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Investors might want to rethink their enthusiasm for Live Nation (LYV-$13.78). To be sure, this new embrace of all-things digital has helped the company deliver on growth in ticket sales and operating results – ticketing profits have more than doubled since 2010, coming in at $122.8 million last year. But the live concert part of the equation continues to underperform:  The company makes

Pandora Media, Inc. (P) F1Q14 Earnings Conference Call May 23, 2013 5:00 p.m. ET Executives Dominic Paschel - Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations Joseph Kennedy - Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Michael Herring - Chief Financial Officer Analysts Ralph Schackart - William Blair Laura Martin - Needham & Company Corey Barrett - Pacific Crest Securities Peter Stabler - Wells Fargo Securities James Marsh - Piper Jaffray Edward Williams - BMO Capital Markets Jordan Rohan - Stifel, Nicolaus Scott Devitt - Morgan Stanley Anthony DiClemente - Barclays Michael Graham - Canaccord Genuity Aaron Kessler - Raymond James Mark Mahaney - RBC Capital Markets Nat Schindler - Bank of America Merrill Lynch Barton Crocket - Lazard Capital Markets Richard Tullo - Albert Fried & Company John Blackledge - Cowen and Company Martin Pyykkonen - Wedge Partners Presentation Operator Welcome to Pandora's first quarter fiscal year 2014 financial results

Costco's (COST) stock price has been in an upswing this week. It recently hit an all-time high. It's evidently assumed by many that next week's third-quarter earnings will be positive and upbeat. That event follows its over 10 year rise in price. The stock's underlying floor seems to be rising compared to even last week. Sure, there have been ups and down to the price during this ride; but the market seems to be realizing the underlying fundamentals of COST's business. The stock's 50-day moving average is currently $104.6. The company has a market cap of $46.801 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03. They have also declared a quarterly cash dividend on Costco common stock and approved an increase from $.275 to $.31 per share, or from $1.10 to $1.24 per share on an annualized basis. The quarterly dividend is payable May 31, 2013, to shareholders of record at

Everyone who has been wrong about the market has now joined in a familiar refrain:The Fed is printing money. It is the only thing holding up stocks. It will all end badly. Background A little research on these sources shows that - as of a few months ago - their take on the Fed included the following: The Fed is irrelevant The Fed is pushing on a string The Fed is in a box The effectiveness of QE has declined with each new round. When the various bearish predictions have not played out, the same sources come up with a NEW VERSION of the theory. In this revised story, no one could possibly have predicted the effect of the Fed's money printing and debasement of the currency. Wow!Once again this flies in the face of facts: While the Fed's balance sheet has increased, M2 growth has been

First Manhattan, an investor with about a 10% stake in Vivus (VVUS), has now taken the step of increasing its slate of Board nominations with the addition of a 9th nominee. Essentially, expressing disappointment in the current management and Board of Directors, First Manhattan is seeking to gain control of Vivus through a cherry picked Board of Directors.The sparring match between First Manhattan and current management has been going on for months with each side seeming to take turns in a game of chess as the time-clock for the annual meeting winds down.First Manhattan raises some pretty compelling points. Sales of anti-obesity drug Qsymia have been less than stellar, and even 7 months later have not gained the type of traction many investors had hoped for. Meanwhile, current management recently got the REMS restriction using only mail order pharmacies lifted by the FDA and can now distribute

Stratasys (SSYS) Annual Investor Conference Call May 23, 2013 09:00 AM ET Executives Shane Glenn - VP, IR David Reis - CEO Jon Cobb - EVP, Marketing Todd Grimm - Todd Grimm & Associates Erez Simha - CFO Scott Crump - Chairman Ofer Shochet - EVP, Products Analyst Len Wanger - William Harris Investors Brian Drab - William Blair Holden Lewis - BB&T Andrea James- Dougherty & Company Arvind Shah - Ratna Global Foundation Cristina Colon - Goldman Sachs Presentation Shane Glenn Good morning everybody. I am Shane Glenn, Vice President of Investor Relations at Stratasys. I would like to welcome all of you. Glad to see we have such a great turn out tonight. We have some extra seats here at the front, the first two or three rows here, if you can't find something in the back, few housekeeping items before we get started. You should all have

Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) Q1 2014 Earnings Call May 23, 2013 4:45 pm ET Executives Sukhi Nagesh - Vice President of Investor Relations Sehat Sutardja - Co-Founder, Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Executive Officer of Marvell Semiconductor Inc, President of Marvell Semiconductor Inc and Director of Marvell Semiconductor Inc Brad Feller - Interim Chief Financial Officer, Vice President and Corporate Controller Analysts Delos Elder Harlan Sur - JP Morgan Chase & Co, Research Division Cody G. Acree - Williams Financial Group, Inc., Research Division Doug Freedman - RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Research Division Christopher Hemmelgarn - Barclays Capital, Research Division James Schneider - Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Research Division Ryan Carver - Crédit Suisse AG, Research Division Ryan Goodman - CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, Research Division Craig A. Ellis - B. Riley Caris, Research Division Ruben Roy - Mizuho Securities USA Inc., Research Division Quinn Bolton - Needham &

Below are a handful of investments articles for your long holiday weekend: Audio Interview – Banister & Swanson On Gold Stock Rally Sector Rotation and Dual Momentum – Optimal Momentum Faber: Payout ETFs Not All About Dividends – Index Universe Tom Dorsey: ETF ‘Alchemy’ is the Future – Index Universe Are Market Valuations too High? Turnkey Analyst  What to do about REITS? Mebane Faber Can Two Senators End Too Big to Fail? Barry Ritholtz All Japan, All the Time – John Mauldin

There is a huge valuation gap between Yahoo (YHOO) and Facebook (FB). Yahoo is now in the social network business with the acquisition of Tumblr, which raises the question of how much of a valuation gap is justified. Yahoo and Facebook have the same opportunity and challenge: monetizing a vast amount of Internet traffic. The two companies now look very similar with parallel assets and advertising technology. Over time, I expect the valuation gap to narrow, mostly because of positive performance from Yahoo as a result of the Tumblr deal. A play on this dynamic is a pairs trade of long Yahoo, short Facebook. In this article, I will discuss Yahoo and Facebook in the digital medial context. Then I will explain the valuation for Yahoo's core business, adjusted for the sale of its holdings in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan. Finally, I will give my outlook for a long

This is Part 3 of a short series of articles that will compare the risk profiles for the 25 business development companies ("BDCs") recently covered in my "The Good, The Bad, And The Maybe" series. This article focuses on the use of debt for portfolio growth and the impacts to risk and earnings.Previous Risk Profile Articles: Part 1 - Portfolio asset classes and non-accrual rates Part 2 - Volatility ratios When evaluating BDCs I focus on five general criteria: profitability, risk, payout, analyst opinions, and valuation. When assessing risk relative to other BCDs I take into account many factors including: portfolio credit quality, investment asset classes, diversification, non-accrual rates, portfolio yield, fixed/variable rate loans, leverage, volatility ratios, market capitalization, insider ownership and trends, institutional ownership and trends, and management/operational history. I will cover each of these areas as well as the other factors I