acquisition

CARBONITE INC., $16, is okay to hold given the strong possibility of a profitable takeover offer for investors. The company (Nasdaq symbol CARB; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 34.7 million; Market cap: $555.2 million; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Highest; www.carbonite.com) provides computer cloud backup and restore solutions....

With all stocks—but especially tech stocks—you can put the odds in your favour by investing in companies that have hidden assets. Most other investors overlook them.


Today’s best-hidden asset is research spending (see box this page). Both Adobe and ACI Worldwide look expensive in relation to their earnings....

China’s best stocks are set to move higher when it and the U.S. end their tariff war and the Chinese economy returns to faster growth. Still, to cut risk, you should limit yourself to Chinese companies offering American depositary receipts (ADRs) on U.S. exchanges.


PINDUODUO INC....

7 Secrets to Unlocking Value Stocks, our free report, gives you the keys to value investing, including how to discover the hidden value that can unlock explosive growth.

A: NICE Ltd. (ADR), $152.79, symbol NICE on Nasdaq (ADRs outstanding: 62.3 billion; Market cap: $9.6 billion; www.nice.com), is an Israel-based company, specializing in telephone voice recording, data security and surveillance, as well as systems that analyze this recorded data....

A: Lloyds Banking Group plc (ADR), $3.07, symbol LYG on New York (ADRs outstanding: 17.6 billion; Market cap: $50.6 billion; www.lloydsbankinggroup.com) offers a range of banking and financial services through its subsidiaries and associated companies....

IGM FINANCIAL INC. $37 (Toronto symbol IGM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares o/s: 239.3 million; Market cap: $8.9 billion; P/S ratio: 2.6; Divd. yield: 6.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.igmfinancial.com) had $159.7 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2019....

We continue to believe investors benefit from holding a small portion of their portfolios in aggressive stocks. That includes the three we analyze below.


Computer outsourcing specialist CGI remains our top aggressive pick, It has handed our investors a 30% gain in the past year.


We also recommend holding BlackBerry and Bombardier while they transform their businesses....

In addition to TC Energy (see page 101), we see Enbridge and Emera as solid long-term holdings for income-seeking investors.


Their recent acquisition of U.S. firms has broadened each company’s geographic footprint and will spur growth—as well as dividends—for years to come.


However, we think Emera is the better choice for new buying....

A: TransAlta Renewables, $13.83, symbol RNW on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 264.3 million; Market cap: $3.7 billion; www.transaltarenewables.com), is one of the largest generators of wind power in Canada and is among the country’s largest publicly traded renewable power companies.

TransAlta Renewables owns 21 wind farms, 13 hydroelectric facilities, seven natural gas generation plants, one solar facility and one natural gas pipeline....