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>>> 3 Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever
Zacks
by Benjamin Rains
Aug 23, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/3-nuclear-energy-stocks-buy-110000268.html
Today’s episode of Full Court Finance at Zacks explores nuclear energy’s rapid rise and why nuclear energy is poised to become one of the most important industries in the economy and on Wall Street.
The episode dives into three nuclear energy-focused stocks—Rolls-Royce (RYCEY), BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT), and Constellation Energy (CEG)—that investors might want to buy now and hold for long-term upside.
Nuclear energy has become one of the hottest industries on Wall Street over the last year as investors realize its ability to power the growing global economy as the world attempts to curb fossil fuel use. On top of that, the energy-hungry artificial intelligence arms race sparked technology giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and many others to commit to nuclear energy expansion and innovation.
Two of the top six performing S&P 500 stocks so far this year are nuclear energy companies. The buildout of the nuclear-powered economy will cost tens of trillions of dollars and take decades, even though nuclear energy has supplied around 20% of U.S. electricity for over 30 years running (and 10% of the current global total).
The U.S. and many other nations have done a 180-degree turn on nuclear energy technology over the last few years as key players across technology, finance, the government, and beyond finally throw their collective force behind nuclear energy. The U.S. government has rolled out multiple efforts to support the nuclear energy resurgence and pledged to help triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
Outside of the U.S., China, India, and tons of other key economies are going all in on nuclear. Investors are pouring money into the largest nuclear power producers, uranium (nuclear fuel) miners, and other standout players.
Now let’s look at our three nuclear energy stocks to consider buying now.
Rolls-Royce (RYCEY) is a historic engine maker of complex power and propulsion solutions for aircraft, ships, and beyond. Rolls-Royce is utilizing its expertise in nuclear propulsion systems to design cutting-edge small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) technology and micro-reactors. Rolls-Royce’s SMR tech is making its way through the approval process to be rolled out in the U.K.
Rolls-Royce will be able to achieve these lofty nuclear energy goals because it is successfully revamping and streamlining its business to boost profitability after a disappointing decade.
Former oil industry executive Tufan Erginbilgic took over as CEO in January 2023, aiming to quadruple Rolls-Royce’s profits in the next five years and complete other key initiatives. Rolls-Royce raised its full-year guidance on August 1 and said it plans to reinstate its dividend.
Rolls-Royce is projected to grow its adjusted earnings by 35% in FY24 and 19% in FY25 on the back of 30% and 7%, respective revenue expansion.
Rolls-Royce’s recent upbeat EPS revisions help it earn a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and extend its impressive run of positive EPS revisions over the past year and a half.
Rolls-Royce stock soared over 750% off its 2022 lows, including its 155% YTD surge. Rolls-Royce stock hit new 52-week highs of $6.50 a share on Thursday. Despite the climb, Rolls-Royce trades 34% below its average Zack price target and 70% below its all-time highs.
On the valuation front, Rolls-Royce trades in line with its 10-year median and near its industry at 24.9X forward 12-month earnings.
BWX Technologies (BWXT) is a top supplier of nuclear technologies, components, and fuel to the U.S. government, including U.S. naval submarines and aircraft carriers. BWX Technologies is actively growing its commercial nuclear power segment and other non-defense units.
BWXT owns one of the largest commercial nuclear equipment manufacturing facilities on the planet. BWXT is expanding that operation to “support ongoing and anticipated customers’ investments in Small Modular Reactors, traditional large-scale nuclear and advanced reactors, in Canada and around the world.”
BWX Technologies has landed deals and partnerships with GE Vernova, the Wyoming Energy Authority, Bill Gates-backed SMR company TerraPower, and beyond. BWXT’s beat-and-raise second quarter was supported, in part, by a growing “appetite for nuclear solutions across the global security, clean energy, and medical markets.”
BWXT is projected to post solid mid-single-digit sales and earnings growth in 2024 and 2025.
BWX Technologies stock has climbed 250% in the last 10 years to outpace the S&P 500’s 190% and its industry’s 110%. BWXT broke out to new highs last summer, with the stock up 38% the last 12 months.
BWXT is trading above its 21-week and 21-day moving averages while sitting 5% below its average Zacks price target.
Constellation Energy (CEG) is the largest nuclear power plant operator in the U.S., helping it produce 10% of the country’s total clean energy. Constellation boasts over 20 nuclear reactors at roughly a dozen sites across the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast.
Constellation benefits from the nuclear energy-focused aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act. The U.S. government is helping provide a price floor for nuclear power to boost the expansion of the domestic nuclear industry.
Constellation is retrofitting its current nuclear power plants to help keep them running for a lot longer. The company is also expanding into next-gen nuclear power plant technologies.
Constellation aims to grow through mergers and acquisitions and return capital to shareholders via buybacks and dividends. Constellation announced in early 2024 its plans to boost its dividend by 25% in 2024, exceeding its 10% annual growth target.
Constellation lifted its adjusted 2024 earnings guidance in early August and reaffirmed its ability to grow its adjusted EPS by at least 10% from 2024-2028. Constellation is projected to grow its adjusted earnings by 57% in 2024 and 18% in 2025.
Constellation shares soared since their 2022 IPO. CEG has climbed by 150% in the past two years and 70% YTD. Thankfully, for investors who ‘missed’ the run, Constellation trades 15% below its May records after falling alongside tech and other growth stocks.
CEG is attempting to retake its 50-day moving average. On top of that, CEG's improving EPS outlook, mixed with its recent downturn, has it trading at a 32% discount to Constellation's highs at 21.8X forward earnings.
<<<
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>>> 3 Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever
Zacks
by Benjamin Rains
Aug 23, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/3-nuclear-energy-stocks-buy-110000268.html
Today’s episode of Full Court Finance at Zacks explores nuclear energy’s rapid rise and why nuclear energy is poised to become one of the most important industries in the economy and on Wall Street.
The episode dives into three nuclear energy-focused stocks—Rolls-Royce (RYCEY), BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT), and Constellation Energy (CEG)—that investors might want to buy now and hold for long-term upside.
Nuclear energy has become one of the hottest industries on Wall Street over the last year as investors realize its ability to power the growing global economy as the world attempts to curb fossil fuel use. On top of that, the energy-hungry artificial intelligence arms race sparked technology giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and many others to commit to nuclear energy expansion and innovation.
Two of the top six performing S&P 500 stocks so far this year are nuclear energy companies. The buildout of the nuclear-powered economy will cost tens of trillions of dollars and take decades, even though nuclear energy has supplied around 20% of U.S. electricity for over 30 years running (and 10% of the current global total).
The U.S. and many other nations have done a 180-degree turn on nuclear energy technology over the last few years as key players across technology, finance, the government, and beyond finally throw their collective force behind nuclear energy. The U.S. government has rolled out multiple efforts to support the nuclear energy resurgence and pledged to help triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
Outside of the U.S., China, India, and tons of other key economies are going all in on nuclear. Investors are pouring money into the largest nuclear power producers, uranium (nuclear fuel) miners, and other standout players.
Now let’s look at our three nuclear energy stocks to consider buying now.
Rolls-Royce (RYCEY) is a historic engine maker of complex power and propulsion solutions for aircraft, ships, and beyond. Rolls-Royce is utilizing its expertise in nuclear propulsion systems to design cutting-edge small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) technology and micro-reactors. Rolls-Royce’s SMR tech is making its way through the approval process to be rolled out in the U.K.
Rolls-Royce will be able to achieve these lofty nuclear energy goals because it is successfully revamping and streamlining its business to boost profitability after a disappointing decade.
Former oil industry executive Tufan Erginbilgic took over as CEO in January 2023, aiming to quadruple Rolls-Royce’s profits in the next five years and complete other key initiatives. Rolls-Royce raised its full-year guidance on August 1 and said it plans to reinstate its dividend.
Rolls-Royce is projected to grow its adjusted earnings by 35% in FY24 and 19% in FY25 on the back of 30% and 7%, respective revenue expansion.
Rolls-Royce’s recent upbeat EPS revisions help it earn a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and extend its impressive run of positive EPS revisions over the past year and a half.
Rolls-Royce stock soared over 750% off its 2022 lows, including its 155% YTD surge. Rolls-Royce stock hit new 52-week highs of $6.50 a share on Thursday. Despite the climb, Rolls-Royce trades 34% below its average Zack price target and 70% below its all-time highs.
On the valuation front, Rolls-Royce trades in line with its 10-year median and near its industry at 24.9X forward 12-month earnings.
BWX Technologies (BWXT) is a top supplier of nuclear technologies, components, and fuel to the U.S. government, including U.S. naval submarines and aircraft carriers. BWX Technologies is actively growing its commercial nuclear power segment and other non-defense units.
BWXT owns one of the largest commercial nuclear equipment manufacturing facilities on the planet. BWXT is expanding that operation to “support ongoing and anticipated customers’ investments in Small Modular Reactors, traditional large-scale nuclear and advanced reactors, in Canada and around the world.”
BWX Technologies has landed deals and partnerships with GE Vernova, the Wyoming Energy Authority, Bill Gates-backed SMR company TerraPower, and beyond. BWXT’s beat-and-raise second quarter was supported, in part, by a growing “appetite for nuclear solutions across the global security, clean energy, and medical markets.”
BWXT is projected to post solid mid-single-digit sales and earnings growth in 2024 and 2025.
BWX Technologies stock has climbed 250% in the last 10 years to outpace the S&P 500’s 190% and its industry’s 110%. BWXT broke out to new highs last summer, with the stock up 38% the last 12 months.
BWXT is trading above its 21-week and 21-day moving averages while sitting 5% below its average Zacks price target.
Constellation Energy (CEG) is the largest nuclear power plant operator in the U.S., helping it produce 10% of the country’s total clean energy. Constellation boasts over 20 nuclear reactors at roughly a dozen sites across the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast.
Constellation benefits from the nuclear energy-focused aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act. The U.S. government is helping provide a price floor for nuclear power to boost the expansion of the domestic nuclear industry.
Constellation is retrofitting its current nuclear power plants to help keep them running for a lot longer. The company is also expanding into next-gen nuclear power plant technologies.
Constellation aims to grow through mergers and acquisitions and return capital to shareholders via buybacks and dividends. Constellation announced in early 2024 its plans to boost its dividend by 25% in 2024, exceeding its 10% annual growth target.
Constellation lifted its adjusted 2024 earnings guidance in early August and reaffirmed its ability to grow its adjusted EPS by at least 10% from 2024-2028. Constellation is projected to grow its adjusted earnings by 57% in 2024 and 18% in 2025.
Constellation shares soared since their 2022 IPO. CEG has climbed by 150% in the past two years and 70% YTD. Thankfully, for investors who ‘missed’ the run, Constellation trades 15% below its May records after falling alongside tech and other growth stocks.
CEG is attempting to retake its 50-day moving average. On top of that, CEG's improving EPS outlook, mixed with its recent downturn, has it trading at a 32% discount to Constellation's highs at 21.8X forward earnings.
<<<
---
>>> 3 Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever
Zacks
by Benjamin Rains
Aug 23, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/3-nuclear-energy-stocks-buy-110000268.html
Today’s episode of Full Court Finance at Zacks explores nuclear energy’s rapid rise and why nuclear energy is poised to become one of the most important industries in the economy and on Wall Street.
The episode dives into three nuclear energy-focused stocks—Rolls-Royce (RYCEY), BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT), and Constellation Energy (CEG)—that investors might want to buy now and hold for long-term upside.
Nuclear energy has become one of the hottest industries on Wall Street over the last year as investors realize its ability to power the growing global economy as the world attempts to curb fossil fuel use. On top of that, the energy-hungry artificial intelligence arms race sparked technology giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and many others to commit to nuclear energy expansion and innovation.
Two of the top six performing S&P 500 stocks so far this year are nuclear energy companies. The buildout of the nuclear-powered economy will cost tens of trillions of dollars and take decades, even though nuclear energy has supplied around 20% of U.S. electricity for over 30 years running (and 10% of the current global total).
The U.S. and many other nations have done a 180-degree turn on nuclear energy technology over the last few years as key players across technology, finance, the government, and beyond finally throw their collective force behind nuclear energy. The U.S. government has rolled out multiple efforts to support the nuclear energy resurgence and pledged to help triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
Outside of the U.S., China, India, and tons of other key economies are going all in on nuclear. Investors are pouring money into the largest nuclear power producers, uranium (nuclear fuel) miners, and other standout players.
Now let’s look at our three nuclear energy stocks to consider buying now.
Rolls-Royce (RYCEY) is a historic engine maker of complex power and propulsion solutions for aircraft, ships, and beyond. Rolls-Royce is utilizing its expertise in nuclear propulsion systems to design cutting-edge small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) technology and micro-reactors. Rolls-Royce’s SMR tech is making its way through the approval process to be rolled out in the U.K.
Rolls-Royce will be able to achieve these lofty nuclear energy goals because it is successfully revamping and streamlining its business to boost profitability after a disappointing decade.
Former oil industry executive Tufan Erginbilgic took over as CEO in January 2023, aiming to quadruple Rolls-Royce’s profits in the next five years and complete other key initiatives. Rolls-Royce raised its full-year guidance on August 1 and said it plans to reinstate its dividend.
Rolls-Royce is projected to grow its adjusted earnings by 35% in FY24 and 19% in FY25 on the back of 30% and 7%, respective revenue expansion.
Rolls-Royce’s recent upbeat EPS revisions help it earn a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and extend its impressive run of positive EPS revisions over the past year and a half.
Rolls-Royce stock soared over 750% off its 2022 lows, including its 155% YTD surge. Rolls-Royce stock hit new 52-week highs of $6.50 a share on Thursday. Despite the climb, Rolls-Royce trades 34% below its average Zack price target and 70% below its all-time highs.
On the valuation front, Rolls-Royce trades in line with its 10-year median and near its industry at 24.9X forward 12-month earnings.
BWX Technologies (BWXT) is a top supplier of nuclear technologies, components, and fuel to the U.S. government, including U.S. naval submarines and aircraft carriers. BWX Technologies is actively growing its commercial nuclear power segment and other non-defense units.
BWXT owns one of the largest commercial nuclear equipment manufacturing facilities on the planet. BWXT is expanding that operation to “support ongoing and anticipated customers’ investments in Small Modular Reactors, traditional large-scale nuclear and advanced reactors, in Canada and around the world.”
BWX Technologies has landed deals and partnerships with GE Vernova, the Wyoming Energy Authority, Bill Gates-backed SMR company TerraPower, and beyond. BWXT’s beat-and-raise second quarter was supported, in part, by a growing “appetite for nuclear solutions across the global security, clean energy, and medical markets.”
BWXT is projected to post solid mid-single-digit sales and earnings growth in 2024 and 2025.
BWX Technologies stock has climbed 250% in the last 10 years to outpace the S&P 500’s 190% and its industry’s 110%. BWXT broke out to new highs last summer, with the stock up 38% the last 12 months.
BWXT is trading above its 21-week and 21-day moving averages while sitting 5% below its average Zacks price target.
Constellation Energy (CEG) is the largest nuclear power plant operator in the U.S., helping it produce 10% of the country’s total clean energy. Constellation boasts over 20 nuclear reactors at roughly a dozen sites across the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast.
Constellation benefits from the nuclear energy-focused aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act. The U.S. government is helping provide a price floor for nuclear power to boost the expansion of the domestic nuclear industry.
Constellation is retrofitting its current nuclear power plants to help keep them running for a lot longer. The company is also expanding into next-gen nuclear power plant technologies.
Constellation aims to grow through mergers and acquisitions and return capital to shareholders via buybacks and dividends. Constellation announced in early 2024 its plans to boost its dividend by 25% in 2024, exceeding its 10% annual growth target.
Constellation lifted its adjusted 2024 earnings guidance in early August and reaffirmed its ability to grow its adjusted EPS by at least 10% from 2024-2028. Constellation is projected to grow its adjusted earnings by 57% in 2024 and 18% in 2025.
Constellation shares soared since their 2022 IPO. CEG has climbed by 150% in the past two years and 70% YTD. Thankfully, for investors who ‘missed’ the run, Constellation trades 15% below its May records after falling alongside tech and other growth stocks.
CEG is attempting to retake its 50-day moving average. On top of that, CEG's improving EPS outlook, mixed with its recent downturn, has it trading at a 32% discount to Constellation's highs at 21.8X forward earnings.
<<<
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>>> 4 Hidden Stocks to Play the AI Data-Center Megatrend
Barron's
By Tae Kim
Aug 20, 2024
https://www.barrons.com/articles/ai-data-center-stocks-constellation-energy-teradyne-b1289ad0?siteid=yhoof2
In this article
WCC
CCOI
TER
CEG
The rise of artificial intelligence is sparking the construction of new data centers, which is providing significant opportunities for investors.
KeyBanc Capital Markets’ research team on Monday shared its top ideas about what companies will benefit from the AI infrastructure trend. The stocks include Wesco International (WCC), Cogent Communications Holdings (CCOI), Teradyne (TER), and Constellation Energy (CEG). All four stocks have Overweight ratings.
“For our names exposed to data center hardware/infrastructure, C2Q24 earnings season largely continued to showcase robust demand trends around the theme,” the team wrote.
Wesco stands to gain because investment spending on data centers should add to demand for logistics services among the company’s cloud-computing and enterprise customers, according to industrial tech analyst Ken Newman. He has a target of $195 for the stock price, while shares were down 0.9% to $157.46 on Tuesday afternoon.
Communications services analyst Brandon Nispel is optimistic about Cogent’s data-center connectivity solutions, including its optical wavelength services, which provide data transportation across long distances. He has a $80 price forecast for the shares; the stock was up 0.5% to $76.11.
Semiconductor capital-equipment analyst Steve Barger said Teradyne’s testing services will thrive as demand for AI chips grows. And electric utilities analyst Sophie Karp is bullish on Constellation Energy because of rising electricity demand from data centers. Barger has a $180 target for Teradyne and Karp has a $230 price forecast for Constellation.
Teradyne stock dropped 1.5% to $132.01. Constellation stock was down 1.1% to $190.58.
<<<
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>>> 4 Hidden Stocks to Play the AI Data-Center Megatrend
Barron's
By Tae Kim
Aug 20, 2024
https://www.barrons.com/articles/ai-data-center-stocks-constellation-energy-teradyne-b1289ad0?siteid=yhoof2
In this article
WCC
CCOI
TER
CEG
The rise of artificial intelligence is sparking the construction of new data centers, which is providing significant opportunities for investors.
KeyBanc Capital Markets’ research team on Monday shared its top ideas about what companies will benefit from the AI infrastructure trend. The stocks include Wesco International (WCC), Cogent Communications Holdings (CCOI), Teradyne (TER), and Constellation Energy (CEG). All four stocks have Overweight ratings.
“For our names exposed to data center hardware/infrastructure, C2Q24 earnings season largely continued to showcase robust demand trends around the theme,” the team wrote.
Wesco stands to gain because investment spending on data centers should add to demand for logistics services among the company’s cloud-computing and enterprise customers, according to industrial tech analyst Ken Newman. He has a target of $195 for the stock price, while shares were down 0.9% to $157.46 on Tuesday afternoon.
Communications services analyst Brandon Nispel is optimistic about Cogent’s data-center connectivity solutions, including its optical wavelength services, which provide data transportation across long distances. He has a $80 price forecast for the shares; the stock was up 0.5% to $76.11.
Semiconductor capital-equipment analyst Steve Barger said Teradyne’s testing services will thrive as demand for AI chips grows. And electric utilities analyst Sophie Karp is bullish on Constellation Energy because of rising electricity demand from data centers. Barger has a $180 target for Teradyne and Karp has a $230 price forecast for Constellation.
Teradyne stock dropped 1.5% to $132.01. Constellation stock was down 1.1% to $190.58.
<<<
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>>> 4 Hidden Stocks to Play the AI Data-Center Megatrend
Barron's
By Tae Kim
Aug 20, 2024
https://www.barrons.com/articles/ai-data-center-stocks-constellation-energy-teradyne-b1289ad0?siteid=yhoof2
In this article
WCC
CCOI
TER
CEG
The rise of artificial intelligence is sparking the construction of new data centers, which is providing significant opportunities for investors.
KeyBanc Capital Markets’ research team on Monday shared its top ideas about what companies will benefit from the AI infrastructure trend. The stocks include Wesco International (WCC), Cogent Communications Holdings (CCOI), Teradyne (TER), and Constellation Energy (CEG). All four stocks have Overweight ratings.
“For our names exposed to data center hardware/infrastructure, C2Q24 earnings season largely continued to showcase robust demand trends around the theme,” the team wrote.
Wesco stands to gain because investment spending on data centers should add to demand for logistics services among the company’s cloud-computing and enterprise customers, according to industrial tech analyst Ken Newman. He has a target of $195 for the stock price, while shares were down 0.9% to $157.46 on Tuesday afternoon.
Communications services analyst Brandon Nispel is optimistic about Cogent’s data-center connectivity solutions, including its optical wavelength services, which provide data transportation across long distances. He has a $80 price forecast for the shares; the stock was up 0.5% to $76.11.
Semiconductor capital-equipment analyst Steve Barger said Teradyne’s testing services will thrive as demand for AI chips grows. And electric utilities analyst Sophie Karp is bullish on Constellation Energy because of rising electricity demand from data centers. Barger has a $180 target for Teradyne and Karp has a $230 price forecast for Constellation.
Teradyne stock dropped 1.5% to $132.01. Constellation stock was down 1.1% to $190.58.
<<<
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>>> Hyliion Awarded Government Contract to Create a Megawatt-Scale Concept of the KARNO Generator Technology for the United States Navy
Business Wire
Aug 8, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hyliion-awarded-government-contract-create-123000371.html
AUSTIN, Texas, August 08, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyliion Holdings Corp. (NYSE: HYLN) ("Hyliion"), a developer of sustainable electricity-producing technology, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) government contract by the United States Navy. Phase 1 of the award, N241–060, will allow Hyliion to create a preliminary design of a modular generator system that integrates the Navy’s specifications with Hyliion’s cutting-edge KARNO™ generator technology.
With this contract, Hyliion will showcase a design concept of the KARNO generator in a megawatt-scale modular system. The system will be engineered to offer a versatile and flexible approach to meet the U.S. government's Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) cross-platform requirements, scalable to various power needs and adaptable to the available platform space. Hyliion plans to leverage its foundational 200-kilowatt (kW) KARNO genset, combining multiple units together to achieve the desired power output.
"We are honored to receive this SBIR contract from the United States Navy," said Thomas Healy, Founder and CEO of Hyliion. "This award is a testament to the KARNO generator’s expected ability to offer efficient, flexible, and low-maintenance power generation. We are excited to contribute to the Navy’s mission and explore higher power solutions for their USV initiative."
The SBIR program is an initiative that supports scientific excellence and technological advancements by investing federal research funds in key American priorities aimed at strengthening the national economy and defense infrastructure. The primary objective of the N241-060 program is to develop and demonstrate a megawatt (MW) scale, ultra-reliable, and efficient USV modular generator concept tailored to the Navy’s requirements. This concept involves configuring smaller kW-scale building block power units in a high-density package to achieve a 4,000-hour no-touch maintenance periodicity for continuous operation in a naval environment.
This government contract underscores Hyliion's commitment to innovation and its leadership in developing sustainable energy solutions. The KARNO generator, with its exceptional form factor and ability to operate on multiple fuels, including NATO F-76, is ideally suited for the Navy’s USV program. The system’s hermetically sealed architecture, with only one moving part per shaft, is designed for maintenance-free operation over long running hours.
For more information on Hyliion or the KARNO generator, please visit www.hyliion.com.
For additional details on the SBIR, please visit https://www.navysbir.com/n24_1/N241-060.htm.
About the KARNO Generator
The KARNO generator is a linear heat generator that leverages advanced 3D metal printed components and proprietary flameless oxidation technology to produce clean electricity. Modular in design, the generator is expected to show an improvement in fuel efficiency, require significantly lower maintenance costs and have a much lower emissions profile than conventional generators. It is also capable of operating on over 20 different fuels, including hydrogen, natural gas, propane, ammonia and conventional fuels.
About Hyliion
Hyliion is committed to creating innovative solutions that enable clean, flexible, and affordable electricity production. The Company’s primary focus is to provide distributed power generators that can operate on various fuel sources to future-proof against an ever-changing energy economy. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, and with research and development in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hyliion is initially targeting the commercial and waste management industries with a locally deployable generator that can offer prime power as well as energy arbitrage opportunities. Beyond stationary power, Hyliion will address mobile applications such as vehicles and marine. The Company aims to offer innovative, yet practical solutions that contribute positively to the environment in the energy economy. For further information, please visit www.hyliion.com.
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>>> Hyliion Awarded Government Contract to Create a Megawatt-Scale Concept of the KARNO Generator Technology for the United States Navy
Business Wire
Aug 8, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hyliion-awarded-government-contract-create-123000371.html
AUSTIN, Texas, August 08, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyliion Holdings Corp. (NYSE: HYLN) ("Hyliion"), a developer of sustainable electricity-producing technology, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) government contract by the United States Navy. Phase 1 of the award, N241–060, will allow Hyliion to create a preliminary design of a modular generator system that integrates the Navy’s specifications with Hyliion’s cutting-edge KARNO™ generator technology.
With this contract, Hyliion will showcase a design concept of the KARNO generator in a megawatt-scale modular system. The system will be engineered to offer a versatile and flexible approach to meet the U.S. government's Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) cross-platform requirements, scalable to various power needs and adaptable to the available platform space. Hyliion plans to leverage its foundational 200-kilowatt (kW) KARNO genset, combining multiple units together to achieve the desired power output.
"We are honored to receive this SBIR contract from the United States Navy," said Thomas Healy, Founder and CEO of Hyliion. "This award is a testament to the KARNO generator’s expected ability to offer efficient, flexible, and low-maintenance power generation. We are excited to contribute to the Navy’s mission and explore higher power solutions for their USV initiative."
The SBIR program is an initiative that supports scientific excellence and technological advancements by investing federal research funds in key American priorities aimed at strengthening the national economy and defense infrastructure. The primary objective of the N241-060 program is to develop and demonstrate a megawatt (MW) scale, ultra-reliable, and efficient USV modular generator concept tailored to the Navy’s requirements. This concept involves configuring smaller kW-scale building block power units in a high-density package to achieve a 4,000-hour no-touch maintenance periodicity for continuous operation in a naval environment.
This government contract underscores Hyliion's commitment to innovation and its leadership in developing sustainable energy solutions. The KARNO generator, with its exceptional form factor and ability to operate on multiple fuels, including NATO F-76, is ideally suited for the Navy’s USV program. The system’s hermetically sealed architecture, with only one moving part per shaft, is designed for maintenance-free operation over long running hours.
For more information on Hyliion or the KARNO generator, please visit www.hyliion.com.
For additional details on the SBIR, please visit https://www.navysbir.com/n24_1/N241-060.htm.
About the KARNO Generator
The KARNO generator is a linear heat generator that leverages advanced 3D metal printed components and proprietary flameless oxidation technology to produce clean electricity. Modular in design, the generator is expected to show an improvement in fuel efficiency, require significantly lower maintenance costs and have a much lower emissions profile than conventional generators. It is also capable of operating on over 20 different fuels, including hydrogen, natural gas, propane, ammonia and conventional fuels.
About Hyliion
Hyliion is committed to creating innovative solutions that enable clean, flexible, and affordable electricity production. The Company’s primary focus is to provide distributed power generators that can operate on various fuel sources to future-proof against an ever-changing energy economy. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, and with research and development in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hyliion is initially targeting the commercial and waste management industries with a locally deployable generator that can offer prime power as well as energy arbitrage opportunities. Beyond stationary power, Hyliion will address mobile applications such as vehicles and marine. The Company aims to offer innovative, yet practical solutions that contribute positively to the environment in the energy economy. For further information, please visit www.hyliion.com.
<<<
---
>>> Hyliion Awarded Government Contract to Create a Megawatt-Scale Concept of the KARNO Generator Technology for the United States Navy
Business Wire
Aug 8, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hyliion-awarded-government-contract-create-123000371.html
AUSTIN, Texas, August 08, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyliion Holdings Corp. (NYSE: HYLN) ("Hyliion"), a developer of sustainable electricity-producing technology, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) government contract by the United States Navy. Phase 1 of the award, N241–060, will allow Hyliion to create a preliminary design of a modular generator system that integrates the Navy’s specifications with Hyliion’s cutting-edge KARNO™ generator technology.
With this contract, Hyliion will showcase a design concept of the KARNO generator in a megawatt-scale modular system. The system will be engineered to offer a versatile and flexible approach to meet the U.S. government's Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) cross-platform requirements, scalable to various power needs and adaptable to the available platform space. Hyliion plans to leverage its foundational 200-kilowatt (kW) KARNO genset, combining multiple units together to achieve the desired power output.
"We are honored to receive this SBIR contract from the United States Navy," said Thomas Healy, Founder and CEO of Hyliion. "This award is a testament to the KARNO generator’s expected ability to offer efficient, flexible, and low-maintenance power generation. We are excited to contribute to the Navy’s mission and explore higher power solutions for their USV initiative."
The SBIR program is an initiative that supports scientific excellence and technological advancements by investing federal research funds in key American priorities aimed at strengthening the national economy and defense infrastructure. The primary objective of the N241-060 program is to develop and demonstrate a megawatt (MW) scale, ultra-reliable, and efficient USV modular generator concept tailored to the Navy’s requirements. This concept involves configuring smaller kW-scale building block power units in a high-density package to achieve a 4,000-hour no-touch maintenance periodicity for continuous operation in a naval environment.
This government contract underscores Hyliion's commitment to innovation and its leadership in developing sustainable energy solutions. The KARNO generator, with its exceptional form factor and ability to operate on multiple fuels, including NATO F-76, is ideally suited for the Navy’s USV program. The system’s hermetically sealed architecture, with only one moving part per shaft, is designed for maintenance-free operation over long running hours.
For more information on Hyliion or the KARNO generator, please visit www.hyliion.com.
For additional details on the SBIR, please visit https://www.navysbir.com/n24_1/N241-060.htm.
About the KARNO Generator
The KARNO generator is a linear heat generator that leverages advanced 3D metal printed components and proprietary flameless oxidation technology to produce clean electricity. Modular in design, the generator is expected to show an improvement in fuel efficiency, require significantly lower maintenance costs and have a much lower emissions profile than conventional generators. It is also capable of operating on over 20 different fuels, including hydrogen, natural gas, propane, ammonia and conventional fuels.
About Hyliion
Hyliion is committed to creating innovative solutions that enable clean, flexible, and affordable electricity production. The Company’s primary focus is to provide distributed power generators that can operate on various fuel sources to future-proof against an ever-changing energy economy. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, and with research and development in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hyliion is initially targeting the commercial and waste management industries with a locally deployable generator that can offer prime power as well as energy arbitrage opportunities. Beyond stationary power, Hyliion will address mobile applications such as vehicles and marine. The Company aims to offer innovative, yet practical solutions that contribute positively to the environment in the energy economy. For further information, please visit www.hyliion.com.
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>>> Hyliion and Jardine Engineering Corporation Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Explore the KARNO Generator's Potential in Asian Power Generation Markets
Business Wire
Aug 19, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hyliion-jardine-engineering-corporation-sign-123000429.html
AUSTIN, Texas, August 19, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyliion Holdings Corp. (NYSE: HYLN) ("Hyliion"), a developer of sustainable electricity-producing technology, today announced that it has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Jardine Engineering Corporation Limited ("JEC").
The MOU represents the first step toward a commitment from both companies to work together to explore the potential of Hyliion’s advanced KARNOTM technology in power generation projects and to collaborate jointly on select business opportunities in Hong Kong, Macau, and other markets where JEC operates. The KARNO generator is a groundbreaking fuel-agnostic solution that utilizes a linear generator architecture to produce electricity both economically and efficiently. Capable of operating on various fuels, including hydrogen, natural gas, biogas, and propane, the generator is expected to offer lower maintenance costs and a significantly reduced emissions profile compared to conventional technologies.
With a history dating back to 1923, JEC is one of the key leaders of power system business in Hong Kong and represents top brand electric generator suppliers from the US and Europe. Headquartered in Hong Kong, JEC is a listed specialist contractor for public works and is a premier provider of electrical and mechanical engineering solutions in the Asia Pacific region. This relationship aims to leverage the advanced capabilities of Hyliion’s KARNO generator, along with JEC's extensive domain knowledge, market presence, and project implementation capabilities, to provide innovative, sustainable power solutions in this dynamic region.
"Hyliion's KARNO generator technology aligns perfectly with our commitment to providing advanced and sustainable engineering solutions," stated Mr. Noky Wong, Chief Executive of JEC. "This collaborative effort with Hyliion represents a strategic step forward in advancing our capabilities and offerings in the power systems sector. Together, we look forward to exploring new ways to enable our customers to achieve engineering breakthroughs in ever more efficient and sustainable ways."
Thomas Healy, Founder and CEO of Hyliion, added, "We are thrilled to partner with JEC, a leader in integrated power systems with a strong presence in Asia. This collaboration is a significant step in our mission to provide sustainable and innovative energy solutions globally. By combining our innovative KARNO technology with JEC’s extensive market knowledge and engineering expertise, we are confident in delivering exceptional value and performance to meet the evolving energy needs of our customers worldwide."
The MOU between Hyliion and JEC is subject to the execution of a binding agreement. For more information about Hyliion and its innovative electrification solutions, please visit hyliion.com. For more information about Jardine Engineering Corporation Limited and how it helps engineer a better Asia, please visit jec.com.
About JEC
JEC is a leading provider of engineering services, sourcing, and contracting expertise. It enables customers to operate their facilities at world-class standards by providing the professional expertise to design, supply, and install building and specialized processes; facility operation and management; asset enhancement and energy management; and the sourcing of electrical and mechanical equipment and architectural fixtures.
JEC is headquartered in Hong Kong and operates throughout Asia. JEC is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group.
About Hyliion
Hyliion is committed to creating innovative solutions that enable clean, flexible and affordable electricity production. The Company’s primary focus is to provide distributed power generators that can operate on various fuel sources to future-proof against an ever-changing energy economy. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with research and development in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hyliion is initially targeting the commercial and waste management industries with a locally deployable generator that can offer prime power as well as energy arbitrage opportunities. Beyond stationary power, Hyliion will address mobile applications such as vehicles and marine. The Company aims to offer innovative, yet practical solutions that contribute positively to the environment in the energy economy.
<<<
---
>>> Hyliion and Jardine Engineering Corporation Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Explore the KARNO Generator's Potential in Asian Power Generation Markets
Business Wire
Aug 19, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hyliion-jardine-engineering-corporation-sign-123000429.html
AUSTIN, Texas, August 19, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyliion Holdings Corp. (NYSE: HYLN) ("Hyliion"), a developer of sustainable electricity-producing technology, today announced that it has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Jardine Engineering Corporation Limited ("JEC").
The MOU represents the first step toward a commitment from both companies to work together to explore the potential of Hyliion’s advanced KARNOTM technology in power generation projects and to collaborate jointly on select business opportunities in Hong Kong, Macau, and other markets where JEC operates. The KARNO generator is a groundbreaking fuel-agnostic solution that utilizes a linear generator architecture to produce electricity both economically and efficiently. Capable of operating on various fuels, including hydrogen, natural gas, biogas, and propane, the generator is expected to offer lower maintenance costs and a significantly reduced emissions profile compared to conventional technologies.
With a history dating back to 1923, JEC is one of the key leaders of power system business in Hong Kong and represents top brand electric generator suppliers from the US and Europe. Headquartered in Hong Kong, JEC is a listed specialist contractor for public works and is a premier provider of electrical and mechanical engineering solutions in the Asia Pacific region. This relationship aims to leverage the advanced capabilities of Hyliion’s KARNO generator, along with JEC's extensive domain knowledge, market presence, and project implementation capabilities, to provide innovative, sustainable power solutions in this dynamic region.
"Hyliion's KARNO generator technology aligns perfectly with our commitment to providing advanced and sustainable engineering solutions," stated Mr. Noky Wong, Chief Executive of JEC. "This collaborative effort with Hyliion represents a strategic step forward in advancing our capabilities and offerings in the power systems sector. Together, we look forward to exploring new ways to enable our customers to achieve engineering breakthroughs in ever more efficient and sustainable ways."
Thomas Healy, Founder and CEO of Hyliion, added, "We are thrilled to partner with JEC, a leader in integrated power systems with a strong presence in Asia. This collaboration is a significant step in our mission to provide sustainable and innovative energy solutions globally. By combining our innovative KARNO technology with JEC’s extensive market knowledge and engineering expertise, we are confident in delivering exceptional value and performance to meet the evolving energy needs of our customers worldwide."
The MOU between Hyliion and JEC is subject to the execution of a binding agreement. For more information about Hyliion and its innovative electrification solutions, please visit hyliion.com. For more information about Jardine Engineering Corporation Limited and how it helps engineer a better Asia, please visit jec.com.
About JEC
JEC is a leading provider of engineering services, sourcing, and contracting expertise. It enables customers to operate their facilities at world-class standards by providing the professional expertise to design, supply, and install building and specialized processes; facility operation and management; asset enhancement and energy management; and the sourcing of electrical and mechanical equipment and architectural fixtures.
JEC is headquartered in Hong Kong and operates throughout Asia. JEC is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group.
About Hyliion
Hyliion is committed to creating innovative solutions that enable clean, flexible and affordable electricity production. The Company’s primary focus is to provide distributed power generators that can operate on various fuel sources to future-proof against an ever-changing energy economy. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with research and development in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hyliion is initially targeting the commercial and waste management industries with a locally deployable generator that can offer prime power as well as energy arbitrage opportunities. Beyond stationary power, Hyliion will address mobile applications such as vehicles and marine. The Company aims to offer innovative, yet practical solutions that contribute positively to the environment in the energy economy.
<<<
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>>> Tiny shards of plastic are increasingly infiltrating our brains, study says
by Sandee LaMotte
CNN
August 23, 2024
https://www.yahoo.com/news/microplastics-found-human-brains-130318087.html
Human brain samples collected at autopsy in early 2024 contained more tiny shards of plastic than samples collected eight years prior, according to a preprint posted online in May. A preprint is a study which has not yet been peer-reviewed and published in a journal.
“The concentrations we saw in the brain tissue of normal individuals, who had an average age of around 45 or 50 years old, were 4,800 micrograms per gram, or 0.5% by weight,” said lead study author Matthew Campen, a regents’ professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
“Compared to autopsy brain samples from 2016, that’s about 50% higher,” Campen said. “That would mean that our brains today are 99.5% brain and the rest is plastic.”
That increase, however, only shows exposure and does not provide information about brain damage, said Phoebe Stapleton, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, who was not involved in the preprint.
“It is unclear if, in life, these particles are fluid, entering and leaving the brain, or if they collect in neurological tissues and promote disease,” she said in an email. “Further research is needed to understand how the particles may be interacting with the cells and if this has a toxicological consequence.”
The brain samples contained 7% to 30% more tiny shards of plastic than samples from the cadavers’ kidneys and liver, according to the preprint.
“Studies have found these plastics in the human heart, the great blood vessels, the lungs, the liver, the testes, the gastrointestinal tract and the placenta,” said pediatrician and biology professor Dr. Philip Landrigan, director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good and the Global Observatory on Planetary Health at Boston College.
“It’s important not to scare the hell out of people, because the science in this space is still evolving, and nobody in the year 2024 is going to live without plastic,” said Landrigan, who was not involved with the preprint.
“I say to people, ‘Listen, there are some plastics that you can’t escape. You’re not going to get a cell phone or a computer that doesn’t contain plastic.’ But do try to minimize your exposure to the plastic that you can avoid, such as plastic bags and bottles.”
CNN reached out to the American Chemistry Council, an industry association, but did not hear back before publication.
Nanoplastics ‘hijack’ their way into the brain
For the study, researchers examined brain, kidney and liver tissues from 92 people who underwent a forensic autopsy to verify cause of death in both 2016 and 2024. Brain tissue samples were gathered from the frontal cortex, the area of the brain associated with thinking and reasoning, and which is most affected by frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and later stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Based on our observations, we think the brain is pulling in the very smallest nanostructures, like 100 to 200 nanometers in length, whereas some of the larger particles that are a micrometer to five micrometers go into the liver and kidneys,” Campen said.
Microplastics are fragments that can range from less than 0.2 inch (5 millimeters) or about the size of a pencil eraser, to 1 nanometer. A strand of human hair is about 80,000 nanometers wide, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Anything smaller is a nanoplastic that must be measured in billionths of a meter.
Nanoplastics are the most worrisome plastics for human health, experts say, because the minuscule pieces can take up residence inside individual cells.
“Somehow these nanoplastics hijack their way through the body and get to the brain, crossing the blood-brain barrier,” Campen said. “Plastics love fats, or lipids, so one theory is that plastics are hijacking their way with the fats we eat which are then delivered to the organs that really like lipids — the brain is top among those.”
The human brain is about 60% fat by weight, far more than any other organ. Essential fatty acids, such as omega 3s, are key to the strength and performance of the brain’s cells. Since the human body can’t produce essential fatty acids on its own, they must come from food or supplements.
Diet is the main route of exposure for micro- and nanoplastics, said Landrigan, who is the lead author of a March 2023 report from the Minderoo – Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health, a global consortium of scientists, health-care workers and policy analysts charged with following plastics from creation to final product.
In that report, the consortium determined plastics are associated with harms to human health at every single stage of the plastic lifecycle.
“Some microplastics are also airborne,” Landrigan said. “For example, when people are driving down the highway and their tires are abrading on the surface of the highway, a certain amount of microplastic particles are thrown into the air.
“If you live near the coast, some of the microplastic particles that are in the ocean get kicked into the air through wave action,” he said. “So ingestion is probably the dominant route, but inhalation is also an important route.”
Plastics with ties to cancer
Polyethylene, which is used in plastic bags, films and bottles and is not biodegradable, was the predominant type of plastic found in tissue samples. It was found in greater quantities in the brain than in the liver or kidney, according to the preprint.
Polyethylene was also the predominant type of polymer found in human and dog testicles, according to an August 2024 study by Campen and his team.
The production of various forms of polyethylene, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics, are the biggest contributor to the release of the solvent 1,4-dioxane into the environment, according to industry data collected by Defend our Health, an environmental advocacy group.
The US National Toxicity Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer considers 1,4-dioxane to be possibly carcinogenic to humans. In 2023, the EPA released a draft report saying that the solvent poses an “unreasonable risk of injury to health” for plastics workers and community residents whose drinking water has been polluted by discharges from PET plastics factories.
“The biggest question is, ‘OK, what are these particles doing to us?’ Honestly there’s a lot we still don’t know,” Landrigan said. “What we do know with real certainty is that these microplastic particles are like Trojan horses — they carry with them all the thousands of chemicals that are in plastics and some are very bad actors.”
By invading individual cells and tissues in major organs, nanoplastics can potentially interrupt cellular processes and deposit endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenols, phthalates, flame retardants, heavy metals and per- and polyfluorinated substances, or PFAS.
Endocrine disruptors interfere with the human reproductive system, leading to genital and reproductive malformations as well as female infertility and a decline in sperm count, according to the Endocrine Society.
“We have some pretty good indications that microplastics and nanoplastics cause harm, even though we are a long way from knowing the full extent of that harm,” Landrigan said. “I would say we have enough information here that we need to start taking protective action.”
Learn to use less plastic
There are many steps individuals can take to reduce their exposure to plastics and their plastic footprint, experts say.
“It’s hard to avoid foods wrapped in plastic film but be sure to take the food out of the plastic wrapping before you cook it or put it in the microwave,” Landrigan said. “When you heat plastic, that accelerates the movement of the microplastics out of the wrapping into the food.
Invest in a zippered fabric bag and ask the dry cleaner to return your clothes in that instead of those thin sheets of plastic, suggested the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. Bring a travel mug to the local coffee store for takeout and silverware to the office to cut back on plastic cups and utensils.
“Don’t use plastic bags when you go shopping. Use a cloth bag or a paper bag or a recycle bag. Try to avoid plastic water bottles, if you can possibly do so,” Landrigan said.
A March 2024 study found 1 liter of bottled water — the equivalent of two standard-size bottled waters typically purchased by consumers — contained an average of 240,000 plastic particles from seven types of plastics. Some 90% of those were nanoplastics.
“Use a metal or glass drinking cup instead of a plastic cup. Store your food in glass containers instead of in plastic ones,” Landrigan said. “Work in your local community to ban plastic bags, as many communities around the United States have now done. There is a lot you can do.”
<<<
---
>>> Tiny shards of plastic are increasingly infiltrating our brains, study says
by Sandee LaMotte
CNN
August 23, 2024
https://www.yahoo.com/news/microplastics-found-human-brains-130318087.html
Human brain samples collected at autopsy in early 2024 contained more tiny shards of plastic than samples collected eight years prior, according to a preprint posted online in May. A preprint is a study which has not yet been peer-reviewed and published in a journal.
“The concentrations we saw in the brain tissue of normal individuals, who had an average age of around 45 or 50 years old, were 4,800 micrograms per gram, or 0.5% by weight,” said lead study author Matthew Campen, a regents’ professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
“Compared to autopsy brain samples from 2016, that’s about 50% higher,” Campen said. “That would mean that our brains today are 99.5% brain and the rest is plastic.”
That increase, however, only shows exposure and does not provide information about brain damage, said Phoebe Stapleton, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, who was not involved in the preprint.
“It is unclear if, in life, these particles are fluid, entering and leaving the brain, or if they collect in neurological tissues and promote disease,” she said in an email. “Further research is needed to understand how the particles may be interacting with the cells and if this has a toxicological consequence.”
The brain samples contained 7% to 30% more tiny shards of plastic than samples from the cadavers’ kidneys and liver, according to the preprint.
“Studies have found these plastics in the human heart, the great blood vessels, the lungs, the liver, the testes, the gastrointestinal tract and the placenta,” said pediatrician and biology professor Dr. Philip Landrigan, director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good and the Global Observatory on Planetary Health at Boston College.
“It’s important not to scare the hell out of people, because the science in this space is still evolving, and nobody in the year 2024 is going to live without plastic,” said Landrigan, who was not involved with the preprint.
“I say to people, ‘Listen, there are some plastics that you can’t escape. You’re not going to get a cell phone or a computer that doesn’t contain plastic.’ But do try to minimize your exposure to the plastic that you can avoid, such as plastic bags and bottles.”
CNN reached out to the American Chemistry Council, an industry association, but did not hear back before publication.
Nanoplastics ‘hijack’ their way into the brain
For the study, researchers examined brain, kidney and liver tissues from 92 people who underwent a forensic autopsy to verify cause of death in both 2016 and 2024. Brain tissue samples were gathered from the frontal cortex, the area of the brain associated with thinking and reasoning, and which is most affected by frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and later stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Based on our observations, we think the brain is pulling in the very smallest nanostructures, like 100 to 200 nanometers in length, whereas some of the larger particles that are a micrometer to five micrometers go into the liver and kidneys,” Campen said.
Microplastics are fragments that can range from less than 0.2 inch (5 millimeters) or about the size of a pencil eraser, to 1 nanometer. A strand of human hair is about 80,000 nanometers wide, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Anything smaller is a nanoplastic that must be measured in billionths of a meter.
Nanoplastics are the most worrisome plastics for human health, experts say, because the minuscule pieces can take up residence inside individual cells.
“Somehow these nanoplastics hijack their way through the body and get to the brain, crossing the blood-brain barrier,” Campen said. “Plastics love fats, or lipids, so one theory is that plastics are hijacking their way with the fats we eat which are then delivered to the organs that really like lipids — the brain is top among those.”
The human brain is about 60% fat by weight, far more than any other organ. Essential fatty acids, such as omega 3s, are key to the strength and performance of the brain’s cells. Since the human body can’t produce essential fatty acids on its own, they must come from food or supplements.
Diet is the main route of exposure for micro- and nanoplastics, said Landrigan, who is the lead author of a March 2023 report from the Minderoo – Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health, a global consortium of scientists, health-care workers and policy analysts charged with following plastics from creation to final product.
In that report, the consortium determined plastics are associated with harms to human health at every single stage of the plastic lifecycle.
“Some microplastics are also airborne,” Landrigan said. “For example, when people are driving down the highway and their tires are abrading on the surface of the highway, a certain amount of microplastic particles are thrown into the air.
“If you live near the coast, some of the microplastic particles that are in the ocean get kicked into the air through wave action,” he said. “So ingestion is probably the dominant route, but inhalation is also an important route.”
Plastics with ties to cancer
Polyethylene, which is used in plastic bags, films and bottles and is not biodegradable, was the predominant type of plastic found in tissue samples. It was found in greater quantities in the brain than in the liver or kidney, according to the preprint.
Polyethylene was also the predominant type of polymer found in human and dog testicles, according to an August 2024 study by Campen and his team.
The production of various forms of polyethylene, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics, are the biggest contributor to the release of the solvent 1,4-dioxane into the environment, according to industry data collected by Defend our Health, an environmental advocacy group.
The US National Toxicity Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer considers 1,4-dioxane to be possibly carcinogenic to humans. In 2023, the EPA released a draft report saying that the solvent poses an “unreasonable risk of injury to health” for plastics workers and community residents whose drinking water has been polluted by discharges from PET plastics factories.
“The biggest question is, ‘OK, what are these particles doing to us?’ Honestly there’s a lot we still don’t know,” Landrigan said. “What we do know with real certainty is that these microplastic particles are like Trojan horses — they carry with them all the thousands of chemicals that are in plastics and some are very bad actors.”
By invading individual cells and tissues in major organs, nanoplastics can potentially interrupt cellular processes and deposit endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenols, phthalates, flame retardants, heavy metals and per- and polyfluorinated substances, or PFAS.
Endocrine disruptors interfere with the human reproductive system, leading to genital and reproductive malformations as well as female infertility and a decline in sperm count, according to the Endocrine Society.
“We have some pretty good indications that microplastics and nanoplastics cause harm, even though we are a long way from knowing the full extent of that harm,” Landrigan said. “I would say we have enough information here that we need to start taking protective action.”
Learn to use less plastic
There are many steps individuals can take to reduce their exposure to plastics and their plastic footprint, experts say.
“It’s hard to avoid foods wrapped in plastic film but be sure to take the food out of the plastic wrapping before you cook it or put it in the microwave,” Landrigan said. “When you heat plastic, that accelerates the movement of the microplastics out of the wrapping into the food.
Invest in a zippered fabric bag and ask the dry cleaner to return your clothes in that instead of those thin sheets of plastic, suggested the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. Bring a travel mug to the local coffee store for takeout and silverware to the office to cut back on plastic cups and utensils.
“Don’t use plastic bags when you go shopping. Use a cloth bag or a paper bag or a recycle bag. Try to avoid plastic water bottles, if you can possibly do so,” Landrigan said.
A March 2024 study found 1 liter of bottled water — the equivalent of two standard-size bottled waters typically purchased by consumers — contained an average of 240,000 plastic particles from seven types of plastics. Some 90% of those were nanoplastics.
“Use a metal or glass drinking cup instead of a plastic cup. Store your food in glass containers instead of in plastic ones,” Landrigan said. “Work in your local community to ban plastic bags, as many communities around the United States have now done. There is a lot you can do.”
<<<
---
>>> Tiny shards of plastic are increasingly infiltrating our brains, study says
by Sandee LaMotte
CNN
August 23, 2024
https://www.yahoo.com/news/microplastics-found-human-brains-130318087.html
Human brain samples collected at autopsy in early 2024 contained more tiny shards of plastic than samples collected eight years prior, according to a preprint posted online in May. A preprint is a study which has not yet been peer-reviewed and published in a journal.
“The concentrations we saw in the brain tissue of normal individuals, who had an average age of around 45 or 50 years old, were 4,800 micrograms per gram, or 0.5% by weight,” said lead study author Matthew Campen, a regents’ professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
“Compared to autopsy brain samples from 2016, that’s about 50% higher,” Campen said. “That would mean that our brains today are 99.5% brain and the rest is plastic.”
That increase, however, only shows exposure and does not provide information about brain damage, said Phoebe Stapleton, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, who was not involved in the preprint.
“It is unclear if, in life, these particles are fluid, entering and leaving the brain, or if they collect in neurological tissues and promote disease,” she said in an email. “Further research is needed to understand how the particles may be interacting with the cells and if this has a toxicological consequence.”
The brain samples contained 7% to 30% more tiny shards of plastic than samples from the cadavers’ kidneys and liver, according to the preprint.
“Studies have found these plastics in the human heart, the great blood vessels, the lungs, the liver, the testes, the gastrointestinal tract and the placenta,” said pediatrician and biology professor Dr. Philip Landrigan, director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good and the Global Observatory on Planetary Health at Boston College.
“It’s important not to scare the hell out of people, because the science in this space is still evolving, and nobody in the year 2024 is going to live without plastic,” said Landrigan, who was not involved with the preprint.
“I say to people, ‘Listen, there are some plastics that you can’t escape. You’re not going to get a cell phone or a computer that doesn’t contain plastic.’ But do try to minimize your exposure to the plastic that you can avoid, such as plastic bags and bottles.”
CNN reached out to the American Chemistry Council, an industry association, but did not hear back before publication.
Nanoplastics ‘hijack’ their way into the brain
For the study, researchers examined brain, kidney and liver tissues from 92 people who underwent a forensic autopsy to verify cause of death in both 2016 and 2024. Brain tissue samples were gathered from the frontal cortex, the area of the brain associated with thinking and reasoning, and which is most affected by frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and later stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Based on our observations, we think the brain is pulling in the very smallest nanostructures, like 100 to 200 nanometers in length, whereas some of the larger particles that are a micrometer to five micrometers go into the liver and kidneys,” Campen said.
Microplastics are fragments that can range from less than 0.2 inch (5 millimeters) or about the size of a pencil eraser, to 1 nanometer. A strand of human hair is about 80,000 nanometers wide, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Anything smaller is a nanoplastic that must be measured in billionths of a meter.
Nanoplastics are the most worrisome plastics for human health, experts say, because the minuscule pieces can take up residence inside individual cells.
“Somehow these nanoplastics hijack their way through the body and get to the brain, crossing the blood-brain barrier,” Campen said. “Plastics love fats, or lipids, so one theory is that plastics are hijacking their way with the fats we eat which are then delivered to the organs that really like lipids — the brain is top among those.”
The human brain is about 60% fat by weight, far more than any other organ. Essential fatty acids, such as omega 3s, are key to the strength and performance of the brain’s cells. Since the human body can’t produce essential fatty acids on its own, they must come from food or supplements.
Diet is the main route of exposure for micro- and nanoplastics, said Landrigan, who is the lead author of a March 2023 report from the Minderoo – Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health, a global consortium of scientists, health-care workers and policy analysts charged with following plastics from creation to final product.
In that report, the consortium determined plastics are associated with harms to human health at every single stage of the plastic lifecycle.
“Some microplastics are also airborne,” Landrigan said. “For example, when people are driving down the highway and their tires are abrading on the surface of the highway, a certain amount of microplastic particles are thrown into the air.
“If you live near the coast, some of the microplastic particles that are in the ocean get kicked into the air through wave action,” he said. “So ingestion is probably the dominant route, but inhalation is also an important route.”
Plastics with ties to cancer
Polyethylene, which is used in plastic bags, films and bottles and is not biodegradable, was the predominant type of plastic found in tissue samples. It was found in greater quantities in the brain than in the liver or kidney, according to the preprint.
Polyethylene was also the predominant type of polymer found in human and dog testicles, according to an August 2024 study by Campen and his team.
The production of various forms of polyethylene, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics, are the biggest contributor to the release of the solvent 1,4-dioxane into the environment, according to industry data collected by Defend our Health, an environmental advocacy group.
The US National Toxicity Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer considers 1,4-dioxane to be possibly carcinogenic to humans. In 2023, the EPA released a draft report saying that the solvent poses an “unreasonable risk of injury to health” for plastics workers and community residents whose drinking water has been polluted by discharges from PET plastics factories.
“The biggest question is, ‘OK, what are these particles doing to us?’ Honestly there’s a lot we still don’t know,” Landrigan said. “What we do know with real certainty is that these microplastic particles are like Trojan horses — they carry with them all the thousands of chemicals that are in plastics and some are very bad actors.”
By invading individual cells and tissues in major organs, nanoplastics can potentially interrupt cellular processes and deposit endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenols, phthalates, flame retardants, heavy metals and per- and polyfluorinated substances, or PFAS.
Endocrine disruptors interfere with the human reproductive system, leading to genital and reproductive malformations as well as female infertility and a decline in sperm count, according to the Endocrine Society.
“We have some pretty good indications that microplastics and nanoplastics cause harm, even though we are a long way from knowing the full extent of that harm,” Landrigan said. “I would say we have enough information here that we need to start taking protective action.”
Learn to use less plastic
There are many steps individuals can take to reduce their exposure to plastics and their plastic footprint, experts say.
“It’s hard to avoid foods wrapped in plastic film but be sure to take the food out of the plastic wrapping before you cook it or put it in the microwave,” Landrigan said. “When you heat plastic, that accelerates the movement of the microplastics out of the wrapping into the food.
Invest in a zippered fabric bag and ask the dry cleaner to return your clothes in that instead of those thin sheets of plastic, suggested the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. Bring a travel mug to the local coffee store for takeout and silverware to the office to cut back on plastic cups and utensils.
“Don’t use plastic bags when you go shopping. Use a cloth bag or a paper bag or a recycle bag. Try to avoid plastic water bottles, if you can possibly do so,” Landrigan said.
A March 2024 study found 1 liter of bottled water — the equivalent of two standard-size bottled waters typically purchased by consumers — contained an average of 240,000 plastic particles from seven types of plastics. Some 90% of those were nanoplastics.
“Use a metal or glass drinking cup instead of a plastic cup. Store your food in glass containers instead of in plastic ones,” Landrigan said. “Work in your local community to ban plastic bags, as many communities around the United States have now done. There is a lot you can do.”
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Re-post - >>> Gadolinium-based Contrast Agent Accumulates in the Brain Even in Subjects without Severe Renal Dysfunction: Evaluation of Autopsy Brain Specimens with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy
https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2015142690
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=174981213
Original Research
Neuroradiology
Tomonori Kanda , Toshio Fukusato, Megumi Matsuda, Keiko Toyoda, Hiroshi Oba, Jun’ichi Kotoku, Takahiro Haruyama, Kazuhiro Kitajima, Shigeru Furui
Author Affiliations
Published Online:May 5 2015https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2015142690
Abstract
Even in subjects without severe renal dysfunction, gadolinium-based contrast agent administration causes gadolinium accumulation in the brain, especially in the dentate nucleus and globus pallidus.
Purpose
To use inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) to evaluate gadolinium accumulation in brain tissues, including the dentate nucleus (DN) and globus pallidus (GP), in subjects who received a gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA).
Materials and Methods
Institutional review board approval was obtained for this study. Written informed consent for postmortem investigation was obtained either from the subject prior to his or her death or afterward from the subject’s relatives. Brain tissues obtained at autopsy in five subjects who received a linear GBCA (GBCA group) and five subjects with no history of GBCA administration (non-GBCA group) were examined with ICP-MS. Formalin-fixed DN tissue, the inner segment of the GP, cerebellar white matter, the frontal lobe cortex, and frontal lobe white matter were obtained, and their gadolinium concentrations were measured. None of the subjects had received a diagnosis of severely compromised renal function (estimated glomerular filtration rate <45 mL/min/1.73 m2) or acute renal failure. Fisher permutation test was used to compare gadolinium concentrations between the two groups and among brain regions.
Results
Gadolinium was detected in all specimens in the GBCA agent group (mean, 0.25 µg per gram of brain tissue ± 0.44 [standard deviation]), with significantly higher concentrations in each region (P = .004 vs the non-GBCA group for all regions). In the GBCA group, the DN and GP showed significantly higher gadolinium concentrations (mean, 0.44 µg/g ± 0.63) than other regions (0.12 µg/g ± 0.16) (P = .029).
Conclusion
Even in subjects without severe renal dysfunction, GBCA administration causes gadolinium accumulation in the brain, especially in the DN and GP.
© RSNA, 2015
Article History
Received November 20, 2014; revision requested January 5, 2015; revision received February 8; accepted March 2; final version accepted March 24.
Published online: May 05 2015
Published in print: July 2015
<<<
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Re-post - >>> Gadolinium-based Contrast Agent Accumulates in the Brain Even in Subjects without Severe Renal Dysfunction: Evaluation of Autopsy Brain Specimens with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy
https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2015142690
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=174981213
Original Research
Neuroradiology
Tomonori Kanda , Toshio Fukusato, Megumi Matsuda, Keiko Toyoda, Hiroshi Oba, Jun’ichi Kotoku, Takahiro Haruyama, Kazuhiro Kitajima, Shigeru Furui
Author Affiliations
Published Online:May 5 2015https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2015142690
Abstract
Even in subjects without severe renal dysfunction, gadolinium-based contrast agent administration causes gadolinium accumulation in the brain, especially in the dentate nucleus and globus pallidus.
Purpose
To use inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) to evaluate gadolinium accumulation in brain tissues, including the dentate nucleus (DN) and globus pallidus (GP), in subjects who received a gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA).
Materials and Methods
Institutional review board approval was obtained for this study. Written informed consent for postmortem investigation was obtained either from the subject prior to his or her death or afterward from the subject’s relatives. Brain tissues obtained at autopsy in five subjects who received a linear GBCA (GBCA group) and five subjects with no history of GBCA administration (non-GBCA group) were examined with ICP-MS. Formalin-fixed DN tissue, the inner segment of the GP, cerebellar white matter, the frontal lobe cortex, and frontal lobe white matter were obtained, and their gadolinium concentrations were measured. None of the subjects had received a diagnosis of severely compromised renal function (estimated glomerular filtration rate <45 mL/min/1.73 m2) or acute renal failure. Fisher permutation test was used to compare gadolinium concentrations between the two groups and among brain regions.
Results
Gadolinium was detected in all specimens in the GBCA agent group (mean, 0.25 µg per gram of brain tissue ± 0.44 [standard deviation]), with significantly higher concentrations in each region (P = .004 vs the non-GBCA group for all regions). In the GBCA group, the DN and GP showed significantly higher gadolinium concentrations (mean, 0.44 µg/g ± 0.63) than other regions (0.12 µg/g ± 0.16) (P = .029).
Conclusion
Even in subjects without severe renal dysfunction, GBCA administration causes gadolinium accumulation in the brain, especially in the DN and GP.
© RSNA, 2015
Article History
Received November 20, 2014; revision requested January 5, 2015; revision received February 8; accepted March 2; final version accepted March 24.
Published online: May 05 2015
Published in print: July 2015
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Re-post - Gadolinium - >>> UNM Doctor Researches Toxic Side Effects of Rare Earth Metal Used in MRI Studies
https://hsc.unm.edu/news/2022/02/doctor-researches-toxic-side-effects-rare-earth-metals-mri.html
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=174981201
Brent Wagner, MDPhysicians who schedule magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies for their patients often specify the use of a gadolinium-based contrast agent – a chemical solution injected into the bloodstream that makes for better quality images.
Gadolinium is a rare earth metal that aligns with an MRI’s powerful magnetic field, but it is also toxic, so in its injectable form the metal is bound to chelating molecules to block its dangerous effects. Most of these molecules are then filtered through the kidneys and eliminated.
But there is growing evidence that tiny particles of gadolinium remain in the body – including the brain – causing serious side effects in some people, says kidney researcher Brent Wagner, MD, an associate professor in The University of New Mexico Department of Internal Medicine.
“We’ve come to the conclusion if a living organism gets this stuff there’s a chance that these weird particles can form, and my suspicion is this is what triggers this reaction,” says Wagner, who also serves as a staff physician at the Raymond G. Murphy Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albuquerque. “It’s probably distributing everywhere in the body once someone gets it.”
Reports first started emerging about 15 years ago that some patients who had received the gadolinium contrast agent were experiencing a painful, debilitating skin condition called systemic fibrosis, which causes skin thickening and tightening in the joints and extremities, as well as internal organ damage.
At first, it was assumed that the reaction only occurred in patients with pre-existing kidney disease, but it later became clear that it also occurs in people with healthy kidneys, Wagner says.
“The kidneys themselves are not the problem,” he says. “There is long-term retention of gadolinium – a known toxic metal – regardless of the brand and irrespective of kidney function. There are thousands of members of social media groups focused on the chronic adverse effects of gadolinium-based contrast agents.”
Now, Wagner leads a team of researchers exploring how gadolinium triggers the systemic reaction in some patients.
It has been theorized that the majority of the skin thickening was due to circulating, bone marrow-derived white blood cells called fibrocytes, Wagner says, adding that the gadolinium appears to produce an inflammatory response that triggers the buildup of fibrocytes in skin tissue.
“My laboratory was the first to prove this experimentally,” he says. “Furthermore, we were the first to demonstrate that bone marrow possesses a ‘memory’ of gadolinium exposure – gadolinium-induced fibrosis is enhanced in those who have had a prior administration of magnetic resonance imaging contrast.”
Much of Wagner’s research to date has been conducted in animal models or using donated tissue. Now, he is recruiting patients for a pilot study in humans through the UNM Clinical & Translational Science Center in hopes of identifying potential treatments.
While many participants have had just one dose of the contrast agent, gadolinium is still detectable in their blood, urine, fingernails and scalp hair without causing symptoms. Wagner stresses that “most people just tolerate it very, very well. If we know why that it is, maybe we have a shot at helping the people who do have symptoms.”
While gadolinium-based contrast agents often play an important role in helping physicians diagnose disease, Wagner believes they should be used with caution and consideration of whether the risks outweigh the potential benefits.
“I don’t know if there’s a true gadolinium deposition disease or not, but I do want to take the patient’s perspective,” he says. “It’s an alien heavy metal that stays in your body.”
<<<
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Re-post - Gadolinium - >>> UNM Doctor Researches Toxic Side Effects of Rare Earth Metal Used in MRI Studies
https://hsc.unm.edu/news/2022/02/doctor-researches-toxic-side-effects-rare-earth-metals-mri.html
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=174981201
Brent Wagner, MDPhysicians who schedule magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies for their patients often specify the use of a gadolinium-based contrast agent – a chemical solution injected into the bloodstream that makes for better quality images.
Gadolinium is a rare earth metal that aligns with an MRI’s powerful magnetic field, but it is also toxic, so in its injectable form the metal is bound to chelating molecules to block its dangerous effects. Most of these molecules are then filtered through the kidneys and eliminated.
But there is growing evidence that tiny particles of gadolinium remain in the body – including the brain – causing serious side effects in some people, says kidney researcher Brent Wagner, MD, an associate professor in The University of New Mexico Department of Internal Medicine.
“We’ve come to the conclusion if a living organism gets this stuff there’s a chance that these weird particles can form, and my suspicion is this is what triggers this reaction,” says Wagner, who also serves as a staff physician at the Raymond G. Murphy Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albuquerque. “It’s probably distributing everywhere in the body once someone gets it.”
Reports first started emerging about 15 years ago that some patients who had received the gadolinium contrast agent were experiencing a painful, debilitating skin condition called systemic fibrosis, which causes skin thickening and tightening in the joints and extremities, as well as internal organ damage.
At first, it was assumed that the reaction only occurred in patients with pre-existing kidney disease, but it later became clear that it also occurs in people with healthy kidneys, Wagner says.
“The kidneys themselves are not the problem,” he says. “There is long-term retention of gadolinium – a known toxic metal – regardless of the brand and irrespective of kidney function. There are thousands of members of social media groups focused on the chronic adverse effects of gadolinium-based contrast agents.”
Now, Wagner leads a team of researchers exploring how gadolinium triggers the systemic reaction in some patients.
It has been theorized that the majority of the skin thickening was due to circulating, bone marrow-derived white blood cells called fibrocytes, Wagner says, adding that the gadolinium appears to produce an inflammatory response that triggers the buildup of fibrocytes in skin tissue.
“My laboratory was the first to prove this experimentally,” he says. “Furthermore, we were the first to demonstrate that bone marrow possesses a ‘memory’ of gadolinium exposure – gadolinium-induced fibrosis is enhanced in those who have had a prior administration of magnetic resonance imaging contrast.”
Much of Wagner’s research to date has been conducted in animal models or using donated tissue. Now, he is recruiting patients for a pilot study in humans through the UNM Clinical & Translational Science Center in hopes of identifying potential treatments.
While many participants have had just one dose of the contrast agent, gadolinium is still detectable in their blood, urine, fingernails and scalp hair without causing symptoms. Wagner stresses that “most people just tolerate it very, very well. If we know why that it is, maybe we have a shot at helping the people who do have symptoms.”
While gadolinium-based contrast agents often play an important role in helping physicians diagnose disease, Wagner believes they should be used with caution and consideration of whether the risks outweigh the potential benefits.
“I don’t know if there’s a true gadolinium deposition disease or not, but I do want to take the patient’s perspective,” he says. “It’s an alien heavy metal that stays in your body.”
<<<
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>>> PC Connection, Inc. (CNXN), together with its subsidiaries, provides various information technology (IT) solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Business Solutions, Enterprise Solutions, and Public Sector Solutions.
It offers IT solutions, including computer systems, data center solutions, software and peripheral equipment, networking communications, and other products and accessories; and portfolio of managed services and professional services, as well as provides services related to design, configuration, and implementation of IT solutions.
The company markets its products and services through its websites comprising connection.com, connection.com/enterprise, connection.com/publicsector, and macconnection.com. It serves small to medium-sized businesses that include small office/home office customers; federal, state, and local government and educational institutions; enterprise sutomers; medium-to-large sorporations through outbound inside and field sales; digital, web, and print media advertising; and targeted marketing program to specific customer populations. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
<<<
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CNXN/profile/
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>>> PC Connection, Inc. (CNXN), together with its subsidiaries, provides various information technology (IT) solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Business Solutions, Enterprise Solutions, and Public Sector Solutions.
It offers IT solutions, including computer systems, data center solutions, software and peripheral equipment, networking communications, and other products and accessories; and portfolio of managed services and professional services, as well as provides services related to design, configuration, and implementation of IT solutions.
The company markets its products and services through its websites comprising connection.com, connection.com/enterprise, connection.com/publicsector, and macconnection.com. It serves small to medium-sized businesses that include small office/home office customers; federal, state, and local government and educational institutions; enterprise sutomers; medium-to-large sorporations through outbound inside and field sales; digital, web, and print media advertising; and targeted marketing program to specific customer populations. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
<<<
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CNXN/profile/
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>>> PC Connection, Inc. (CNXN), together with its subsidiaries, provides various information technology (IT) solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Business Solutions, Enterprise Solutions, and Public Sector Solutions.
It offers IT solutions, including computer systems, data center solutions, software and peripheral equipment, networking communications, and other products and accessories; and portfolio of managed services and professional services, as well as provides services related to design, configuration, and implementation of IT solutions.
The company markets its products and services through its websites comprising connection.com, connection.com/enterprise, connection.com/publicsector, and macconnection.com. It serves small to medium-sized businesses that include small office/home office customers; federal, state, and local government and educational institutions; enterprise sutomers; medium-to-large sorporations through outbound inside and field sales; digital, web, and print media advertising; and targeted marketing program to specific customer populations. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
<<<
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CNXN/profile/
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>>> StoneX Group Inc (SNEX). operates as a global financial services network that connects companies, organizations, traders, and investors to market ecosystem worldwide. The company operates through Commercial, Institutional, Retail, and Global Payments segments.
The Commercial segment provides risk management and hedging, exchange-traded and OTC products execution and clearing, voice brokerage, market intelligence, physical trading, and commodity financing and logistics services.
The Institutional segment offers equity trading services to institutional clients; clearing and execution services in futures exchanges; brokerage foreign exchange services for the financial institutions and professional traders; and OTC products, as well as originates, structures, and places debt instruments in capital markets. This segment also operates as an institutional dealer in fixed income securities to serve asset managers, commercial bank trust and investment departments, broker-dealers, and insurance companies, as well as engages in asset management business.
The Retail segment provides trading services and solutions in the global financial markets, including spot foreign exchange, precious metals trading, and contracts for differences; and wealth management services, as well as offers physical gold and other precious metals in various forms and denominations through Stonexbullion.com.
The Global Payments segment provides customized payment, technology, and treasury services to banks and commercial businesses, charities, and non-governmental and government organizations; and pricing and payments services.
The company was formerly known as INTL FCStone Inc. and changed its name to StoneX Group Inc. in July 2020. StoneX Group Inc. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SNEX/profile/
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>>> StoneX Group Inc (SNEX). operates as a global financial services network that connects companies, organizations, traders, and investors to market ecosystem worldwide. The company operates through Commercial, Institutional, Retail, and Global Payments segments.
The Commercial segment provides risk management and hedging, exchange-traded and OTC products execution and clearing, voice brokerage, market intelligence, physical trading, and commodity financing and logistics services.
The Institutional segment offers equity trading services to institutional clients; clearing and execution services in futures exchanges; brokerage foreign exchange services for the financial institutions and professional traders; and OTC products, as well as originates, structures, and places debt instruments in capital markets. This segment also operates as an institutional dealer in fixed income securities to serve asset managers, commercial bank trust and investment departments, broker-dealers, and insurance companies, as well as engages in asset management business.
The Retail segment provides trading services and solutions in the global financial markets, including spot foreign exchange, precious metals trading, and contracts for differences; and wealth management services, as well as offers physical gold and other precious metals in various forms and denominations through Stonexbullion.com.
The Global Payments segment provides customized payment, technology, and treasury services to banks and commercial businesses, charities, and non-governmental and government organizations; and pricing and payments services.
The company was formerly known as INTL FCStone Inc. and changed its name to StoneX Group Inc. in July 2020. StoneX Group Inc. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SNEX/profile/
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>>> StoneX Group Inc (SNEX). operates as a global financial services network that connects companies, organizations, traders, and investors to market ecosystem worldwide. The company operates through Commercial, Institutional, Retail, and Global Payments segments.
The Commercial segment provides risk management and hedging, exchange-traded and OTC products execution and clearing, voice brokerage, market intelligence, physical trading, and commodity financing and logistics services.
The Institutional segment offers equity trading services to institutional clients; clearing and execution services in futures exchanges; brokerage foreign exchange services for the financial institutions and professional traders; and OTC products, as well as originates, structures, and places debt instruments in capital markets. This segment also operates as an institutional dealer in fixed income securities to serve asset managers, commercial bank trust and investment departments, broker-dealers, and insurance companies, as well as engages in asset management business.
The Retail segment provides trading services and solutions in the global financial markets, including spot foreign exchange, precious metals trading, and contracts for differences; and wealth management services, as well as offers physical gold and other precious metals in various forms and denominations through Stonexbullion.com.
The Global Payments segment provides customized payment, technology, and treasury services to banks and commercial businesses, charities, and non-governmental and government organizations; and pricing and payments services.
The company was formerly known as INTL FCStone Inc. and changed its name to StoneX Group Inc. in July 2020. StoneX Group Inc. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SNEX/profile/
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>>> MSA Safety Incorporated (MSA) develops, manufactures, and supplies safety products and technology solutions that protect people and facility infrastructures in the fire service, energy, utility, construction, and industrial manufacturing applications, as well as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration industries worldwide.
The company's core product offerings include fixed gas and flame detection systems, such as gas detection monitoring systems, and flame detectors and open-path infrared gas detectors; breathing apparatus products, including self-contained breathing apparatus; hand-held portable gas detection instruments to detect the presence or absence of various gases in the air; industrial head protection products; firefighter helmets and protective apparel; and fall protection equipment, such as confined space equipment, harnesses, lanyards, and self-retracting lifelines, as well as engineered systems. In addition, the company offers air-purifying respirators, eye and face protection products, ballistic helmets, and gas masks.
It serves distributors and end-users through indirect and direct sales channels. The company offers its products under the V-Gard, Cairns, and Gallet brand names. MSA Safety Incorporated was founded in 1914 and is based in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/MSA/profile/
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>>> MSA Safety Incorporated (MSA) develops, manufactures, and supplies safety products and technology solutions that protect people and facility infrastructures in the fire service, energy, utility, construction, and industrial manufacturing applications, as well as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration industries worldwide.
The company's core product offerings include fixed gas and flame detection systems, such as gas detection monitoring systems, and flame detectors and open-path infrared gas detectors; breathing apparatus products, including self-contained breathing apparatus; hand-held portable gas detection instruments to detect the presence or absence of various gases in the air; industrial head protection products; firefighter helmets and protective apparel; and fall protection equipment, such as confined space equipment, harnesses, lanyards, and self-retracting lifelines, as well as engineered systems. In addition, the company offers air-purifying respirators, eye and face protection products, ballistic helmets, and gas masks.
It serves distributors and end-users through indirect and direct sales channels. The company offers its products under the V-Gard, Cairns, and Gallet brand names. MSA Safety Incorporated was founded in 1914 and is based in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/MSA/profile/
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>>> MSA Safety Incorporated (MSA) develops, manufactures, and supplies safety products and technology solutions that protect people and facility infrastructures in the fire service, energy, utility, construction, and industrial manufacturing applications, as well as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration industries worldwide.
The company's core product offerings include fixed gas and flame detection systems, such as gas detection monitoring systems, and flame detectors and open-path infrared gas detectors; breathing apparatus products, including self-contained breathing apparatus; hand-held portable gas detection instruments to detect the presence or absence of various gases in the air; industrial head protection products; firefighter helmets and protective apparel; and fall protection equipment, such as confined space equipment, harnesses, lanyards, and self-retracting lifelines, as well as engineered systems. In addition, the company offers air-purifying respirators, eye and face protection products, ballistic helmets, and gas masks.
It serves distributors and end-users through indirect and direct sales channels. The company offers its products under the V-Gard, Cairns, and Gallet brand names. MSA Safety Incorporated was founded in 1914 and is based in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/MSA/profile/
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Bigworld, >> A bear market cometh. They often start at or just after a first Fed Rate cut <<
That's true, but usually the Fed begins cutting rates way too late when the recession is already underway. This time it looks like a relatively 'soft landing' is likely, or at worst a mild recession in 2025. At least that's the current perception, and with only a few months to the election, perceptions are what matters.
Anyway, In the near term I figure Powell & Co want the markets relatively buoyant to help the incumbent Party. The main Deep State faction that wants Trump elected would be the Neocons, and they aren't currently in power. So if the broader Deep State have their way, the market stays in kumbaya mode until Nov.
After that the political uncertainty will be over, so the market might see a big rally after the election (?) But lots of landmines, Middle East, Ukraine, etc, so who knows. Because we don't know, I figure it makes sense to have all bases covered via the asset allocation model.
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Bigworld, >> $1.2 Trillion in interest on our debt <<
Yes, and as time goes on the Fed's policy options will be increasingly boxed in. They can't leave % rates high for too long since the huge national debt quickly becomes deadly.
The high US rates also are bad for emerging countries that have linked themselves to the US dollar, making them more likely to leave the fold and move toward BRICS. The high % rates will also lead to US / global recession, so Powell declares victory on inflation and starts cutting % rates. While the official inflation numbers have come down, to what extent is this data being massaged? We know the official inflation and employment numbers have been manipulated for decades.
The bigger picture --> what happens when the US debt moves past 40 tril toward $50 tril? I'm figuring $50 tril is the tipping point where global confidence in the US dollar can really crumble. So in ~ 5 years investors will need to be out of bonds and mainly in hard asset areas.
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The Deadly Dream of Freedom -
Pisces at Noon -
Pisces at Noon -
Dawning -
Dawning -
Time of the Season -
Hold Your Head Up -
Badger Meter, Transcat - >>> Zacks Industry Outlook Watts Water Technologies, Badger Meter and Transcat
Zacks Equity Research
August 8, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zacks-industry-outlook-watts-water-083000714.html
3 Instruments Stocks Set to Ride on Digitized Technology Demand
The Zacks Instruments – Control industry is likely to benefit from the diligent focus on energy-efficient production processes and integrated software systems. Rising demand for state-of-the-art technology for replacing legacy industrial control systems with automated products is expected to aid growth.
However, elevated customer inventory levels amid a challenging geopolitical environment might hurt the process automation and instrumentation market. Nevertheless, Watts Water Technologies, Inc., Badger Meter, Inc. and Transcat, Inc. are likely to gain from high digitized technology demand, greater emphasis on energy efficiency, focus on cost-reduction initiatives and broad-based endorsement of industrial automation and optimum resource utilization.
Industry Description
The Zacks Instruments – Control industry comprises manufacturers of precision and specialty motion-control components and systems used in a wide range of industries. These companies deliver sophisticated flow measurement, control and communication solutions for air, water and other forms of gas and liquid used for commercial and residential purposes. The companies offer an array of products for fuel, combustion, fluid, actuation, electronic applications, energy control and optimization, particularly for the process industry. Some industry players offer heating, ventilation and air conditioning products. These include water heaters and electric heating systems for under-floor radiant applications for boiler manufacturers and alternative energy control packages. Few firms provide water reuse products, consisting of drainage and rainwater harvesting solutions.
What's Shaping the Future of Instruments - Control Industry
Thrust on Industrial Automation: Greater focus on increased adoption of automation across all industry verticals and higher investments in new technologies are expected to drive growth over the next few years. North America is expected to continue dominating the market in terms of adopting automation. Rising infrastructural investments in the energy and power sector, increasing demand for organic food and nutritional beverages, and favorable government policies are aiding growth. The pharmaceutical industry's process automation and instrumentation market is also growing due to low-cost factors and an evolving regulatory environment. Focus on high-quality equipment indicates progressive buyer maturity and willingness to partner with process control industry players.
Solid Traction From Green Fuels: The industry participants are increasingly gaining traction from solid demand for power generation, especially in Asia, and continued requirement for backup power for data centers. Higher demand across transportation and power generation markets, especially on-highway natural gas truck business in China, has led to healthy growth momentum. In addition, higher demand for alternative fuels across the marine industry and solid impetus in the global marine market brought on by higher utilization and rising shipbuilding rates are likely to be long-term growth drivers.
Margin Woes Persist: Material cost inflation, resulting from constant inflationary pressures, has been affecting industry players’ margins. Transportation costs are also on the rise. Moreover, high raw material prices due to inflation, escalating Middle East tensions, the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and the consequent economic sanctions against the Putin regime have affected the production schedules of various firms. While the companies are focused on improving their operating performances, the inability to obtain adequate supplies of raw materials and product parts at favorable prices is likely to hurt their businesses. With firms being unable to pass on the entire increase in raw material prices to customers due to stiff competition, profitability is mostly on the wane. The companies primarily operate in markets that are susceptible to high competitive pressures and are under constant threat from low-cost suppliers, primarily based in China. Due to an international footprint, these firms are further exposed to foreign exchange fluctuations that affect their cash flows. Changes in competitive conditions, including the availability of the latest products and services, the introduction of distribution channels and changes in OEM and aftermarket pricing, are likely to hamper operations and affect sales for industry participants.
Digitized Technologies at the Core: The industry’s growth is driven mainly by the emphasis on digitized technologies in manufacturing activities, such as the Industrial Internet of Things. The demand for process automation, instrumentation products, safety automation systems and multivariable pressure transmitters for the fast-track manufacturing process is likely to fuel long-term growth opportunities. The use of process instrumentation equipment offers a host of benefits, including improvement in the quality of the product and emission reduction. Therefore, the rapid adoption of technology across various industries and growing regulation and compliance requirements will continue to be major growth drivers. In addition, field instruments play a significant role in process control by measuring the key elements, such as temperature, pressure, flow and level, in process industries such as chemicals, mining and pharmaceuticals. These include transmitters that primarily measure the pressure, flow, temperature, level and humidity of liquids and gases, which are essential for achieving optimum productivity. A differentiated product offering gives greater opportunities for companies to strengthen their market positions.
3 Instruments Control Stocks to Keep an Eye on
Watts Water (WTS) : Headquartered in North Andover, MA, the company designs, manufactures and sells various water safety and flow control products to promote safety, energy efficiency and water conservation for commercial and residential buildings. It is benefiting from aggressive cost-reduction actions, along with a strong balance sheet. It is focused on enhancing organic growth, driving margin expansion and reinvesting in productivity initiatives. Watts Water aims to launch smart and connected products, which are likely to provide it with further differentiation in the marketplace. This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has a VGM Score of B. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 8% and delivered an earnings surprise of 11.7%, on average, in the trailing four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current and next-year earnings has been revised 10.3% and 6.6% upward, respectively, over the past year.
Badger Meter (BMI) : Headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, the company provides flow measurement, control and communications solutions, serving water and gas utilities, municipalities and industrial customers worldwide. Its products measure water, oil, chemicals and other fluids, and are known for accuracy, long-lasting durability and providing valuable and timely measurement data. With its industry-leading ORION Cellular endpoints, along with communication and software technologies, Badger Meter is focused on creating robust digital solutions to operationalize real-time data into actionable insights. Its BEACON software-as-a-service offering facilitates the collection and analysis of data within the distribution network to improve operational awareness. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current and next-year earnings for the stock has been revised 31% and 36.1% upward, respectively, over the past year. The stock has gained 14.5% in the past year. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 17.9% and delivered an earnings surprise of 12.9%, on average, in the trailing four quarters. Badger Meter sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Transcat (TRNS): Headquartered in Rochester, NY, Transcat is a leading provider of accredited calibration, repair, inspection and laboratory instrument services. It is focused on providing best-in-class services and products to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and other FDA-regulated businesses, aerospace and defense, and energy and utilities. The buyouts of Complete Calibrations provide Transcat with a local calibration presence to support the robust and growing life science market in Ireland, while the acquisition of Cleveland, OH-based e2b Calibration will likely help it strengthen its presence across the United States and Canada. The stock has gained 21.8% over the past year. It delivered an earnings surprise of 33.3%, on average, in the trailing four quarters and currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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BMI, TRNS, WTS - >>> Zacks Industry Outlook Watts Water Technologies, Badger Meter and Transcat
Zacks Equity Research
August 8, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zacks-industry-outlook-watts-water-083000714.html
3 Instruments Stocks Set to Ride on Digitized Technology Demand
The Zacks Instruments – Control industry is likely to benefit from the diligent focus on energy-efficient production processes and integrated software systems. Rising demand for state-of-the-art technology for replacing legacy industrial control systems with automated products is expected to aid growth.
However, elevated customer inventory levels amid a challenging geopolitical environment might hurt the process automation and instrumentation market. Nevertheless, Watts Water Technologies, Inc., Badger Meter, Inc. and Transcat, Inc. are likely to gain from high digitized technology demand, greater emphasis on energy efficiency, focus on cost-reduction initiatives and broad-based endorsement of industrial automation and optimum resource utilization.
Industry Description
The Zacks Instruments – Control industry comprises manufacturers of precision and specialty motion-control components and systems used in a wide range of industries. These companies deliver sophisticated flow measurement, control and communication solutions for air, water and other forms of gas and liquid used for commercial and residential purposes. The companies offer an array of products for fuel, combustion, fluid, actuation, electronic applications, energy control and optimization, particularly for the process industry. Some industry players offer heating, ventilation and air conditioning products. These include water heaters and electric heating systems for under-floor radiant applications for boiler manufacturers and alternative energy control packages. Few firms provide water reuse products, consisting of drainage and rainwater harvesting solutions.
What's Shaping the Future of Instruments - Control Industry
Thrust on Industrial Automation: Greater focus on increased adoption of automation across all industry verticals and higher investments in new technologies are expected to drive growth over the next few years. North America is expected to continue dominating the market in terms of adopting automation. Rising infrastructural investments in the energy and power sector, increasing demand for organic food and nutritional beverages, and favorable government policies are aiding growth. The pharmaceutical industry's process automation and instrumentation market is also growing due to low-cost factors and an evolving regulatory environment. Focus on high-quality equipment indicates progressive buyer maturity and willingness to partner with process control industry players.
Solid Traction From Green Fuels: The industry participants are increasingly gaining traction from solid demand for power generation, especially in Asia, and continued requirement for backup power for data centers. Higher demand across transportation and power generation markets, especially on-highway natural gas truck business in China, has led to healthy growth momentum. In addition, higher demand for alternative fuels across the marine industry and solid impetus in the global marine market brought on by higher utilization and rising shipbuilding rates are likely to be long-term growth drivers.
Margin Woes Persist: Material cost inflation, resulting from constant inflationary pressures, has been affecting industry players’ margins. Transportation costs are also on the rise. Moreover, high raw material prices due to inflation, escalating Middle East tensions, the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and the consequent economic sanctions against the Putin regime have affected the production schedules of various firms. While the companies are focused on improving their operating performances, the inability to obtain adequate supplies of raw materials and product parts at favorable prices is likely to hurt their businesses. With firms being unable to pass on the entire increase in raw material prices to customers due to stiff competition, profitability is mostly on the wane. The companies primarily operate in markets that are susceptible to high competitive pressures and are under constant threat from low-cost suppliers, primarily based in China. Due to an international footprint, these firms are further exposed to foreign exchange fluctuations that affect their cash flows. Changes in competitive conditions, including the availability of the latest products and services, the introduction of distribution channels and changes in OEM and aftermarket pricing, are likely to hamper operations and affect sales for industry participants.
Digitized Technologies at the Core: The industry’s growth is driven mainly by the emphasis on digitized technologies in manufacturing activities, such as the Industrial Internet of Things. The demand for process automation, instrumentation products, safety automation systems and multivariable pressure transmitters for the fast-track manufacturing process is likely to fuel long-term growth opportunities. The use of process instrumentation equipment offers a host of benefits, including improvement in the quality of the product and emission reduction. Therefore, the rapid adoption of technology across various industries and growing regulation and compliance requirements will continue to be major growth drivers. In addition, field instruments play a significant role in process control by measuring the key elements, such as temperature, pressure, flow and level, in process industries such as chemicals, mining and pharmaceuticals. These include transmitters that primarily measure the pressure, flow, temperature, level and humidity of liquids and gases, which are essential for achieving optimum productivity. A differentiated product offering gives greater opportunities for companies to strengthen their market positions.
3 Instruments Control Stocks to Keep an Eye on
Watts Water (WTS) : Headquartered in North Andover, MA, the company designs, manufactures and sells various water safety and flow control products to promote safety, energy efficiency and water conservation for commercial and residential buildings. It is benefiting from aggressive cost-reduction actions, along with a strong balance sheet. It is focused on enhancing organic growth, driving margin expansion and reinvesting in productivity initiatives. Watts Water aims to launch smart and connected products, which are likely to provide it with further differentiation in the marketplace. This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has a VGM Score of B. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 8% and delivered an earnings surprise of 11.7%, on average, in the trailing four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current and next-year earnings has been revised 10.3% and 6.6% upward, respectively, over the past year.
Badger Meter (BMI) : Headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, the company provides flow measurement, control and communications solutions, serving water and gas utilities, municipalities and industrial customers worldwide. Its products measure water, oil, chemicals and other fluids, and are known for accuracy, long-lasting durability and providing valuable and timely measurement data. With its industry-leading ORION Cellular endpoints, along with communication and software technologies, Badger Meter is focused on creating robust digital solutions to operationalize real-time data into actionable insights. Its BEACON software-as-a-service offering facilitates the collection and analysis of data within the distribution network to improve operational awareness. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current and next-year earnings for the stock has been revised 31% and 36.1% upward, respectively, over the past year. The stock has gained 14.5% in the past year. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 17.9% and delivered an earnings surprise of 12.9%, on average, in the trailing four quarters. Badger Meter sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Transcat (TRNS): Headquartered in Rochester, NY, Transcat is a leading provider of accredited calibration, repair, inspection and laboratory instrument services. It is focused on providing best-in-class services and products to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and other FDA-regulated businesses, aerospace and defense, and energy and utilities. The buyouts of Complete Calibrations provide Transcat with a local calibration presence to support the robust and growing life science market in Ireland, while the acquisition of Cleveland, OH-based e2b Calibration will likely help it strengthen its presence across the United States and Canada. The stock has gained 21.8% over the past year. It delivered an earnings surprise of 33.3%, on average, in the trailing four quarters and currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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BMI, TRNS, WTS - >>> Zacks Industry Outlook Watts Water Technologies, Badger Meter and Transcat
Zacks Equity Research
August 8, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zacks-industry-outlook-watts-water-083000714.html
3 Instruments Stocks Set to Ride on Digitized Technology Demand
The Zacks Instruments – Control industry is likely to benefit from the diligent focus on energy-efficient production processes and integrated software systems. Rising demand for state-of-the-art technology for replacing legacy industrial control systems with automated products is expected to aid growth.
However, elevated customer inventory levels amid a challenging geopolitical environment might hurt the process automation and instrumentation market. Nevertheless, Watts Water Technologies, Inc., Badger Meter, Inc. and Transcat, Inc. are likely to gain from high digitized technology demand, greater emphasis on energy efficiency, focus on cost-reduction initiatives and broad-based endorsement of industrial automation and optimum resource utilization.
Industry Description
The Zacks Instruments – Control industry comprises manufacturers of precision and specialty motion-control components and systems used in a wide range of industries. These companies deliver sophisticated flow measurement, control and communication solutions for air, water and other forms of gas and liquid used for commercial and residential purposes. The companies offer an array of products for fuel, combustion, fluid, actuation, electronic applications, energy control and optimization, particularly for the process industry. Some industry players offer heating, ventilation and air conditioning products. These include water heaters and electric heating systems for under-floor radiant applications for boiler manufacturers and alternative energy control packages. Few firms provide water reuse products, consisting of drainage and rainwater harvesting solutions.
What's Shaping the Future of Instruments - Control Industry
Thrust on Industrial Automation: Greater focus on increased adoption of automation across all industry verticals and higher investments in new technologies are expected to drive growth over the next few years. North America is expected to continue dominating the market in terms of adopting automation. Rising infrastructural investments in the energy and power sector, increasing demand for organic food and nutritional beverages, and favorable government policies are aiding growth. The pharmaceutical industry's process automation and instrumentation market is also growing due to low-cost factors and an evolving regulatory environment. Focus on high-quality equipment indicates progressive buyer maturity and willingness to partner with process control industry players.
Solid Traction From Green Fuels: The industry participants are increasingly gaining traction from solid demand for power generation, especially in Asia, and continued requirement for backup power for data centers. Higher demand across transportation and power generation markets, especially on-highway natural gas truck business in China, has led to healthy growth momentum. In addition, higher demand for alternative fuels across the marine industry and solid impetus in the global marine market brought on by higher utilization and rising shipbuilding rates are likely to be long-term growth drivers.
Margin Woes Persist: Material cost inflation, resulting from constant inflationary pressures, has been affecting industry players’ margins. Transportation costs are also on the rise. Moreover, high raw material prices due to inflation, escalating Middle East tensions, the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and the consequent economic sanctions against the Putin regime have affected the production schedules of various firms. While the companies are focused on improving their operating performances, the inability to obtain adequate supplies of raw materials and product parts at favorable prices is likely to hurt their businesses. With firms being unable to pass on the entire increase in raw material prices to customers due to stiff competition, profitability is mostly on the wane. The companies primarily operate in markets that are susceptible to high competitive pressures and are under constant threat from low-cost suppliers, primarily based in China. Due to an international footprint, these firms are further exposed to foreign exchange fluctuations that affect their cash flows. Changes in competitive conditions, including the availability of the latest products and services, the introduction of distribution channels and changes in OEM and aftermarket pricing, are likely to hamper operations and affect sales for industry participants.
Digitized Technologies at the Core: The industry’s growth is driven mainly by the emphasis on digitized technologies in manufacturing activities, such as the Industrial Internet of Things. The demand for process automation, instrumentation products, safety automation systems and multivariable pressure transmitters for the fast-track manufacturing process is likely to fuel long-term growth opportunities. The use of process instrumentation equipment offers a host of benefits, including improvement in the quality of the product and emission reduction. Therefore, the rapid adoption of technology across various industries and growing regulation and compliance requirements will continue to be major growth drivers. In addition, field instruments play a significant role in process control by measuring the key elements, such as temperature, pressure, flow and level, in process industries such as chemicals, mining and pharmaceuticals. These include transmitters that primarily measure the pressure, flow, temperature, level and humidity of liquids and gases, which are essential for achieving optimum productivity. A differentiated product offering gives greater opportunities for companies to strengthen their market positions.
3 Instruments Control Stocks to Keep an Eye on
Watts Water (WTS) : Headquartered in North Andover, MA, the company designs, manufactures and sells various water safety and flow control products to promote safety, energy efficiency and water conservation for commercial and residential buildings. It is benefiting from aggressive cost-reduction actions, along with a strong balance sheet. It is focused on enhancing organic growth, driving margin expansion and reinvesting in productivity initiatives. Watts Water aims to launch smart and connected products, which are likely to provide it with further differentiation in the marketplace. This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has a VGM Score of B. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 8% and delivered an earnings surprise of 11.7%, on average, in the trailing four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current and next-year earnings has been revised 10.3% and 6.6% upward, respectively, over the past year.
Badger Meter (BMI) : Headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, the company provides flow measurement, control and communications solutions, serving water and gas utilities, municipalities and industrial customers worldwide. Its products measure water, oil, chemicals and other fluids, and are known for accuracy, long-lasting durability and providing valuable and timely measurement data. With its industry-leading ORION Cellular endpoints, along with communication and software technologies, Badger Meter is focused on creating robust digital solutions to operationalize real-time data into actionable insights. Its BEACON software-as-a-service offering facilitates the collection and analysis of data within the distribution network to improve operational awareness. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current and next-year earnings for the stock has been revised 31% and 36.1% upward, respectively, over the past year. The stock has gained 14.5% in the past year. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 17.9% and delivered an earnings surprise of 12.9%, on average, in the trailing four quarters. Badger Meter sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Transcat (TRNS): Headquartered in Rochester, NY, Transcat is a leading provider of accredited calibration, repair, inspection and laboratory instrument services. It is focused on providing best-in-class services and products to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and other FDA-regulated businesses, aerospace and defense, and energy and utilities. The buyouts of Complete Calibrations provide Transcat with a local calibration presence to support the robust and growing life science market in Ireland, while the acquisition of Cleveland, OH-based e2b Calibration will likely help it strengthen its presence across the United States and Canada. The stock has gained 21.8% over the past year. It delivered an earnings surprise of 33.3%, on average, in the trailing four quarters and currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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Bigworld, Based on Rickards' recent info (see last post), the goal of Ukraine's move directly into Russia was to capture the Kursk nuclear powerplant and use it as leverage (see last post). So just when you think things couldn't get crazier, they do. Having apparently failed in the attempt, Zelensky & Co can be expected to threaten Russia's nuclear plants with drone or missile attacks (?)
Kissinger was right ---> the world needs to get this Ukraine war ended ASAP, or risk bumbling into WW 3. Zelensky has cancelled Ukrainian elections twice, since he knows the people of Ukraine would send him packing. He needs to join Netanyahu in a prison cell for a repeat of the Nuremburg trials.
Kursk Nuclear Power Plant -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kursk_Nuclear_Power_Plant
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