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S&P 500 Biotech Giant Vertex Leads 5 Stocks Showing Strength

Your stocks to watch for the week ahead are Cheniere Energy (LNG), S&P 500 biotech giant Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), Cardinal Health (CAH), Steel Dynamics (STLD) and Genuine Parts (GPC).

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While the market remains in correction, with analysts and investors wary of an economic downturn, these five stocks are worth adding to watchlists. S&P 500 medical giants Vertex and Cardinal Health have been holding up, as health-care related plays tend to do well in down markets.

Steel Dynamics and Genuine Parts are both coming off strong earnings as both the steel and auto parts industries report optimistic outlooks. Meanwhile, Cheniere Energy saw sales boom in the second quarter as demand in Europe for natural gas continues to grow.

Major indexes have been making rally attempts with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 testing weekly support on Friday. With market uncertainty, investors should be ready for follow-through day breakouts and keep an eye on these stocks.

Cheniere Energy, Cardinal Health and VRTX stock are all on IBD Leaderboard.

Cheniere Energy Stock
LNG shares rose 1.1% to 175.79 during Friday’s market trading. On the week, the stock advanced 3.1%, not from highs, bouncing from its 21-day and 10-week lines earlier in the week.

Cheniere Energy has been consolidating since mid-September, but needs another week to forge a proper base, with a potential 182.72 buy point formed on Aug. 10.

Houston-based Cheniere Energy was IBD Stock Of The Day on Thursday, as the largest U.S. producer of liquefied natural gas eyes strong demand in Europe.

Even though natural gas prices are plunging in the U.S. and Europe, investors still see strong LNG demand for Cheniere and others.

The U.K. government confirmed last week that it is in talks for an LNG purchase agreement with a number of companies, including Cheniere.

In the first half of 2021, less than 40% of Cheniere’s cargoes of LNG landed in Europe. That jumped to more than 70% through this year’s second quarter, even as the company ramped up new export capacity. The urgency of Europe’s natural gas shortage only intensified last month. That is when an explosion disabled the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia that had once supplied 40% of the European Union’s natural gas.

In Q2, sales increased 165% to $8 billion and LNG earned $2.90 per share, up from a net loss of $1.30 per share in Q2 2021. The company will report Q3 earnings Nov. 3, with investors seeing booming profits for the next few quarters.

Cheniere Energy has a Composite Rating of 84. It has a 98 Relative Strength Rating, an exclusive IBD Stock Checkup gauge for share price movement with a 1 to 99 score. The rating shows how a stock’s performance over the last 52 weeks holds up against all the other stocks in IBD’s database. The EPS rating is 41.

Vertex Stock
VRTX stock jumped 3.4% to 300 on Friday, rebounding from a test of its 50-day moving average. Shares climbed 2.2% for the week. Vertex stock has formed a tight flat base with an official buy point of 306.05, according to MarketSmith analysis.

The stock has remained consistent over recent weeks, while the relative strength line has trended higher. The RS line tracks a stock’s performance vs. the S&P 500 index.

Vertex Q3 earnings are on due Oct. 27. Analysts see EPS edging up 1% to $3.61 per share with sales increasing 16% to $2.2 billion, according to FactSet.

The Boston-based global biotech company dominates the cystic fibrosis treatment market. Vertex also has other products in late-stage clinical development that target sickle cell disease, Type 1 diabetes and certain genetically caused kidney diseases. That includes a gene-editing partnership with Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP).

In early August, Vertex reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised full-year sales targets.

S&P 500 stock Vertex ranks second in the Medical-Biomed/Biotech industry group. VRTX has a 99 Composite Rating. Its Relative Strength Rating is 94 and its EPS Rating is 99.

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Cardinal Health Stock
CAH stock advanced 3.2% to 73.03 Friday, clearing a 71.22 buy point from a shallow cup-with-handle base and hitting a record high. But volume was light on the breakout. CAH stock leapt 7.3% for the week.

Cardinal Health stock’s relative strength line has also been trending up for months.

The cup-with-handle base is part of a base-on-base pattern, forming just above a cup base cleared on Aug. 11.

Cardinal Health, based in Dublin, Ohio, offers a wide assortment of health care services and medical supplies to hospitals, labs, pharmacies and long-term care facilities. The company reports that it serves around 90% of hospitals and 60,000 pharmacies in the U.S.

S&P 500 stock Cardinal Health will report Q1 2023 earnings on Nov. 4. Analysts forecast earnings falling 26% to 96 cents per share. Sales are expected to increase 10% to $48.3 billion, according to FactSet.

Cardinal Health stock ranks first in the Medical-Wholesale Drug/Supplies industry group, ahead of McKesson (MCK), which is also showing positive action. CAH stock has a 94 Composite Rating out of 99. It has a 97 Relative Strength Rating and an EPS rating of 73.

Steel Dynamics Stock
STLD shares shot up 8.5% to 92.92 on Friday and soared 19% on the week, coming off a Steel Dynamics earnings beat Wednesday night.

Shares blasted above an 88.72 consolidation buy point Friday after clearing a trendline Thursday. STLD stock is 17% above its 50-day line, definitely extended from that key average.

Steel Dynamics’ latest consolidation could be seen as part of a larger base going back six months.

Steel Dynamics topped Q3 earnings views with EPS rising 10% to $5.46 while revenue grew 11% to $5.65 billion. The steel producer’s outlook is optimistic despite weaker flat rolled steel pricing. STLD reports its order activity and backlogs remain solid.

The Fort Wayne, Indiana-based company is among the largest producers of carbon steel products in the U.S. It engages in metal recycling operations along with steel fabrication and produces myriad steel products.

How Millett Grew Steel Dynamics From A Three Employee Business

STLD stock ranks first in the Steel-Producers industry group. STLD stock has a 96 Composite Rating out of 99. It has a 90 Relative Strength Rating, an exclusive IBD Stock Checkup gauge for share-price movement that tops at 99. The rating shows how a stock’s performance over the last 52 weeks holds up against all the other stocks in IBD’s database. The EPS rating is 98.

Genuine Parts Stock
GPC stock gained 2.8% to 162.35 Friday after the company topped earnings views with its Q3 results on Thursday. For the week GPC advanced 5.1% as the stock held its 50-day line and is in a flat base.

GPC has an official 165.09 flat-base buy point after a three-week rally, according to MarketSmith analysis.

The relative strength line for Genuine Parts stock has rallied sharply to highs over the past several months.

On Thursday, the Atlanta-based auto parts company raised its full-year guidance on growth across its automotive and industrial sales.

Genuine Parts earnings per share advanced 19% to $2.23 and revenue grew 18% to $5.675 billion in Q3. GPC’s full-year guidance is now calling for EPS of $8.05-$8.15, up from $7.80-$7.95. The company now forecasts revenue growth of 15%-16%, up from the earlier 12%-14%.

During the Covid pandemic, supply chain constraints caused a major upheaval in the auto industry, sending prices for new and used cars to record levels. This has made consumers more likely to hang on to their existing vehicles for longer, driving mileage higher and boosting demand for auto replacement parts.

Fellow auto stocks O’Reilly Auto Parts (ORLY) and AutoZone (AZO) have also rallied near buy points amid the struggling market. O’Reilly reports on Oct. 26.

IBD ranks Genuine Parts first in the Retail/Wholesale-Auto Parts industry group. GPC stock has a 96 Composite Rating. Its Relative Strength Rating is 94 and it has an EPS Rating of 89.

10 Things You Need to Know Before Starting a Business

Having started 9 successful small business during my 11 year business career I am routinely asked, “How did you make the jump into self-employment?” and “What are the most important things you need to do before you start a business?” These questions are then usually followed up by a barrage of questions about the minutia that goes into small business ownership and development. Questions such as, “Where do I get a Tax I.D. number?” or “How do I get capital?” or “How do I register my website?” are often asked. Although these minutia-focused questions do have some validity and some credence to them, the real important stuff that every entrepreneur needs to know is more general. The important information that an entrepreneur needs to know is the winning-mindset stuff. The stuff that determines whether an entrepreneur succeeds or not is not in the minutia. I can teach a moron how to get a Tax I.D. number, but I can’t teach a moron how to fully embrace, and passionate implement the “10 Things That You Need To Know Before Starting A Business.” These 10 things, concepts and ideas have the power to alter your entire success trajectory or they have the potential to do nothing. How these 10 things impact your life is 100% up to you. And so without any further ado, here we go:1. A business is not a business until you are actually selling something.I know, I get it. Trust me. Buying furniture and phones is fun. I know that designing your own logo is cool and thrilling. I know that buying your very own custom-wrapped vehicle sounds appealing. I know that ordering letter-head with your name on it is awesome. I know that the new Voice-Over-The-Internet phone system is truly revolutionary. However none of those things matter at all until you make your first sale. If you can’t sale you do not have a business. If you have not made your first sale, all you have is a “justification to buy professional office gadgets.” If you have not yet been handed cash by a customer in exchange for a product or service that you have added value to or rendered then your business is bogus.2. The best way to market your new product or service is by harassing the power of deep discounts based on richly anchored prices.If you want to enter and potentially exit on top of a new market during your lifetime, the only way to do it effectively without using a huge amount of marketing capital and time is by offering deeply discounted prices based on richly anchored prices. Here is an example. If you wanted to enter into the landscaping business in your town the chances are that there is already a top dog in your market. There is probably already somebody in your town that has market share by a wide margin. This company probably already has an army of landscaping crews and probably already has a certain well known marketing strategy. So how do you enter the market victoriously? If you want to win. You need to offer your customers the trojan horse. Not that you are misleading them in anyway, but you want to give them a FREE GIFT SAMPLE or a DEEPLY DISCOUNTED TRIAL PERIOD of your product and service. Once they experience the magic of your product or service, your high-prices will soon no longer matter. Soon your prices will seem justified by the extremely high quality of your product and service. Think about the iPhone, how much are those things? How much does it actually cost to buy one of those phones without buying a phone plan? A lot. Why are Americans willing to buy a new iPhone? Because they got their first iPhone deeply discounted with their phone plan.3. At the end of the day, if you or your company can’t sell, then your business is going to hell.You might be a genius and your product might be the best. You might be the best author in American history, but if your cover stinks and Americans never buy your book then your contents will never be read and your ideas will never make it out to the marketplace. Is this fair? Yes. Americans do judge books by their covers and they do judge businesses based on their perceived value. If your website stinks, they think you stink. If your sales presentation stinks, they think your product stinks. My friend, if you can’t sell your product to the people then do not start a business. If you can’t convince people that you have added a significant amount of value to the product or service, then you need to stop with the process of starting a business before you start.4. Do not EVER build a business model that is not ultimately scalable and duplicatable without your direct participation in the business.Although there is nothing wrong with hard work, there is something very wrong about exchanging your time for more indefinitely. Short term, we all have to exchange our time for money. To start my first businesses I had to work nearly 80 hours per week on a concrete construction site by day while working as a home-health aid for the elderly at night. Did I have to exchange my time for money? Yes. But ultimately I was able to exchange this money for a business that I was able to create. At first this business was a part of me. It did not work without me. It had no pulse without me. Without me it did not breathe. When I took a week off, it took took a week off. When I lost focus, the people around me lost focus. However, over time and with the intense encouragement of my wife and the intense desire I had to achieve more in life I was able to overcome the mental obstacle block and belief that, “I had to do everything related to my business.” My friend as you build and grow your business make sure that you avoid getting yourself into a business trap. Do not build a business around the personality and drive of a single person. Although this business model will make you feel sexy and popular, it will limit your growth and your time freedom. As you grow your business, make sure it can expand with the infusion of extra capital, more real estate and more people, not just more and more of you (because your family needs you too).”The secret of success lies not in doing your own work, but in recognizing the right man to do it” – Andrew Carnegie5. Before you invest a dime into any business, determine exactly how much money you are willing to invest in its success or failure.As you get yourself mentally geared up to start any business, you are going to be the most positive of mindsets. Every new business is exciting on paper. When it is just an idea it is fun, ambitious and inspiring. However, once you give life to this idea by infusing it with your hard earned capital it is no longer so fun. It is now a job. And once it is a job, things get serious. As things get serious, more and more capital is needed to buy a few more of these things and those things. A little more marketing is needed, and a few more pieces of new technology are needed. Soon money is flowing out of your wallet, like its the final 2 weeks before Christmas. If you are not careful, you will lose your shirt during this time. Do not fall into this trap. Set a limit on the amount of cash you are willing to infuse into your business and do not exceed this amount no matter what. Do your planning. Build your proformas and then stick to it. Do not get excited. Stay focused on making a profit.6. Focus on becoming an expert and guru in your area of strength instead of focusing on improving your weaknesses.I don’t enjoy small talk. I hate minutia. I do not like long-winded conversations about nothing. I am irritated by those that provide general criticisms. Those who talk and are not doers annoy the hell out of me. I am able to be in the presence of mediocrity without confronting it. I cannot stand accounting minutia. Filling out forms causes me anxiety attacks. I can’t remember my address, or nearly any information that I don’t deem to be necessary for everyday function. These are my weaknesses. What are yours?I think and talk about the big picture. I love “big ideas.” I get lots of things done because I keep conversations short. I often arrive to work at 1:00 AM on Monday morning so that I can get everything done that I feel I need to get done. I have relentless followup with subordinates who would otherwise fail if left to their own, “I didn’t have time” alibis. I delegate the accounting minutia. I have my wife and coworkers fill out all forms for me. I have my address typed into a document that I can easily access from my computer. I refuse to attempt to memorize anything, so I make checklists for everything. These are my strengths.My friend, if you lived 3 life-times we would not have enough time to improve all of our weaknesses. So why even attempt to? Spend your time honing your God-given skills. God gave you skills. Use them to get paid. People will pay you to watch you pursue your passions. People will never pay to watch me make small talk at a birthday party. People will pay me for getting things done. People will never pay me for being good at filling out forms. People will pay us, if my assistant fills out the contractor identification form correctly. Spend your time improving your God given skills. Avoid what you are not good at and delegate what you cannot stand doing.7. Focus your effort on one thing and one problem until you solve it.So many entrepreneurs hop from one idea to the next. They love moving to greener pastures. You will never gain success in your industry or line of work until you have developed mastery in it. How many hours are needed to develop mastery of something? In Malcolm Gladwell’s book the Outliers, he delves into the factors that went into creating the highest levels of success on the planet. His thesis is essentially that those who spend a disproportionate amount of time doing one thing ultimately become the best masters at this one thing, thus they get paid the most for their mastery of this one thing. His study focuses on the lives of Bill Gates, Robert Oppenheimer (the genius who created the A-bomb), and numerous other top performers. Essentially he believes that the “10,000 Hour Rule” is the true key to top success in any field. However, regardless of how you feel about Gladwell’s research, the basic truth remains. You will never be good at something unless you stick with it until you master it.”Concentrate your energies, your thoughts and your capital. The wise man puts all his eggs in one basket and watches the basket.” – Andrew Carnegie”The men who have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it.” – Andrew Carnegie8. Your opinion is not valid, but the customer’s is.In the world of entrepreneurship we can often get excited about our new idea. We have this new idea that we believe that everyone will love. However, after we explain to a group of guys a church camp and a group of people at work and then a few more people at the local gym, we begin to realize that this idea makes the concept of marketing “dehydrated water packets” to be a good one. The fact is, the more you explain the idea, the more people ask you, “What the hell are you talking about?” As you slowly become more and more frustrated with “the people that just don’t get your ideas” you have two options available.You can act like Colonel Sanders and spend your entire life trying to convince America that your idea is good (KFC did not become a reality until the last few years of the legendary Colonel Sanders’ life), or you can realize that its time to move on to another “great idea.” As for me, I do not want to be a life-time sacrificial martyr for a good idea. However, you might want to be.
As a general rule I would encourage you to keep this in mind. Humans are the ones that buy your products and services. If they don’t get it, they won’t buy it. Crystal Clear Pepsi was cool, but the people didn’t get it.9. Realize that 80% of your success will ultimately come from 20% of your efforts.If you want to Google “Pareto’s Principle” then you will quickly discover what I am talking about here. Essentially it all breaks down like this. As your company markets and markets, you will soon find that 80% of your business comes from 20% of the marketing sources. As you begin spending more and more time in the office, you will begin to see that 80% of your effectiveness comes from 20% of the activities that you do on a daily basis. So without getting too philosophical with you on this point, I will encourage you to periodically stop and ask yourself, “What 20% of activities am I personally doing to create 80% of my success?”10. Win-Win situations are the only sustainable business solutions.Everybody is always trying to pull a fast one on somebody else. He is always trying to take advantage of them. They are always trying to get what he has without him knowing. The two of them are always trying to plot to make a quick-buck from those guys. But at the end of the day, the only sustainable solution is creating an endless stream of “mutually beneficial relationships.” The late great Andrew Carnegie believed so much in this philosophy that he devoted nearly his entire post working-career to writing, and spreading this “Gospel of Wealth” as he called it. He believed that American business would thrive like never before if only the people would realize the power of working in harmony with our fellow man in a synergistic way that allows both parties to achieve their goals. Carnegie believed in this principle because it worked for him.

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Fashion Careers – Job List in the Fashion Industry

A career in the fashion industry sounds glamorous and lucrative. Have you consider getting into the fashion industry, but might think that you cannot manage it? There are so many different roles and positions that you can play in the fashion world. One does not necessarily be a fashion designer but still be able to have a very success career in the fashion industry.Being able to make a living with things you like is always enjoyable. If you are a fashion fan and love to see beautiful clothing, accessories or sketches around you, you should consider starting a career in the fashion world. Below are some key roles in the fashion world where you can take part in – from design, production, marketing, to many more.Designing
This is one of the most high profile jobs in the fashion industry. Designers are responsible for conceptualizing their ideas on trends and realizing them on their final products. Designers can be employed by companies which own a group of designers, or work for their own brand and production line, or, even as a freelancer providing designs for difference companies.There are several types of fashion designers:1. Apparel designers: Obviously these are clothing designers, ranging from lingerie, sports wear, casual wear to high fashion couture, for men, women and kids.
2. Footwear designers: They design footwear for men, women and kids from a style point of view, as well as from a foot-health’s perspective.
3. Accessory designers: Accessories has a broad definitely – from handbags, hat, eyewear to gloves, scarves and jewelry pieces.Production
Production involves the sampling of garments and accessories until producing the final pieces that would deliver to shops and customers. This massive work involves a team of various professions:1. Merchandiser: Merchandisers play a key role in the production process of a fashion product.They are responsible for buying raw materials for production, selecting fabric, textiles and trims. They have to make decisions based on pricing, quality and latest trend and innovation of raw materials. 2. Technical Designers: Technical designers are the one responsible for doing fittings during the whole sampling to production procedure. They might not be the one who designed the garment but are the experts in providing alternative to the garment to improve the fitting of garment. 3. Pattern Makers: Pattern is the basis for a garment to be sewed. Pattern makers produce and maintain patterns for garments that designers have sketched out. Pattern makers are key persons in realization of a garment.4. Pattern Graders: The sizing of garment starts with the pattern grading. Pattern graders are experts in creating size specifications for different sizes. They are vital persons in for any fashion brands, as a consistent sizing across products can maintain customer loyalty and confidence.5. Fitting Models: Ultimately garments and footwear are made for putting comfort and style together. Fitting is a crucial part in fashion industry and the most precise fitting is to use model as the body for fitting.Many companies have their own dedicated models for fitting their lines, who has the exact sizing measurement the brand requires. Sometimes you would see ads looking for sampling models, from kids, men, women to plus size models.6. Quality Control Specialists: Quality control is of top importance for any sort of products, and is no exception in fashion industry. Quality control specialists look at the quality of raw materials, like peeling, shrinking and color fading of textile and overall quality of a fashion item, for instance, the overall assembling of an accessory item.7. Planners: Fashion planners coordinate closely with designers, merchandisers and buyers to decide the production plan for the coming seasons. They look at both production and marketing side while paying close attention to the latest fashion trend.Marketing
Marketing is as important as making a perfect piece of fashion item. Whether it’s marketing in a wholesale or retail side, people in fashion marketing bears the mission of promoting the fashion item into this fast changing world.1. Fashion Buyer/ Retail Merchandisers: Product merchandisers are the ones who buy ready-made products to be sold in a shop like department stores. These merchandisers conduct researches and analyze market trend, the relative customer wants and stocks. They bear huge responsibility in terms of profit making, since having the eye to buy the right product for sales can make a difference in revenue.2. Showroom Sales Specialists: Some brands own their showrooms, displaying their collection for fashion buyers (wholesalers) to make their orders. Compared with retail sales, showroom sales specialists should know their seasonal returning customer better and be able provide detailed information on the selling collections.3. Retail Store Manager/ Boutique Owners: Retail shop manager, sales and boutique owners are the first line personnel facing retail customers like you and me.Other Fashion-related Professions
Besides in the field of designing, producing or marketing a fashion item, one might be attracted by other positions like as a writer of fashion magazine, online blogs and fashion event management etc. Below is a list highlighting the other possible jobs related to fashion industry:1. Fashion Writers: Writers or freelance writers can write for magazines, online blogs or sites on reviews, trends and recommendations. Fashion writers can also develop into fashion magazine editors.2. Personal Stylists:Some department stores provide personal styling services while some private customer would employ personal stylist giving them recommendations in personal styling.3. Fashion event Management/ Public Relations: There are nameless fashion events which requires professional public relations and event management personnel to take care of. There are PR companies specialized in holding fashion related events.Grasp the Opportunities!
Besides the above mentioned careers in the fashion industry, there are still many other opportunities like photographer, costume designer and catalog/ fashion show models, etc. One of the most reachable way to keep yourself updated with job opportunities and fashion trend is to be active in fashion forum and subscribe to fashion magazines.Grasp the opportunities and enjoy a fashion career!