On Tuesday, Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS)’s shares inclined 0.44% to $27.47.
Masco Corporation (MAS)’s adjusted earnings of 20 cents per share in the first quarter of 2015 lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.8%. Net sales of $2.02 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by about 1%. However, both earnings and revenues raised year over year.
Adjusted earnings raised 43% year over year driven by improved revenues and strong margins. Net sales raised 2.7% year over year.
During the first quarter of 2015, the company witnessed higher demand for its products given the increasing momentum in the repair and remodeling industry and new home construction activities. First quarter 2015 was also marked by favorable relationship between selling prices and commodity costs and benefits from cost control initiatives. However, unfavorable foreign currency hurt overall results in the first quarter of 2015.
Foreign currency cut adjusted earnings by 2 cents during the quarter. Unfavorable foreign currency, due to weaker euro against a stronger U.S dollar, dragged net sales by $77 million during the quarter.
Segment wise, the company stated strong sales growth in Cabinet, Decorative Architectural Products, Other Specialty Products and Installation segments. However, Plumbing segment revenues declined during the quarter due to a stronger U.S dollar. But again, though the Cabinet segment stated higher revenues, it continued to report losses, indicating that the segment will require some more time to recover.
Masco Corporation manufactures, distributes, and installs home improvement and building products worldwide. The company’s Cabinets and Related Products segment provides cabinetry for kitchen, bath, storage, home office, and home entertainment applications; and kitchen countertops, and integrated bathroom vanity and countertop solutions.
Sophiris Bio Inc (NASDAQ:SPHS)’s shares dropped -4.27% to $1.12.
Sophiris Bio Inc (SPHS) declared that the first patients have been dosed in a Phase 2a proof of concept trial of PRX302 as a treatment for localized low to intermediate risk prostate cancer.
The Phase 2a proof of concept study is a single-center, open-label study that will enroll about 20 patients. Formerly obtained multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) of tumor lesions in each patient’s prostate, mapped to real-time three-dimensional transrectal ultrasound (TRUS), will be used in the study to guide the injection of PRX302 to treat a single, histological-proven, clinically noteworthy lesion area in each patient’s prostate. Although the primary objective of the study is safety and tolerability, the key efficacy variable is the change in the treated clinically noteworthy lesion on biopsy after six months.
Sophiris Bio, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of products for the treatment of urological diseases. The company’s primary product candidate is PRX302, which is in Phase III clinical trial for treatment for the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), in addition to for the treatment of localized low to intermediate risk prostate cancer. It has a planned relationship with Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for the development and commercialization of PRX302 and other products for the treatment of the symptoms of BPH, prostate cancer, prostitutes, or other diseases of the prostate; and license agreement with UVIC Industry Partnerships Inc. and The Johns Hopkins University with respect to the use of PRX302 for the development of therapeutics for the symptoms of BPH, prostate cancer, and other non-cancer diseases and conditions of the prostate.
At the end of Tuesday’s trade, PowerShares Preferred Portfolio(ETF) (NYSEARCA:PGX)‘s shares dipped -0.03% to $14.70.
PowerShares Preferred Portfolio (ETF) (NYSEARCA:PGX) iShares U.S. Preferred Stock ETF (PFF) has a 6.05% 12-month yield, PowerShares Preferred Portfolio (PGX) has a 5.94% 12-month yield, Global X SuperIncome Preferred ETF (SPFF) has a 6.75% 12-month yield, First Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF (FPE) has a 5.82% 12-month yield and SPDR Wells Fargo Preferred Stock ETF (PSK) has a 5.24% 12-month yield.
Income investors may like preferred stock ETFs since the asset class offer stable dividends, don’t come with taxes on qualified dividends for those that fall into the 15% tax bracket or lower, are senior to common stocks in the event liquidation occurs, are less volatile than bonds and provide dividend payments before common shareholders.
Preferred stocks are a type of hybrid security that show bond- and equity-esque characteristics. The shares are issued by financial institutions, utilities and telecom companies, among others. Within the securities hierarchy, preferred are senior to common stocks but junior to corporate bonds. Additionally, preferred stocks issue dividends on a regular basis, but investors are unlikely to enjoy capital appreciation on par with common shares.
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Mentor Graphics Corp (NASDAQ:MENT), ended its Tuesday’s trading session with 0.19% gain, and closed at $26.53.
Mentor Graphics Corp (MENT) declared that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) will comprise new circuit reliability checks using the Calibre® PERC™ product in its IP certification program. Reliability verification assists ensure that ICs manufactured by SMIC are free of subtle design flaws that can affect reliability in the field. Calibre PERC joins Calibre nmDRC™, Calibre nmLVS™, and Calibre LFD™, which are mandatory sign-off elements, as a strongly recommended reliability checking element in SMIC’s third party IP certification process. For SMIC ecosystem partners who do not own the Calibre PERC product, Mentor provides a service allowing partners to submit their designs for checking against the SMIC reliability rules.
The SMIC reliability checks comprise ESD circuit and device layout checks, ESD path interconnect reliability checks, checks for ESD protection on analog-digital interfaces, and latch-up checks on guard ring and strap layouts. The Calibre PERC product not only detects violations, but provides designers with a holistic environment for debugging circuit reliability problems. It provides an integrated view of circuit connectivity, topology, physical layout and design rules, which is inaccessible in any other tool.
Mentor Graphics Corporation provides electronic design automation software and hardware solutions to automate the design, analysis, and testing of electro-mechanical systems, electronic hardware, and embedded systems software. The company offers Mentor Graphics Scalable Verification tools; Questa platform to verify systems and integrated circuits (ICs); analog/mixed signal simulation tools, counting Eldo, ADVance MS, and ADiT; and Veloce, a hardware emulation system.
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