Author: Mark DeFrance

Mark DeFrance is a senior research analyst at Tech Insider, focusing on the enterprise software sector. Prior to joining TI, Mark covered enterprise software for First Albany, and prior to that he worked in equity research at B.T. Alex Brown and Bankers Trust. Mark has written software applications in various programming languages including BASIC, Pascal, and COBOL. He has also been recognized in The Wall Street Journal's "Best on the Street" survey and was recognized by Forbes Magazine as the No. 1 sell-side stock picker in the software industry for a five-year period, with returns of 115% versus 26% for the software industry.
Finance

Hot Watch List – Sprint Corporation (NYSE:S) , Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) , CXP, Commscope (NASDAQ:COMM) , Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX)

Sprint Corporation (NYSE:S) and T-Mobile US Inc. are working on a plan to raise roughly $10 billion to spend in an auction of wireless airwaves, people familiar with the matter said. The companies, which have been discussing a possible merger since last year, are planning to form a joint venture that will bid in a 2015 auction of airwaves held by television. Sprint Corporation (NYSE:S) … Continue reading Hot Watch List – Sprint Corporation (NYSE:S) , Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) , CXP, Commscope (NASDAQ:COMM) , Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX)

Mark DeFrance
Finance

Worth Watching Stocks – Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) , ShoreTel (NASDAQ:SHOR) , Cyan Inc (NYSE:CYNI) , Sevcon Inc (NASDAQ:SEV)

Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) on July 10 announced it had participated in the recent grand opening of Ace Hardware’s first all hydrogen material handling fleet at the company’s newly constructed Wilmer, Texas warehouse. In addition, Ace has ordered further GenDrive units for another distribution center being built in West Jefferson, Ohio. Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) stock performance was -1.65% in last session and finished the … Continue reading Worth Watching Stocks – Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) , ShoreTel (NASDAQ:SHOR) , Cyan Inc (NYSE:CYNI) , Sevcon Inc (NASDAQ:SEV)

Mark DeFrance
Finance

Today’s Watch List – Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS) , VeriFone Systems (NYSE:PAY) , Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) , Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) has completed the acquisition of Solid Concepts and the Harvest Technologies buyout and is expected to be closed by the end of this month. Stratasys inked a deal to acquire the two privately-held companies on Apr 2, 2014. The company has agreed to pay $295 million for the Solid Concepts acquisition, while financial details of the Harvest deal were not available. Stratasys, … Continue reading Today’s Watch List – Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS) , VeriFone Systems (NYSE:PAY) , Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) , Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Mark DeFrance
Finance

Hot Alert – Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ:GLUU), Heritage-Crystal Clean (NASDAQ:HCCI) , Fidelity Southern (NASDAQ:LION) , Ingredion Inc (NYSE:INGR)

Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ:GLUU) has been rising sharply with the popularity of its new Kardashian game, and option traders are looking for even more gains. Nearly 8,000 August 7 calls were bought for $0.25 to $0.40 on Friday with no previous open interest, optionMONSTER’s Heat Seeker tracking system shows. Another 3,000 July 5.50 calls traded for $0.35 to $0.65 in volume well above open interest … Continue reading Hot Alert – Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ:GLUU), Heritage-Crystal Clean (NASDAQ:HCCI) , Fidelity Southern (NASDAQ:LION) , Ingredion Inc (NYSE:INGR)

Mark DeFrance
Finance

Trending Stocks – Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), WGL Holdings (NYSE:WGL), Armco Metals Holdings (NYSE:AMCO), Fulton Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FULT)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) are among banks that pulled forward their predictions for the first Fed rate increase to the third quarter of 2015 from as late as 2016. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) stock performance was 0.84% in last session and finished the day at $164.80. Traded volume was 2.28million shares in the last session and the average … Continue reading Trending Stocks – Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), WGL Holdings (NYSE:WGL), Armco Metals Holdings (NYSE:AMCO), Fulton Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FULT)

Mark DeFrance
Finance

Eye-Catching Stocks – American Shared Hospital Services (NYSEMKT:AMS) , Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PTLA) , Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) , SemGroup Corp (NYSE:SEMG)

American Shared Hospital Services (NYSEMKT:AMS) Director Raymond C. Stachowiak bought 400,000 shares of American Shared Hospital Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2.43 per share, with a total value of $972,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 30,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,743. American Shared … Continue reading Eye-Catching Stocks – American Shared Hospital Services (NYSEMKT:AMS) , Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PTLA) , Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) , SemGroup Corp (NYSE:SEMG)

Mark DeFrance