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Rains triggered floods and landslides in a part of southern Japan that hasn’t had many reported coronavirus cases. WSJ’s Peter Landers describes how authorities are working to make sure the rescue effort doesn’t accidentally spread the virus. Photo: Koji Harada/Kyodo News/Associated Press

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The mass adoption of bitcoin or cryptocurrencies is yet to be achieved, according to several metrics tracked by The Block Research.The post Bitcoin's mass adoption is still a dream, reveals data appeared first on The Block.

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Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi and Alexis Christoforous break down today’s market action with BNY Mellon Chief Strategist Alicia Levine.

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(Bloomberg) — Shares of Tesla Inc. rose as much as 6.3% Monday after three analysts lifted the electric carmaker’s price target, including JMP Securities by 43%.The boost to $1,500 from $1,050 comes after the Palo Alto-based company delivered more Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in the second quarter than JMP expected, analyst Joseph Osha said in a note.“Our target is now based on our belief that TSLA is positioned to become a $100 billion company” by 2025, in terms of revenue, Osha said. At the end of last year, Tesla had $24.6 billion in revenue.While data for deliveries in China haven’t yet been released, the firm appears to have been more successful in the U.S. and Europe than JMP thought, Osha said. NIO Inc., Tesla’s Shanghai-based rival, has been gaining ground. The company’s U.S.-traded shares rose as much as 23% Monday.Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner also raised Tesla’s price target to $1,000 from $900, referencing the stronger-than-expected vehicle shipments.Even bearish analyst Ryan Brinkman at JPMorgan boosted his price target by $20 to $295 and expects a second-quarter loss that’s smaller than he previously estimated. He maintained his sell-equivalent rating, citing the company’s “lofty valuation coupled with higher investor expectations and high execution risk.”TSLA has 9 buys, 11 holds and 16 sell ratings, with an average price target of $730, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.(Adds JPMorgan raising target in sixth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey is again at the forefront when it comes to making use of this gold mine of data. We at Insider Monkey have plowed through 821 13F filings that hedge funds and well-known value investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F […]

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(Bloomberg) — One of the largest utilities in America is starting to turn its back on natural gas.Dominion Energy Inc., the second-biggest U.S. power company by market value, on Sunday said it’s selling substantially all of its gas pipeline and storage assets to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for $4 billion. In a separate statement, Dominion and its partner Duke Energy Corp. said they’re killing the controversial Atlantic Coast gas pipeline along the U.S. East Coast, citing ongoing delays and “cost uncertainty.”The moves come as utilities face increasing pressure from local governments, investors and environmentalists to quit the fossil fuel. While long heralded as a cleaner alternative to coal and heating oil, gas is now getting shoved aside in the fight against climate change as states including New York, California and Dominion’s home base of Virginia have all passed laws for utilities to be carbon free within decades.“This transaction represents another significant step in our evolution as a company,” Dominion Chief Executive Officer Thomas Farrell said in a statement, citing the company’s goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.Dominion shares fell as much as 4.5% Monday.The push away from gas positions Dominion as more of a pure-play state-regulated utility at a time when oil and pipeline operators have lagged the broader market. In the last year, an index of pipeline companies has fallen 36%, while the S&P 500 Index has gained 4.7%.“Given the bend towards decarbonization efforts in the country, the move away from natural gas, and investor demand for more simplified utility structures, we believe this is absolutely the correct move for Dominion to make,” Guggenheim analysts led by Shahriar Pourreza said in a research note. Read More: Wall Street Falls Out of Love With Once-Coveted Fossil FuelTo be clear, Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion, which provides power and gas to seven million customers in 20 states, isn’t walking away from the fossil fuel altogether. It will still sell gas to customers for heating and cooking. It’s retaining an interest in its Cove Point liquefied natural gas export terminal in Maryland. And 40% of the electricity the company generates comes from plants fueled by gas, coal and oil, according to its website.“They’ll still be burning lots of gas for decades ahead in the core utility business,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Kit Konolige said in an email.But pressure is mounting. The law Virginia enacted in April requires Dominion’s utility in the state to be to be carbon-free by 2045.Atlantic Coast is the third U.S. gas pipeline project to scrapped or shelved this year. Williams Cos. opted not to reapply for a permit in May for a $1 billion pipeline extension after regulators in New York blocked it. And in February the Oklahoma-based company canceled plans for a pipeline that would have run from Appalachia to New York.While the Atlantic Coast pipeline project won a key victory last month when the U.S. Supreme Court sided against environmentalists and upheld a crucial permit, the project still faced formidable opposition and costs. “That would indicate that that wasn’t a strategic decision as much it was as a practical decision,” said Paul Patterson, an analyst at Glenrock Associates LLC.Deal with BerkshireDominion’s deal with Berkshire calls for the giant conglomerate to assume $5.7 billion in debt. The utility will use $3 billion of the proceeds to buy back shares. Dominion also cut its projected 2021 dividend payment to around $2.50 a share, reflecting the assets being divested and a new payout ratio that aligns it better with industry peers.The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter. It will require the approval of federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Energy.Berkshire is amassing more than 7,700 miles (12,400 kilometers) of natural gas storage and transmission pipelines and about 900 billion cubic feet of gas storage in the deal with Dominion. Warren Buffett’s conglomerate will also acquire 25% of Cove Point.With this transaction, Buffett has ended his period of relative silence on the acquisition front since the pandemic.The Dominion deal is set to be Berkshire’s largest acquisition ranked by enterprise value since its purchase of Precision Castparts Corp. in 2016. It will expand the company’s already sprawling empire of energy operations, which currently has operations in states including Nevada and Iowa.(Adds share price, analysts quote in fifth and seventh paragraphs.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Berkshire Hathaway plans to buy Dominion Energy’s Natural Gas Assets in a ten billion dollar deal. Yahoo Finance’s Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer and Jared Blikre break down the details.

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Is it time to run with the bulls? Writing from investment bank JPMorgan, quantitative strategist Marko Kolanovic says it is. You may remember Kolanovic, if you follow market news regularly; he was one of the few who correctly called the bottom back in March. Now he says that the near- to mid-term prospects remain bullish. He notes two points of particular importance for investors, economic support policies, and the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic.Regarding policy support, Kolanovic is quick to connect recovery in liquidity with the massive fiscal and monetary support put in place by Congress and the Federal Reserve. He reminds investors that “liquidity has recovered meaningfully from the March lows.”The second point is more subtle. Kolanovic writes, “Higher COVID-19 incidence in mainly impacting younger populations, [with] drastically lower mortality rates and likely reflects high testing rates, recent protests, backlogs of hospital visits, and increased economic activity.” In other words, as we return to normal life, more people are getting exposed to the virus – but the people getting exposed are more resistant to the disease, and the death rates are dropping. The coronavirus crisis is turning out less dangerous than was originally feared, and that is good news – especially for stock bulls.Kolanovic’s colleagues at JPM have run with his bullish view, and are pinpointing stocks that have great upside potential. We’ve used the TipRanks database to pull the details on three of those stocks – the upsides start at 22%, but let’s see what else makes them compelling to JPM’s experts.Warner Music Group (WMG)After a nine-year run as a private company, Warner Music, the global music industry’s third largest recording company, completed a new IPO just last month. The stock sale raised almost $2 billion, and was considered a smashing success. Music is a competitive industry, and Warner has some aces in the hole. The company owns recording rights to a slew of big-name artists, including Madonna, Prince, the Rolling Stones, and Metallica. This playbook is an enormous asset, and one that puts Warner on solid footing.With just one month of market trading behind it, WMG hasn’t got a long history for analysts to review – but it does have that playbook, and JPM analyst Alexia Quadrani is suitably impressed. Quadrani writes, “As the only pure play music content company, WMG is well-positioned to benefit from the ongoing growth in paid music streaming globally. We believe WMG shares will maintain a premium valuation over the average of our large-cap media universe due to its higher growth profile, and our outlook reflects our confidence in the growth of streaming and WMG’s execution.”To this end, Quadrani rates WMG a Buy and suggests a $40 price target, which implies a robust upside of 36%. (To watch Quadrani’s track record, click here)In its first month since the IPO, WMG shares have earned a Moderate Buy rating from the analyst consensus. Wall Street’s stock watchers are divided 7 to 8 on Buys and Holds, mainly reflecting caution during the coronavirus crisis. The stock’s $33.64 average price target indicates a one-year upside potential of 15% from the current share price of $33.64. (See WMG stock analysis on TipRanks)Varonis Systems, Inc. (VRNS)With so many people moving to remote work, data security is at a greater premium than ever. Varonis Systems, a security software company, offers a platform that is perfect for the times. Using digital behavior analysis techniques, Varonis’ platform allows businesses to identify cyberattacks based on abnormal user behavior. It’s an idea whose time has clearly come, and Varonis is running with it. The company’s newest platform features remote work security capability.That doesn’t mean the company was able to fully dodge the corona bullet. The broad declines in Q1 – due to the social and economic lockdown policies – put a hurt on VRNS. The company reported steep losses in earnings, seeing the net loss drop sequentially from 47 cents to $1.05. Revenue performed better, beating the forecast at $54.18 million.The stock, however, has performed better than the earnings, rising nearly 27% year-to-date.Sterling Auty, 5-star analyst with JPM, lays out a clear case to explain Varonis’ strong share appreciation: “[We] believe Varonis represents one of those attractive situations as its subscription transition offers the opportunity for significant outperformance relative to revenue and margin estimates that we believe can deliver stock outperformance. This is aided by the growing need for data security solutions as cloud adoption increases and work-from-home setups drive usage of tools that create security challenges.”Auty’s Buy rating on the stock is supported by his $130 price target, which indicates room for a potential 31% upside in the coming year. (To watch Auty’s track record, click here)Overall, Varonis has a Strong Buy rating from the analyst consensus, based on 11 Buys versus just 2 Holds. The stock’s recent share gains, however, have pushed the price almost up to the average price target. VRNS currently trades at $98.58; the average target is $100.36. (See Varonis stock analysis on TipRanks)Masonite International (DOOR)Last on our list is a major name in the construction industry. Tampa-based Masonite, through its subsidiary companies, manufactures doors and their associated systems (frames, screens, windows, and locks) for both interiors and exteriors. It’s a niche product, but an important one; even a small house can have two exterior doors and 8 or 10 interior ones.Masonite posted a strong Q1, despite the corona crisis. Net sales increased 4%, reaching $551 million. EPS rose sharply, too, to $1.24. These gains came even as the company withdrew its full-year 2020 guidance due to COVID-19 concerns.JPM’s Michael Rehaut likes what he sees in Masonite, noting, "[Not] only did the company provide a positive sales update – pointing to June sales down only mid single-digits (with N. America Residential up modestly), following May down low teens – but importantly, DOOR also pointed to some positive margin trends as well,""[We] point to the company’s pricing strategy, strong execution and longer term margin optimization efforts as positive differentiators, along with its attractive relative valuation trading at only roughly 8.5x and 7.3x our 2020E and 2021E EBITDA, respectively," the analyst concluded. In line with his comments, Rehaut puts a $95 price target and a Buy rating on DOOR shares. His target implies an upside of 22% for the next 12 months. (To watch Rehaut’s track record, click here)DOOR is another stock with a Strong Buy consensus rating, in this case based on 6 Buys and 2 Holds. Shares are currently trading at $77.54, and the average price target of $85.38 suggests a one-year upside of 10%. (See Masonite’s stock-price forecast on TipRanks)To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

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