that have underpinned hedging strategies for decades are coming undone by the escalating war in Iran. Stocks and bonds are moving in the same direction as oil markets are going through unprecedented turmoil and momentum trades rapidly unwind. That has forced fund managers to look beyond traditional hedges. The havens that have emerged since include selected equities and corpo...
The basic assumptions that have underpinned hedging strategies for decades are coming undone by the escalating war in Iran. Stocks and bonds are moving in the same direction as oil markets are going through unprecedented turmoil and momentum trades rapidly unwind. That has forced fund managers to look beyond traditional hedges. The havens that have emerged since include selected equities and corporate bonds, as well as option overlays and some more esoteric corners of the credit market, in addition to the dollar. Chinese stocks and the Australian dollar are among the targets, while commodities like aluminum and soybean oil have seen an uptick in demand. At the heart of the reordering is the rising anxiety of a stagflationary shock if a lasting oil-price increase ignites inflation and undercuts global economic growth at the same time. That has lead to a spike in cross-asset correlations and investors are rethinking what it means to hedge. How they respond is a test of the risk framework that has largely held since the global financial crisis. “Since correlations have shifted, the obvious rebalancing between equities and bonds, and instruments such as inflation-linked bonds and gold isn’t protecting portfolios,” said Rajeev de Mello , a global macro portfolio manager at Gama Asset Management. “The opportunity set for effective risk diversifiers has narrowed materially.” One of the reasons the broad strategies don’t apply to the current turmoil is that inflation risk will make the usual policy response of aggressive rate cuts unavailable in case of an economic downturn. Without central bank action, the traditional 60/40 portfolio may once again fail to deliver. Instead, Goldman Sachs Asset Management has reduced portfolio sensitivity to market moves with non-linear equity downside protection — strategies that limit losses in case of a large-scale selloff — credit hedges and deploying more more cash to risk hedging strategies. Invesco has recommended buying commodities ...
Explore the exciting world of Capital One (NYSE: COF) with our contributing expert analysts in this Motley Fool Scoreboard episode. Check out the video below to gain valuable insights into market trends and potential investment opportunities! *Stock prices used were the prices of Jan. 28, 2026. The video was published on March 12, 2026. Continue reading
Explore the exciting world of Capital One (NYSE: COF) with our contributing expert analysts in this Motley Fool Scoreboard episode. Check out the video below to gain valuable insights into market trends and potential investment opportunities! *Stock prices used were the prices of Jan. 28, 2026. The video was published on March 12, 2026. Continue reading
(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting more than 45 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,610-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Wednesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft ahead of the FOMC rate decision later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were d...
(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting more than 45 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,610-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Wednesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft ahead of the FOMC rate decision later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead. The KOSPI finished barely higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, weakness from the chemicals and technology stocks and a mixed performance from the industrials. For the day, the index perked 1.65 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 2,612.34 after trading between 2,606.91 and 2,638.56. Volume was 431.5 million shares worth 11.86 trillion won. There were 434 gainers and 430 decliners. Among the actives, KB Financial jumped 1.65 percent, while Hana Financial collected 0.16 percent, Samsung SDI rose 0.21 percent, LG Electronics tumbled 1.71 percent, SK Hynix retreated 1.46 percent, Naver dropped 0.95 percent, LG Chem declined 1.49 percent, Lotte Chemical slumped 1.58 percent, SK Innovation dipped 0.08 percent, POSCO Holdings shed 0.65 percent, SK Telecom perked 0.18 percent, KEPCO surrendered 1.81 percent, Hyundai Mobis jumped 1.73 percent, Hyundai Motor improved 0.75 percent, Kia Motors stumbled 2.43 percent and Samsung Electronics and Shinhan Financial were unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained in the red throughout the trading day, ending near session lows. The Dow tumbled 260.32 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 41,581.31, while the NASDAQ plunged 304.55 points or 1.71 percent to close at 17,504.12 and the S&P 500 sank 60.46 points or 1.07 percent to end at 5,614.66. Concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump's trade policies continued to weigh along with worries about the economic outlook despite the release of s...
Key Points Conversant Capital added 1,500,000 shares of Americold Realty Trust in the fourth quarter. The quarter-end position value increased by $19.29 million as a result of the new stake. Americold Realty Trust represents 3.66% of AUM, which places it outside the fund's top five holdings. 10 stocks we like better than Americold Realty Trust › On February 17, 2026, Conversant Capital disclosed a...
Key Points Conversant Capital added 1,500,000 shares of Americold Realty Trust in the fourth quarter. The quarter-end position value increased by $19.29 million as a result of the new stake. Americold Realty Trust represents 3.66% of AUM, which places it outside the fund's top five holdings. 10 stocks we like better than Americold Realty Trust › On February 17, 2026, Conversant Capital disclosed a new position in Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD), acquiring 1,500,000 shares worth $19.29 million during the fourth quarter. What happened Conversant Capital disclosed a new investment in Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD), acquiring 1,500,000 shares during the fourth quarter, according to an SEC filing dated February 17, 2026. The fund’s quarter-end position in the company reflects a $19.29 million increase in value. What else to know This was a new position for Conversant Capital and accounted for 3.66% of reportable AUM as of December 31, 2025. Top five holdings after the filing: NYSE:SNDA: $302.12 million (57.4% of AUM) NYSE:RITM: $35.48 million (6.7% of AUM) NYSE:CTRI: $35.35 million (6.7% of AUM) NYSE:GNL: $32.71 million (6.2% of AUM) NYSE:HPP: $28.23 million (5.4% of AUM) As of Thursday, shares of Americold Realty Trust were priced at $11.28, down a staggering 46% over the past year and well underperforming the S&P 500’s roughly 20% gain in the same period. Company overview Metric Value Market Capitalization $3.2 billion Revenue (TTM) $2.6 billion Net Income (TTM) ($114.5 million) Dividend Yield 7.8% Company snapshot Americold operates temperature-controlled warehouses, providing refrigerated storage and logistics solutions for the food supply chain. The company generates revenue through the ownership, operation, acquisition, and development of cold storage facilities, primarily leasing space and offering value-added services to food producers, processors, distributors, and retailers. Americold's primary customers include food manufacturers, processors, distributo...
Centrus Partners With Palantir As Wright Pushes End To Russian Imports In a move underscoring America’s drive for nuclear fuel sovereignty, Centrus Energy and Palantir announced an AI-powered partnership aimed at slashing costs and fast-tracking the multi-billion-dollar expansion of U.S. uranium enrichment capacity. The collaboration, showcased at Thursday's AIPCon 9 event, deploys Palantir's Foun...
Centrus Partners With Palantir As Wright Pushes End To Russian Imports In a move underscoring America’s drive for nuclear fuel sovereignty, Centrus Energy and Palantir announced an AI-powered partnership aimed at slashing costs and fast-tracking the multi-billion-dollar expansion of U.S. uranium enrichment capacity. The collaboration, showcased at Thursday's AIPCon 9 event, deploys Palantir's Foundry and Artificial Intelligence Platform across Centrus' operations. Early work since late January has already pinpointed nearly $300 million in potential cost savings and efficiencies. This would be on top of the $900 million they were recently awarded for their expansion efforts. Further gains are expected to compress manufacturing lead times and accelerate the rollout of new capacity at Centrus' Ohio plant, which is the only U.S.-owned commercial enrichment facility currently operating. The company is already starting to prepare additional centrifuges at their manufacturing facilities . Centrus President and CEO Amir Vexler remarked on the immediate cost savings and their ongoing EPC partnership with Fluor, while Palantir Industrials EVPs Joanna Peller and Tom McArdle noted how the partnership demonstrates how “AI-powered software can drive measurable impact in critical infrastructure projects”. The announcement between the two companies came on the same day Energy Secretary Chris Wright was providing comments to CNN regarding enriched uranium imports from Russia. The U.S. will rely on “our partners in Europe” to enable the U.S. to fully cut off uranium imports from Russia by the current deadline of 2028. As Demand Grows, US Nuclear Energy Industry Faces Looming Crunch In Reactor Fuel Supply https://t.co/DfRbhoNGzD — zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 15, 2026 There's an obvious desire by the U.S. to cut their dependence on Russian imports, given the Russians currently supply about 20-25% of the feedstock required by the U.S. commercial nuclear fleet. As Secretary Wright no...
Earnings Call Insights: Health Catalyst (HCAT) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Benjamin Albert opened the call by addressing his recent appointment, stating, "I stepped into the CEO role last month following Dan Burton's departure as CEO and from the Board of Directors." He emphasized a "renewed sense of focus and execution," highlighting a comprehensive business review and swift moves to "tighten lea...
Earnings Call Insights: Health Catalyst (HCAT) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Benjamin Albert opened the call by addressing his recent appointment, stating, "I stepped into the CEO role last month following Dan Burton's departure as CEO and from the Board of Directors." He emphasized a "renewed sense of focus and execution," highlighting a comprehensive business review and swift moves to "tighten leadership focus and execution discipline." New general managers were appointed for interoperability and cybersecurity, and the Chief Commercial Officer role transitioned to an internal successor. Searches for a Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer are underway to "strengthen operational rigor and to clarify and elevate our position within the market." Albert described actions to review the company's cost structure, expand technology bookings and margins, and drive cash flow generation. He stressed a "back-to-basics approach" and a sharper, simplified commercial story, stating, "We will strengthen and simplify our commercial engine to drive technology ARR bookings. We will improve retention through more predictable migrations and clear client value realization." The CEO announced a shift in reporting, saying, "We will focus on providing a new set of bookings and retention metrics that are easier to understand, align directly with our execution and clearly reflect how we operate the business." Albert concluded that, "Given this work and the significant impact some of it may have on our financial results going forward, we are not yet in a position to provide annual guidance. Today, we are sharing first quarter revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance only." CFO Jason Alger stated, "For the full year of 2025, we generated $311.1 million in revenue and $41.4 million of adjusted EBITDA." He reported 32 net new logos, an average ARR plus nonrecurring revenue near the midpoint of the $300,000 to $700,000 range, and a tech plus TAMs dollar-based retention rate of 93%. Alger...
Earnings Call Insights: Identiv (INVE) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Kirsten Newquist highlighted "significant advancements in the development of the specialized Bluetooth Low Energy, BLE, smart label in collaboration with IFCO," and announced a multiyear agreement to serve as "exclusive supplier for committed manufacturing volumes." She described this as a "major milestone in our high-growth BLE st...
Earnings Call Insights: Identiv (INVE) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Kirsten Newquist highlighted "significant advancements in the development of the specialized Bluetooth Low Energy, BLE, smart label in collaboration with IFCO," and announced a multiyear agreement to serve as "exclusive supplier for committed manufacturing volumes." She described this as a "major milestone in our high-growth BLE strategy and reinforces Identiv's leadership in scalable BLE-enabled solutions for complex global industries." Newquist stated that "fourth quarter sales of $6.2 million exceeded our guidance with all other key financial metrics also coming in ahead of expectations." She attributed gross profit margin strength to the "successful completion of our 2-year transition of production from Singapore to our new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Thailand," emphasizing reduced costs and increased efficiency. CFO Edward Kirnbauer reported, "In the fourth quarter of 2025, we delivered $6.2 million in revenue, which exceeded our previously announced guidance range compared to $6.7 million in Q4 2024." Kirnbauer also cited "GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins were 18.1% and 25.6%, respectively, compared to GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins of negative 14.9% and negative 5.2%, respectively, in Q4 2024." Kirnbauer noted, "We exited Q4 2025 with $128.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, which is a sequential increase of $2.3 million over the third quarter of 2025." Outlook The company anticipates Q1 2026 sales of "$6.7 million to $7.2 million, which includes the benefit of one of our new customers ordering their full year volume in Q1. This would be an anticipated increase of 26% to 35% over the $5.3 million in sales that we reported for Q1 of 2025," according to CFO Kirnbauer. Management expects "near-term variability in gross margins as we begin scaling production for the IFCO program and for another new customer in Q1." Newquist stated, "As these programs mature and ...
Earnings Call Insights: Vaxart (VXRT) Q4 2025 Management View Steven Lo, President and CEO, highlighted several recent milestones, including a partnership with Dynavax for the oral COVID-19 vaccine candidate and the publication of a clinical study data set for the oral norovirus vaccine in lactating mothers. He stated that "this partnership provides significant validation of our oral vaccine platf...
Earnings Call Insights: Vaxart (VXRT) Q4 2025 Management View Steven Lo, President and CEO, highlighted several recent milestones, including a partnership with Dynavax for the oral COVID-19 vaccine candidate and the publication of a clinical study data set for the oral norovirus vaccine in lactating mothers. He stated that "this partnership provides significant validation of our oral vaccine platform’s potential, coming from a company with a proven track record in developing and commercializing innovative vaccines." Lo detailed that the Dynavax partnership, announced in November 2025, included a $25 million upfront payment and $5 million equity investment. The agreement holds "a total potential value of up to $700 million in license, regulatory and milestone fees, tiered royalties and the equity investment." Lo also described a lease termination agreement to reduce operating expenses, allowing early exit from a lease in May 2026, enhancing the ability to focus financial resources on lead programs. James Cummings, Chief Medical Officer, reported continued progress in the Phase IIb trial of the oral COVID-19 vaccine, with a focus on safety and efficacy endpoints, and detailed recent publication of the norovirus vaccine study in lactating mothers. Cummings shared that the norovirus vaccine study demonstrated statistically significant rises in antibody levels, suggesting passive transfer of mucosal immunity from mother to infant. Sean Tucker, Chief Scientific Officer, revealed ongoing preclinical research to assess cross-reactivity of the norovirus vaccine with the GII.17 strain, aiming to broaden the vaccine’s utility. Jeroen Grasman, CFO, stated "Revenue for the full year 2025 was $237.3 million compared to $28.7 million for the full year 2024. Revenue in the full year 2025 and full year 2024 were primarily from contracts related to the BARDA contract awarded in June 2024, with 2025 also including revenue recognized from the Dynavax license and collaboration agreement...
Earnings Call Insights: Limoneira Company (LMNR) Q1 2026 Management View Harold Edwards, President and CEO, stated that "our first quarter results reflect the strategic transformation we've been executing to position Limoneira for sustainable long-term value creation." He emphasized the return to Sunkist and a shift in lemon sales cadence, noting, "fresh utilization improved in the first quarter."...
Earnings Call Insights: Limoneira Company (LMNR) Q1 2026 Management View Harold Edwards, President and CEO, stated that "our first quarter results reflect the strategic transformation we've been executing to position Limoneira for sustainable long-term value creation." He emphasized the return to Sunkist and a shift in lemon sales cadence, noting, "fresh utilization improved in the first quarter." The company absorbed $2.5 million in specific expenses, including $1 million in packinghouse repairs, $0.5 million related to closing Chilean farming operations, and $1 million in foreign exchange fluctuations on Chilean asset sale receivables. Edwards reiterated, "the strategic foundation we've built is now delivering measurable results, and we remain firmly on track to achieve our fiscal 2026 objectives, including our annual volume guidance for lemons and avocados." He detailed ongoing strategic initiatives: the Sunkist partnership is "functioning as planned," avocado operations are expanding, and asset monetization is progressing. Edwards described the expansion of avocado acreage, with 1,600 acres planted and half set to bear fruit in the next 2 to 4 years, representing a near 100% increase in capacity. He also highlighted the 50-50 organic recycling joint venture with Agromin and real estate developments like Harvest at Limoneira and Limco Del Mar. Edwards introduced Greg Hamm as the new Chief Financial Officer, noting, "I've had the privilege to work with Greg for over 22 years at Limoneira since he was hired in 2004." Greg Hamm, CFO, explained, "total net revenues were $18.2 million compared to $34.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025." He attributed the decline to the Sunkist transition and exit from the brokerage business. Hamm continued, "total costs and expenses in the first quarter were $28.8 million, down 27% from $39.7 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025," driven by cost reductions and Sunkist partnership benefits. Outlook Edwards s...
Are you just as afraid of a market pullback right now as you are of missing out on upside? If so, you're not alone. This is a confusing environment for investors. Major names like Nvidia and Home Depot are sending mixed messages, while the market itself seems to be waiting for more clarity about tariffs and the Trump administration's trade war. There are some tickers with bullish backstories, thou...
Are you just as afraid of a market pullback right now as you are of missing out on upside? If so, you're not alone. This is a confusing environment for investors. Major names like Nvidia and Home Depot are sending mixed messages, while the market itself seems to be waiting for more clarity about tariffs and the Trump administration's trade war. There are some tickers with bullish backstories, though, that are bigger than any environmental or economic backdrop. You just have to look a bit off the beaten path to find them. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » If you've got $1,000 -- or any other amount of money -- lying around available to invest, here are three solid prospects to consider. CRISPR Therapeutics Biotech stocks can be tricky investments to handle. Oftentimes, you're betting on a potentially game-changing premise well before it's profitable, or even before there's a marketable product. That's obviously risky. But the potential upside can be tremendous. CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP) is not yet profitable, but the underlying science that makes the drugs it's currently developing possible holds enough promise to eventually get the company out of the red and into the black. CRISPR Therapeutics specializes in gene editing. Company co-founder Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier developed a way to cut a strand of damaged DNA and then force the genetic code's own built-in repair process to fix what's broken. While CRISPR's Casgevy (for the treatment of sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia) is its only approved drug based on this science, this biotechnology has a range of potential applications. Treating cancer and autoimmune diseases is arguably the biggest. That any drugs based on this science have been approved bodes well for the concept, and CRISPR's got a total of five different clinical trials underway right now. Those are what most interested investors are ey...
Global markets in 2026 are facing a host of problems, including geopolitical tensions, higher oil prices, and renewed inflation concerns. In this environment, investors are increasingly opting for companies with sustainable competitive advantages and robust financials. In case you have $1,000 that is not required to pay bills or set aside for contingencies, two stocks worth considering in this env...
Global markets in 2026 are facing a host of problems, including geopolitical tensions, higher oil prices, and renewed inflation concerns. In this environment, investors are increasingly opting for companies with sustainable competitive advantages and robust financials. In case you have $1,000 that is not required to pay bills or set aside for contingencies, two stocks worth considering in this environment are Amazon (AMZN 0.87%) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM +0.42%). Amazon Amazon has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure buildout. Through Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company provides the critical cloud infrastructure that many businesses rely on to train, deploy, and run AI applications at scale. Expand NASDAQ : AMZN Amazon Today's Change ( -0.87 %) $ -1.83 Current Price $ 207.70 Key Data Points Market Cap $2.2T Day's Range $ 206.23 - $ 210.56 52wk Range $ 161.38 - $ 258.60 Volume 1.6M Avg Vol 49M Gross Margin 50.29 % In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 (ending Dec. 31, 2025), AWS revenue grew 24% year over year to $35.6 billion, marking its fastest growth in the past 13 quarters. AWS exited fiscal 2025 as a $142 billion annualized run rate business. Amazon plans to spend about $200 billion in capex in 2026, with a large portion directed toward expanding AWS infrastructure to meet soaring demand for both traditional cloud and AI workloads. Amazon is further strengthening AWS' position with custom silicon. Its proprietary Trainium and Graviton chips now generate more than $10 billion in annual revenue run rate and offer better price-performance than many traditional chips. These custom chips are helping reduce AI computing costs and will boost AWS' margins over time. Amazon has also entered into long-term agreements with strategic players such as OpenAI, Visa, and Salesforce. These deals are ensuring long-term revenue visibility for AWS and reinforcing its position as a critical AI pla...
NoDerog/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images As rising market uncertainties take hold of U.S. equities, I believe that a defensive posture is looking more and more attractive as each trading day closes . Investors could perhaps find this defensiveness in the toothpaste aisle of Procter & Gamble ( PG ). The maker of Crest toothpaste and Pantene Shampoo, among other staples, pays a quarterly dividend ...
NoDerog/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images As rising market uncertainties take hold of U.S. equities, I believe that a defensive posture is looking more and more attractive as each trading day closes . Investors could perhaps find this defensiveness in the toothpaste aisle of Procter & Gamble ( PG ). The maker of Crest toothpaste and Pantene Shampoo, among other staples, pays a quarterly dividend of $1.06/share, and shares have generally traded in a stable range through its storied history. Of late, however, the stock has been nursing losses, along with the broader markets, and one could be forgiven for questioning whether the losses are justified. Though the stock is up 5% YTD, shares are down about 7% over the past month. Seeking Alpha - 1-MTH Returns Of PG Stock At the midpoint of its 52-week range and with a defensive hedge as one catalyst, I believe the stock is worth additional consideration. PG Stock Key Metrics PG currently commands a forward trading multiple of about 22x earnings. This is roughly in line with the broader market indexes and its own historical averages. I don’t find the valuation particularly compelling at these levels. Seeking Alpha - Valuation Metrics Of PG Stock Neither do the Seeking Alpha (“SA”) quants, which see PG as a "Hold," due primarily to its higher trading multiple. The broader SA analyst community is likewise neutral, with most coverage over the past year to that effect. Seeking Alpha - SA Analyst Rating History Of PG Stock Those on Wall Street, on the other hand, see more value at current levels and are bullish on PG’s prospects. Average price targets from the group peg the stock's value at just shy of $170/share. Seeking Alpha - Consensus Price Target Of PG Stock This would indicate over 10% upside potential from current levels. While that’s certainly a positive, I don’t necessarily know if that is inspiring enough from an investment standpoint. PG Operating Performance Though PG is a staple company, that doesn’t exactly mean ...