Barron's : Why There’s Still a Case for Stocks

Why There’s Still a Case for Stocks
While TINA might be dead, the dividend trade is most certainly not.

Remember TINA? No, not Tina Turner, who hasn’t released a new album since 1999. We’re talking about the popular acronym for “There is No Alternative,” referring to the argument that stocks are the only choice for income when bonds yields are ridiculously low. And there’s a good chance that it has gone to same place that the once-greats go when their time has come and gone.

It’s easy to see why TINA was so popular. At recently as the end of July, the S&P 500 yielded 2.21% to the 10-year Treasury’s 1.37%. Today, however, that yield premium has completely disappeared: The S&P 500 yields just 2.06% to the 10-year’s 2.54%. If “you were justifying your investments in equities because of their valuations relative to Treasuries, then you don’t have nearly as much of a leg to stand on,” notes Bespoke Investment Group’s Paul Hickey.

Thankfully, there are other reasons to own stocks. Though the number of stocks with Treasury-beating yields has dropped from more than 200 to just over 100, says Stuart Freeman, co-head of global equity strategy at Wells Fargo, he isn’t worried about the effect on the overall market. The reason: Expectations for faster profit growth in 2017. “Earnings growth represents a competitive return factor for stocks that bonds do not offer,” he says.

Still, while TINA might be dead, the dividend trade is most certainly not, argues Strategas Research Partners’ Nicholas Bohnsack. When bond yields start rising, investors gravitate to stocks that offer dividend growth, as well as current yield. A basket of such stocks has returned more than 16% during periods of rising 10-year yields going back to 1993, according to Strategas data, well above the returns from consumer staples, telecom, and utilities. Stocks currently in the Strategas Dividend Growth basket—which haven’t produced market-beating gains this year—include pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories (ticker: ABT), Scott-brand tissue paper maker Kimberly-Clark (KMB), and chip-manufacturer Intel (INTC).

And even utilities might have their place in a stock portfolio. Yes, 2017 is likely to be a tough year for the sector thanks to rising rates, tax reform, and higher inflation. But even in that environment, some utilities maintain their appeal, says Deutsche Bank analyst Jonathan Arnold, who upgraded Eversource (ES) and PSEG (PEG) to Buy from Hold last week. Arnold cites Eversource’s strong balance sheet and the possibility that earnings per share could grow by as much as 7% through 2019, despite holdups in some major projects. PSEG should benefit thanks to its smaller debt load, and potential regulatory changes under a Trump administration that could make its nuclear business less of a drag on earnings.

TINA is dead. Long live TINA.

Barron's " Get Ready for the Great Oil Bust of 2017

Shawn Driscoll has been ahead of the curve when it comes to oil prices.

In the first half of 2014, Driscoll—the portfolio manager of the T. Rowe Price New Era fund (ticker: PRNEX), which focuses on natural resources—began positioning the fund more defensively to reflect his belief that commodities had entered a secular bear market. He bolstered the portfolio with specialty chemicals and industrial companies, as well as utilities, and as such was able to avoid some of the pain when oil prices were cut in half, to $26 a barrel, last February.

The New Era Fund is up 17.3% so far this year. It has outperformed its peers over the past three and five years, although it has lagged them over the past 12 months. Like its competitors, it has lagged the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index over those periods. It has assets under management of $3.5 billion and charges an expense ratio of 0.67%.

Driscoll maintains that we are currently experiencing a bear-market rally, and that the energy sector, which has run up smartly, is due for a sharp reversal in the second half of next year. That said, he is still finding areas to put money to work. Barrons.com spoke to him recently to get his thoughts on these and other topics.

Barrons.com: We’ve just seen non-OPEC and OPEC producing countries agreeing to production cuts. How significant are these?

Driscoll: They’re significant in the short term, but our longer-term view is that we’re in a secular bear market for oil and the rest of the commodity complex.

Q: Has the OPEC move already been priced into the market?

A: Yes. We think this bear market is very similar to the ‘80s and ‘90s—actually, we think it is worse—and OPEC was pretty ineffective except over very short time frames during that period. That’s because capital efficiency is getting so much better so quickly. Like any commodity, you take some supply offline for a short period of time, it will matter. But the supply response is always underestimated and a lot quicker than people realize when you are going through a period of technological disruption, and that’s what’s going on right now.

Q: So we’re going to see a lot more supply?

A: There is a wave coming. It has already started. U.S. oil production bottomed in September, in our view. We think U.S. fracking recovery rates are still just 10%.

Q: How long will this bear market go on?

A: Ten to 15 years.

Q: Ouch. You’ve been a very good prognosticator on prices. Where do you see them going in the next year?

A: The sugar rush is going to continue in 2017, but only for a short time. The International Energy Agency made the case that we were undersupplied for ‘17, but we’re not. We have a million barrels a day over [demand], and the missing piece in everyone’s model is how quickly and how big the U.S. comes back, and I still think that is being massively underestimated. My guess is we peak out some time in the first quarter and then by the time we exit 2017 we’re back in the soup—sub-$50-a-barrel oil—and then at some time in ‘18 we dip below $40 a barrel.

Q: That is a very contrarian view.

A: The OPEC agreement theoretically goes to late May. What do they do if we’re right? What do they do if the U.S. is up 500,000 barrels a day by mid ‘17?

Q: Coming on during this cutback?

A: Yes, and once they see it coming, do they cut again? I bet no. These cycles are all about productivity and the direction of the cost curve. Historically, it’s hard to make money when the cost curve is flattening and falling, and we think that’s true for most of the commodity complex. Until that stops, it’s hard to string together a positive message on commodities structurally.

Q: And it is only going to get worse because you’re going to have a very supportive regulatory environment in the new administration?

A: Yes, although these companies don’t need much of a nudge.

Q: As an energy investor, what do you do?

A: We’re big believers in staying at the low end of the cost curve, and in the U.S. the frackers are obliterating the global cost curve extremely quickly, especially in the Permian Basin. And so, EOG Resources (EOG), Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD), Concho Resources (CXO), and Cimarex Energy (XEC) are big holdings of ours, and we consider those long-term positions.

Q: Are they all active in the Permian Basin?

A: They all have considerable business and net asset leverage to the Permian Basin.

Q: How do you value these companies, and where could they go from here?

A: We use a blend of two metrics to value exploration and production companies—discounted cash flow on drilled locations, and our long-term view on price, which is $45 to $50. We think E&P names as a whole are pricing in roughly $65 a barrel in oil. The Permian names are pricing in $70, which is why they’ve exceeded our expectations. But we’re not exiting, and we think these are going to be the relative winners over a longer period of time. We are really struggling to find ideas. You really have to extend your time horizon

Q: Oil has doubled from the bottom at $26, and a lot of these stocks have really moved up very smartly also.

A: Some of them are almost near the 2014 peak, when oil was over $100. Newfield Exploration (NFX) and Clayton Williams Energy (CWEI) are at or near their 2014 peaks.

Q: So we want to wait until things come off a little bit before committing capital?

A: Yes. Some of these are going to see a 30% to 50% correction. It is not going to be immediate in ‘17, but back half of ‘17 into ‘18, money is going to come out of this space pretty fast.

Q: Are there any companies that haven’t enjoyed such a tremendous move?

A: On the margin, we’re finding more interesting ideas in Canada. On a relative basis, they’re not pricing in as high oil and natural gas prices that the U.S. guys are. Companies like Advantage Oil & Gas (AAV), and Arc Resources (ARX.Canada), which we own. We think they’re pricing in something below $60 and $3 gas, which, by the way, isn’t screaming cheap. But on a relative basis, it is attractive.

Q: Tell us more about Advantage Oil & Gas.

A: This is an oil and gas exploration company in the Montney Basin, an enormous basin in western Alberta. It started off as a dry natural-gas basin, but as modern fracking techniques have improved, more of these companies are finding black oil in liquids that have much better margins than natural gas.

Q: Is Arc also active in that basin?

A: They have one of the biggest land positions in the basin. Encana (ECA) is another one we own. They’re in the Permian and have a big position in the Montney.

Q: Where it is trading?

A: Encana has had a big move; some of the Canadian-listed names, not as much. U.S. investors are closer to the productivity boom. The Canadian names aren’t that expensive on a relative basis, whereas the U.S. E&Ps are overvalued.

Q: Examples, please.

A: There are a couple of names I’m buying, which is why I’m being a little elusive. They are trading at 7 1/2 times ‘17 Ebitda [earnings before interest, taxes, debt, and amortization] and 5 1/2 times ‘18. These are relative calls. There are other parts in the portfolio that we like better.

Q: Do tell.

A: Specialty chemicals, utilities, and, at some point during ‘17—and it is probably going to be simultaneously with the peak in oil—that you are going to want to go back into utilities and gold names.

Q: What’s the rationale for that?

A: It is going to be simultaneous with a peak in growth and inflation expectations. In the first or second quarter, we’re going to see the commodities peak out, inflation peak out, real rates peak out, and there is going to be a rush back into gold and utilities.

Q: Some names, please.

A: Utilities are still about 8% or 9% of the strategy. We own Atmos Energy (ATO). It has been a pretty good stock, but I still think there is a ways to go in it. It trades roughly in the low $70s and we’re playing for mid-$80s plus a mid-2% dividend. It is an upper-single-digit grower, and it has got a very long runway in terms of capital deployment. It’s a natural-gas distribution company, and there is a lot of old pipe around, so they’re doing a lot of replacing pipe. But the other aspect of the story that I think is going to be interesting over time is they have an interstate pipeline for gas in the Permian Basin.

Q: What else?

A: We own Edison International (EIX), an electric utility, and PG&E (PCG) in California. They’re trading at a market multiple or below, and are mid- to upper-single-digit growers with mid-3% dividend yields. We’re going through a cyclical reflation trade, where some of this safe stuff becomes unattractive as the 10-year Treasury yield goes up. But there is a point in the first half of ‘17 where that stops being the case.

Q: Thank you, Shawn.

Barron's : Auto Parts Makers Look Up as Cars Go Digital

Auto Parts Makers Look Up as Cars Go Digital
Companies like Valeo and Continental look set to profit from technological changes, though margins could get squeezed

European auto parts makers have hit a few potholes in 2016, but could have a much smoother ride next year, as economic conditions improve and the focus on new car technologies intensifies.

Marco Pirondini, executive vice president and head of U.S. equities at Pioneer Investments, says Europe’s auto-parts sector ticks two important boxes for him, with its prospects closely allied to any economic uplift and the ability to innovate. “[Companies] are going to benefit from the recovery, especially in Europe,” he says. “We like those that are particularly exposed to demand for new devices. Electronics in cars are growing like crazy. We have more assisted driving, more cameras, more sensors, more of everything.”

Rob Lutts, chief investment officer at Massachusetts-based Cabot Wealth Management, reckons the transportation industry is at the start of its own digital revolution, with the push toward self-driving vehicles likely to fuel a wide range of new technologies for cars in coming years. “Our feeling is that autonomous driving is going to be a reality, probably in five years. There will be significant action here in the U.S. Ford Motor (ticker: F) has said they’re planning to build 100,000 autonomous vehicles,” he says.

In Europe, the biggest auto-parts players include France’s Valeo (FR.France) and Germany’s Continental (CON.Germany). Lately, it’s been Valeo that has fared better. Its stock is up over 17% in the last year, with more than half of that coming in the last three months. The company’s strong potential upside was highlighted in this column in September. Continental has had a tougher time, shedding almost 17% of its value this year and around 2% in the last quarter.

These aren’t investments for the fainthearted. While analysts and fund managers are confident that both companies are well placed to keep up with changing technology trends, the cost of doing so will chip away at profit margins.

At the same time, the European recovery faces a number of potential stumbling blocks in the next nine months, with elections in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and possibly Italy.

Continental investors took a pounding in November when the company reported that third-quarter net profit fell 41% as mounting costs outweighed revenue gains. Its stock fell 5.2% that day, even though the company had flagged margin pressure the previous month and insisted that it remained on track to hit its full-year earnings targets.

On the plus side, those concerns have left Continental and Valeo looking relatively cheap. The price/earnings ratio for Continental in 2016 is under 14, and Valeo’s is less than 17. The Stoxx Europe 600 index’s average is around 20.

Warburg Research analyst Marc-René Tonn says the share decline following the results presented investors with an opportune entry point. He has the stock at a Buy with a 250-euro ($260.24) price target, representing a 35% increase from current levels of around €185. He says the stock has substantially underperformed the MSCI Europe Automobile & Components Index, which has risen 4% over that period compared with Continental’s 12% decline.

Tonn reckons that the stock’s losses are due to investors’ concerns about organic sales growth at Continental’s automotive division, and he expects those figures to improve from 2017, based on order intake. “At the same time, stabilization of the R&D ratio should support margin growth, another area of concern,” he says.

VALEO, WHICH HAS RISEN TWICE as much as the Stoxx Europe 600 index in the last three months, clearly has less upside potential than Continental.

Michael Foundoukidis of Natixis is among the most bullish analysts on the stock. He rates the shares at a Buy, and earlier this month lifted his price target to €64 from €58 following a presentation by Valeo’s investor-relations department at a London conference. The revised target puts the stock’s potential upside at more than 16% from its current price of around €55.

Foundoukidis says that although investors had concerns about the risk of an economic slowdown, especially in Europe, the company said it saw no indication of that so far. “The momentum should therefore remain very positive in the fourth quarter,” he says.

He believes Valeo should continue to be among the sector’s fastest-growing players, while improving profitability through a combination of new products offering greater added value, operating leverage and cost control. “Valeo should remain in the pole position growth-wise in the next few years, which is all the more appealing given that the cycle will probably be less favorable,” he says.

He adds that his updated price target takes into account Valeo’s decision to increase its stake in Japanese rival Ichikoh Industries (7244.Japan) to between 51% and 56% from 32%, valuing the company at about €333 million. The move is part of the company’s plan to expand its auto lights business in Asia.

Reuters - Italy salvage plan gives banks up to 1 yr to get debt guarantee - docu

Italy salvage plan gives banks up to 1 yr to get debt guarantee - document http://reut.rs/2hdUNRN

Dec 23 Italian banks have up to a year to apply for a state guarantee on debt they issue, the government's emergency plan to shore up its troubled lenders states, according to a draft of the decree seen by Reuters.

An initial June 30, 2017 deadline to apply for the guarantee can be extended by up to six months if the European Commission agrees, the decree says.

In the early hours of Friday, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni's cabinet approved the decree, aimed mainly at keeping afloat Tuscan lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena .

To access the guarantee, banks must present a restructuring plan if they need more than 500 million euros and the guarantee applies to more than 5 percent of their total debt, the draft decree says.

Bonds to be guaranteed must have a maturity of between three months and five years, except for covered bonds, which can have a maturity of up to seven years, it says.

Zero hedge : Forget Monte Paschi, Italy May Have A Far Bigger Problem



Forget Monte Paschi, Italy May Have A Far Bigger Problem

While the metaphorical 'earthquake' of a systemic banking crisis is coming to a head, it appears Italy may have a far more existential problem on its hands. As The Independent reports, one of the world’s most dangerous supervolcanoes is showing signs of reawakening under the Italian city of Naples.

The Campi Flegrei may be nearing a critical pressure point necessary to drive an eruption for the first time in 500 years, according to scientists.

Researchers say the volcano is moving towards a threshold beyond which rising magma could spark the release of fluids and gases at 10 times the normal rate.

This surge would cause an injection of extremely hot steam into surrounding rocks, Giovanni Chiodini, lead author of the study, told AFP.

This could ultimately trigger a “very dangerous” eruption for the three million people living in the area.

Since 2005, the Campi Flegrei has been undergoing “uplift”, which is the accumulation of magma under the surface of a volcano.

In response, Italian authorities raised the threat level from green to yellow in 2012, signalling the need for the supervolcano to be actively monitored.

Four years ago, scientists warned any eruption could kill millions living near or on top of the volcano.

"These areas can give rise to the only eruptions that can have global catastrophic effects comparable to major meteorite impacts," said Giuseppe De Natale, head of a project to monitor the volcano's activity.

Nearby Mount Vesuvius, whose massive eruption buried Roman settlements including Pompeii in AD79, is also considered an active volcano

If that volcano is similar in size to the Yellowstone Supervolcano (goes off about every 500,000 years or so), that would be a very big problem for all of Europe, and beyond.


The Pacific plate is very active at the moment. Pressure from deep eathquakes transmits across the globe to quakes, volanoes and to breaks in the crust ...like the fracking and oil drilling sites.

Any of these super volcanoes could kill 1/3 of the population if not more.

For 100 years or so we've had electricity and the internal combustion engine; less than the blink-of-an-eye in the history of Earth.

The Yellowstone Caldera blowing would starve 1/2 the planet by itself, but we may do it ourselves before it happens.

The two things are in no way correlated and there is no human overpopulation.

Few are aware Vesuvius has erupted around 36 times since Pompeii, including four times just in the 20th century. It's actually overdue for another. In 1908 an eruption ruined the planned site of the summer olympics and took out a nearby American Air Force base. For anyone who wants to see what the the end of the world could look like, go to Google Earth, find Naples about halfway down Italy on the western coast. Vesuvius is located at 3:30 about 8.7 miles southeast of Naples. Pretty impressive cone, right? Now look at the size of the caldera that Mt. Vesuvius sits inside and calls home, the Monte summa volcano, with a width of five miles wall to wall.

>>> US Close Dow +0.07% S&P +0.13% Nasdaq +0.28% Russell +0.65%


Closing Market Summary: A Holiday Visit From Mr. Market

‘Twas two nights before Christmas, when all through the trading house.
Not a sentient creature was stirring about, no one clicking their mouse;

A few algorithms ran up and down,
But the day's action was decidedly rangebound;

Biotechnology lifted the health care sector (+0.8%) and energy (-0.2%) retreated despite an uptick in crude (+0.2%; $53.03/bbl),
But the S&P 500 (+0.1%) settled just above its flat line, because to do otherwise on this day would just be rude;

The daytraders were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Dow 20,000 danced in their heads;

The industrial sector (+0.1%) eked out a slim gain,
Even though the President-elect took to Twitter again;

He took aim at the high cost of the F-35 fighter jet,
And his comments made some Lockheed Martin (LMT 249.54, -3.26) shareholders sweat;

Shares of LMT surrendered just over a percent, But that did not stop the industrial sector from registering a weekly ascent (+0.6%);

Credit Suisse (CS 14.85, -0.08) and Deutsche Bank (DB 18.63, +0.09) agreed to settle with a U.S. regulator,
But the financial sector (+0.1%) spent the entire day near its equator;

Just like stocks, the Treasury market was also range-bound,
Though the 10-yr note did pick up some ground (-1 bp to 2.54%);

A couple of datapoints crossed the wires today,
But neither New Home Sales (592,000; consensus 573,000) nor Michigan Sentiment (98.2; consensus 98.2) received much play;

Bond and equity markets will be closed on Monday,
Which should allow everyone to really enjoy the Christmas Sunday.

Of course other holidays will begin this weekend in parallel,
And with that in mind, the staff at would like to wish you all well.

  • Russell 2000 +20.6% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +14.4% YTD
  • S&P 500 +10.8% YTD
  • Nasdaq Composite +9.1%

>>> Vibes to acquire Red Fish Media

Vibes to acquire Red Fish Media

Vibes, the dominant mobile marketing platform in the U.S. and Canada, today announced the acquisition of Red Fish Media, a mobile marketing and digital solutions company with more than a decade of experience engaging consumers through these channels. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Based out of Miami, Red Fish has worked on mobile marketing campaigns with brands like Ralph Lauren, P&G, Mars Chocolate, Starbucks, DKNY and more to improve sales. Specializing in mobile strategy, analysis and optimization, Red Fish Media has developed a suite of proprietary products, such as Text ER, that are designed to work with clients in the healthcare industry.

The acquisition is the company's first major milestone in executing the strategic vision it outlined this summer, when it received a USD 45m investment from its partner, Syniverse.

"With this acquisition, we've solidified our leadership in mobile marketing engagement," Philbin said. "As the industry begins to consolidate, Vibes will continue to lead the pack and offer brands the most comprehensive mobile marketing platform available. Red Fish broadens our capabilities with additional technology, and accelerates our expansion into new areas like healthcare."

Red Fish's Founder and President Matt McKenna will join Vibes as the vice president of sales.

"Vibes and Red Fish share a common vision—that mobile is currently and will continue to be the most effective way to engage consumers," said McKenna. "We've seen firsthand that it's possible for major brands to drive true ROI with mobile, and by adding our team and technology to the industry leading platform that Vibes has developed, we're going to help the industry rethink what is possible in the space."

WSJ : Brazil’s Petrobras Plans to Claim Part of Odebrecht’s Anticorruption Settl

Brazil’s Petrobras Plans to Claim Part of Odebrecht’s Anticorruption Settlement
Construction company still banned from bidding on Petrobras contracts despite record settlement deal

SÃO PAULO—Brazilian oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, plans to request part of the record anticorruption settlement that construction company Odebrecht SA signed earlier this week with Brazilian, U.S. and Swiss authorities.
Petrobras has said it was the victim of the vast bid-rigging and kickbacks scheme that Odebrecht admitted to helping run. Investigators say the graft ring, which included a group of builders, cost Brazilian taxpayers and Petrobras shareholders an estimated $13 billion.
After months of negotiations, Odebrecht agreed Wednesday to pay between $2.6 billion and $4.5 billion to Brazilian, U.S. and Swiss authorities over 23 years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, which had brought suit against the firm under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

“We’re looking for ways to reimburse shareholders and the [Brazilian] government,” Petrobras’s director of governance, risk management and compliance, João Elek, told The Wall Street Journal late Thursday. “Petrobras will make an effort to recover the part that’s fair.”

In addition to Odebrecht’s fine, the largest anticorruption settlement in history, the company’s petrochemicals subsidiary, Braskem SA,agreed to pay $957 million.
It is “extremely difficult” to calculate how much Petrobras should be entitled to, and the company has a team of people preparing to show authorities how the final value was reached, Mr. Elek added, saying Petrobras would soon send them the information.
The record settlement deal has reverberated across Latin America, where Odebrecht admitted to paying around $800 million in bribes since 2001 in 10 countries in the region, as well as in Angola and Mozambique.
Petrobras praised Wednesday’s deal as an “important step,” but Mr. Elek said the construction company won’t be allowed to do business with Petrobras until further conditions have been met.
WHERE ODEBRECHT PAID BRIBES
  • Brazil: $349 million
  • Angola: $50 million
  • Argentina: $35 million
  • Colombia: $11 million
  • Dominican Republic: $92 million
  • Ecuador: $33.5 million
  • Guatemala: $18 million
  • Mexico: $10.5 million
  • Mozambique: $900,000
  • Panama: $59 million
  • Peru: $29 million
  • Venezuela: $98 million
Source: Court documents
Odebrecht would have to prove it has introduced measures to guarantee it won’t engage in such practices in the future before Petrobras allows the construction company to bid again for contracts at the state-controlled oil company, Mr. Elek said without providing further details.
For much of the past decade, Brazil’s largest construction companies conspired with politicians and Petrobras executives to skim billions of dollars off inflated contracts, using the funds to get rich, buy the silence of those involved and finance political campaigns, according to Brazil’s authorities.

Brazil’s prosecutors and police have estimated Petrobras lost a total of 42 billion reais ($12.8 billion) in the scheme that cost the Rio de Janeiro-based company its investment-grade credit rating and helped turn it into the world’s most heavily indebted listed energy company.

>>> US Filings, Offerings and Pricings

Filings, Offerings and Pricings
Filings:
  • eMagin (EMAN) filed offering of ~2.947 mln shares of common stock on behalf of selling stockholders.
  • Albireo Pharma (ALBO) filed $100 mln mixed securities shelf offering.
  • Norbord (OSB) filed $500 mln mixed securities shelf offering.
  • NTN Buzztime (NTN) filed $25 mln mixed securities shelf offering.
  • Meta Financial (CASH) filed to withdraw Registration Statement on Form S-3 initially filed on January 21, 2016.
  • New York REIT (NYRT) filed offering of 3 mln shares of common stock on behalf of selling stockholders.
  • Pressure BioSciences (PBIO) filed for $29 mln offering of common stock and warrants.
  • Advanced Micro (AMD) filed offering of 75 mln shares of common stock on behalf of selling stockholders.
  • Virtus Investment Partners (VRTS) filed $500 mln mixed securities shelf offering.
  • Cobalt International Energy (CIE) filed $1 bln mixed securities shelf offering and ~71.375 mln shares of common stock on behalf of selling securityholders.
  • Green Plains (GPRE) filed mixed securities shelf offering; size not disclosed.
  • Extraction Oil & Gas (XOG) filed offering of ~18.79 mln shares of common stock on behalf of selling stockholders.
  • Fusion Telecom Int'l (FSNN) filed ~2.431 mln share common stock offering by selling stockholders.
  • Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS) filed $150 mln mixed securities shelf offering.
  • Golub Capital (GBDC) filed $800 mln mixed securities shelf offering.
Offerings:
  • ION Geophysical (IO) announced $20 mln "at-the-market" equity offering program.
  • WPCS Intl (WPCS) entered into Securities Purchase Agreement with Alpha Capital Anstalt and Brio Capital Master Fund.
  • RAVE Restaurant Group Board (RAVE) approved capital raise by way of a registered rights offering.
  • Cancer Genetics (CGIX) filed offering of ~2.608 mln shares of common stock on behalf of selling stockholders; confirmed registering for resale by purchasers, shares of common stock underlying certain existing warrants issued in private placements earlier this year.
  • RAVE Restaurant Group (RAVE) filed $1-3 mln offering of 4% Convertible Senior Notes due 2022; approved capital raise by way of a registered rights offering.
  • Enphase Energy (ENPH) entered into a $17 mln at-the-market issuance sales agreement.
Pricings:
  • BioAmber (BIOA 4.23) announced $7 mln underwritten offering of common stock priced at $4.00/share & about a 2.22 mln unit concurrent registered direct offering of warrants for gross proceeds of about $8.9 mln.
  • Strongbridge Biopharma (SBBP 3.00) entered into a securities purchase agreement for a placement of 14 mln of its ordinary shares priced at $2.50/share & warrants to purchase 7 mln shares for gross proceeds of $35 mln.