Halister News

(Bloomberg) -- FedEx (FDX), which jumped 12% on Thursday after the company raised its full-year earnings forecast, has an additional 15%-20% upside for the rest of 2016, Barron’s said in the March 21 issue.

• CEO Fred Smith dismisses competitive threat from Amazon (AMZN) as competitor to FDX and United Parcel (UPS); risk had been overhang for shares. “Amazon delivers, but it isn’t a transportation company,” Smith said in an interview with Barron’s. “Neither is my florist.”

• Barron’s noted that Germany’s DHL Express gave up on the U.S. delivery market in 2009 after running up massive losses from trying to compete with FedEx and UPS.

Other highlights from this week’s Barron’s (subscription required):

• Illumina (ILMN), the dominant player in the gene-sequencing market, could rise 50% due to a growing market for its machines, Barron’s said. The shares have slumped to about $150 since last July, from $242.37, as part of a wider collapse in health-care and biotech stocks. Illumina dropped 6.9% on March 8 following news that CEO Jay Flatley would step down in July to become executive chairman.

• Twitter (TWTR) continues to lag, and its prospects aren’t getting better, Barron’s said. The service known for 140- character real-time messaging has dropped 27% this year and is down 65% over the previous 12 months. The big problem is that despite its popularity in the world of social media, advertisers prefer Facebook (FB) by a large margin, Barron’s said.

• Smurfit Kappa (SKG ID) is worth 40% more than its current value, Barron’s said. The maker of paper packaging trails rivals despite rising earnings. Shifting its primary listing from Ireland to the London Stock Exchange next month should draw more investor attention and improve its prospects.

• Guggenheim Total Return Bond Fund (GIBAX) has gained 3.1% annually since its launch in November 2011, Barron’s reports, outperforming 98% of intermediate-term bond funds tracked by Morningstar.

• Tyson Foods (TSN) is up 66% since May, and the company has more growth in store, Barron’s said. Yet the stock valuation may be getting ahead of itself, the magazine said. Tyson now carries a price-earnings ratio of almost 19.