Barron's Picks And Pans: Spark Therapeutics, Six Flags, Oracle And More

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  • This weekend's Barron's cover story three stock picks on the forefront of gene therapy.
  • Other featured articles discuss a theme-park operator may have peaked and a database giant that has been slow to build a cloud business.
  • Artificial intelligence plays and consumer discretionary stocks are also examined.

"Gene Therapy Is Nearing a Major Breakthrough," the latest cover story by Andrew Bary, points out therapies that replace faulty genes with healthy ones to cure deadly diseases are generating exciting lab results. How can investors play this trend? Three featured stocks have a stake in this medical breakthrough. See the outlook for Spark Therapeutics Inc ONCE and the others.

Bill Alpert's "Will Investors' Six Flags Thrill Ride End" suggests that the stock of this theme-park operator may have seen a peak. Six Flags Entertainment Corp SIX has enjoyed rising shares, big payouts and stock buybacks, but the company now faces more competition and slower growth. See what Barron's feels are the prospects as Six Flags and its competitors as they look abroad for growth.

In "Oracle Turns Its Sights on the Cloud–at Last," Jack Hough makes a case that this database giant has been slow to build a cloud business, but Oracle Corporation ORCL has picked up the pace now. And a retreat in the shares offers a buying opportunity for investors, says Barron's, as the company's transformation continues apace, even as its lucrative legacy business is stabilizing.

See also: September Is Called The 'Banana Peel' Month For Stocks; Here's Why

As everyday items get "smart," the technology around artificial intelligence gets more real, according to "The Natural Evolution of Artificial Intelligence" by Tiernan Ray. The rising stars in this drama include programmable chip maker Xilinx, Inc. XLNX and chip design software provider Cadence Design Systems Inc CDNS, as well as many others.

In Lawrence C. Strauss', "Beware, Income Investors," see why Barron's claims that consumer discretionary stocks are more volatile and lower-yielding than staples shares, but they often have stronger rebounds. Among those with yields more generous than average are automakers Ford Motor Company F and General Motors Company GM.

Also In This Week's Barron's

  • Barron's Penta monthly.
  • Warren Buffett predicts Dow 1,000,000.
  • Aircraft makers and suppliers face off.
  • The coming of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
  • The credibility of the Republican tax cut plan.
  • Puerto Rico bonds after Hurricane Maria.
  • Whether Facebook Inc FB faces a government crackdown.
  • Charts that could signal the end of the stock rally.
  • The Greta Garbo of private banking.
Related Link: This App Is Trying To Make Saving As Easy As Spending
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Posted In: Barron'sTop StoriesMediaTrading IdeasBarron'sCadence Design SystemsFacebookFordGeneral MotorsGMOracleSix Flags EntertainmentSpark TherapeuticsWarren BuffettXilinx
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