During these busy times, it pays to stay on top of the latest profit opportunities, and today’s blog post is a great place to start.

After taking a close look at the latest data on institutional buying pressure and each company’s fundamental health, I decided to revise my Portfolio Grader recommendations for 113 big blue chips.

Chances are that you have at least one of these stocks in your portfolio, so you may want to give this list a skim and act accordingly.

This Week’s Ratings Changes:

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2019: Town Sports International Holdings, Inc.(CLUB)

Advisors’ Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Town Sports International (CLUB)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLUB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $14.85 and last traded at $14.22, with a volume of 6778 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.65.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  ClubCoin (CLUB) is a PoW/PoS coin that uses the
  Proof of Stake hashing algorithm. Its genesis date was October 21st, 2015. ClubCoin’s total supply is 99,422,559 coins. ClubCoin’s official Twitter account is @clubcoin_co and its Facebook page is accessible here. The official website for ClubCoin is clubcoin.co.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  ClubCoin (CURRENCY:CLUB) traded 1.9% higher against the US dollar during the twenty-four hour period ending at 0:00 AM Eastern on February 2nd. One ClubCoin coin can now be purchased for about $0.37 or 0.00010522 BTC on popular exchanges including Trade Satoshi and YoBit. ClubCoin has a market capitalization of $0.00 and $15,235.00 worth of ClubCoin was traded on exchanges in the last day. During the last seven days, ClubCoin has traded down 5.3% against the US dollar.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  ClubCoin (CURRENCY:CLUB) traded up 18.2% against the dollar during the one day period ending at 16:00 PM E.T. on July 20th. One ClubCoin coin can now be purchased for about $0.66 or 0.00009000 BTC on exchanges. In the last seven days, ClubCoin has traded up 41.8% against the dollar. ClubCoin has a total market capitalization of $0.00 and $11,282.00 worth of ClubCoin was traded on exchanges in the last day.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  ClubCoin (CURRENCY:CLUB) traded up 24.9% against the dollar during the 1 day period ending at 10:00 AM Eastern on August 28th. One ClubCoin coin can currently be purchased for approximately $0.63 or 0.00008900 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges. In the last seven days, ClubCoin has traded 78.8% higher against the dollar. ClubCoin has a total market capitalization of $0.00 and approximately $67,516.00 worth of ClubCoin was traded on exchanges in the last day.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2019: GSE Systems, Inc.(GVP)

Advisors’ Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  GSE Systems (NYSEAMERICAN:GVP) SVP Daniel Warren Pugh sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.75, for a total value of $16,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $193,548.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2019: Applied Materials, Inc.(AMAT)

Advisors’ Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Ostrum Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 214.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,386 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,857 shares during the period. Ostrum Asset Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  Crude oil prices continue to remain in focus after Brent crude hit $80.00 per barrel. The benchmark crude touched $80.00, as markets are concerned about the impact renewed Iranian sanctions will have on global supply. French oil giant Total announced Wednesday that it was abandoning a gas project in Iran after failing to obtain a waiver from the Trump administration to do business in Iran. The sanctions are expected to decline global output at a time that OPEC is already working diligently to push oil prices higher by containing excessive global production.
  Four Stocks to Watch Today: JCP, BABA, F, KR
  Shares of JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) are ticking higher after its earnings report before the bell. Yesterday, retail companies were stunned by the 11% jump for its rival Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) stock thanks to a strong first-quarter report. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) is generating a lot of buzz as investors monitor trade relations between the United States and China. BABA stock had slumped by 18% thanks to trade restrictions on Chinese companies. Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) announced it will restart production of its popular F-150 pickup truck at its Dearborn, Mich., facility. The company recently suspended operations after a fire damaged supplies needed for manufacturing. The F-150 is the most popular consumer vehicle in the United States. In an effort to beat back the growth of Wal-Mart and Amazon, grocery giant Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) announced a deal to purchase a 5% stake in British online supermarket Ocado. The deal will allow Kroger to utilize the UK firm’s warehouse automation technology in the United States and improve its supply chain costs. Look for additional earnings reports from Applied Materials Inc. (Nasdaq: AMAT), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), The Children’s Place Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCE), Teekay Corp. (NYSE: TK), and Quantum Corp. (NYSE: QTM).

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• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers
  ReTo Eco-Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: RETO) fell 9.3 percent to $4.50 in pre-market trading.
  ProPhase Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRPH) shares fell 8.5 percent to $4.50 in pre-market trading after dropping 3.53 percent on Thursday.
  Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) fell 7.5 percent to $47.10 in pre-market trading. Nordstrom reported upbeat results for its first quarter. Comparable-store sales rose 0.6 percent.
  Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) shares fell 6 percent to $263.00 in pre-market trading. Baidu disclosed that its COO Qi Lu will step down in July 2018.
  Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) shares fell 5.6 percent to $8.98 in pre-market trading after climbing 11.88 percent on Thursday.
  Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) fell 5 percent to $51.30 in pre-market trading. Applied Materials reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter, but issued weak sales outlook for the third quarter.
  Blink Charging Co. (NASDAQ: BLNK) fell 5 percent to $7.61 in pre-market trading after rising 11.40 percent on Thursday.
  Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) shares fell 4.7 percent to $255.77 in pre-market trading.
  Vascular Biogenics Ltd (NASDAQ: VBLT) fell 4.6 percent to $2.10 in pre-market trading after reporting a first-quarter earnings miss.
  Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) fell 3.3 percent to $37.60 in pre-market trading. Campbell Soup reported upbeat Q3 earnings, but sales missed estimates. The company also lowered its FY18 outlook.
  ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAD) shares fell 2.7 percent to $17.65 in pre-market trading after reporting a 7.2 million common stock offering

• [By Chris Lange]

  Short interest in Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) fell to 16.35 million shares. The previous reading was 18.30 million. Shares were trading at $45.20, in a 52-week range of $41.94 to $62.40.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2019: iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. (ITHUF)

Advisors’ Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  It’s not even just a Canadian problem. iAnthus Capital Holdings (NASDAQOTH:ITHUF), a vertically integrated cannabis dispensary with a focus on the U.S. market, recently closed on its purchase of MPX Bioceutical. This roughly $600 million deal increases the number of states iAnthus has access to from six to 11, and lifts its retail license count to 63. But take a gander at its most recent quarterly filing and you’ll see that CA$7.2 million in goodwill has not so magically transformed into CA$75.9 million in goodwill over a nine-month period, through Sept. 30, 2018. This represents 55% of the company’s total assets.

• [By Keith Speights]

  Marijuana grower

  Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE:CGC) $5.8 billion
    Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQOTH: ACBFF) $2.9 billion
    Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY) $2.3 billion
    Aphria (NASDAQOTH: APHQF) $1.9 billion
    MedMen Enterprises (NASDAQOTH: MMNFF) $1.3 billion
    Cronos Group (NASDAQ: CRON) $1 billion
    The Green Organic Dutchman (NASDAQOTH: TGODF) $1 billion
    The Hydropothecary (NASDAQOTH: HYYDF) $728 million
    CannTrust Holdings (NASDAQOTH: CNTTF) $513 million
    Organigram Holdings (NASDAQOTH: OGRMF) $509 million
    Marimed (NASDAQOTH: MRMD) $472 million
    TerrAscend (NASDAQOTH: TRSSF) $398 million
    Auxly Cannabis (NASDAQOTH: CBWTF) $368 million
    iAnthus Capital Holdings (NASDAQOTH: ITHUF) $367 million
    Medical Marijuana (NASDAQOTH: MJNA) $330 million
    CV Sciences (NASDAQOTH: CVSI) $299 million
    Emerald Health Therapeutics (NASDAQOTH: EMHTF) $287 million
    Supreme Cannabis (NASDAQOTH: SPRWF) $277 million
    Smart Cannabis (NASDAQOTH: SCNA) $276 million
    MPX Bioceutical (NASDAQOTH: MPXEF) $234 million
    AusCann Group Holdings (NASDAQOTH: ACNNF) $223 million
    Liberty Health Sciences (NASDAQOTH: LHSIF) $213 million

  Biotech

• [By Sean Williams]

  For instance, iAnthus Capital Holding (NASDAQOTH:ITHUF) recently completed the largest U.S. deal to date by purchasing MPX Bioceutical for around $600 million. (This deal will be eclipsed by MedMen’s purchase of PharmaCann, once that deal closes.) Though it’s unclear what sort of premium iAnthus paid for MPX Bioceutical as of yet, a quick glance at iAnthus Capital’s balance sheet shows that 55% of its total assets are currently tied up in goodwill. Since the dispensary space will presumably have plenty of competition, it’s unclear if iAnthus (or other acquisition-hungry dispensaries) will be able to recoup the premium it’s paid to buy other businesses. This leaves the door open for hefty future writedowns.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2019: United Microelectronics Corporation(UMC)

Advisors’ Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Here are some of the media stories that may have effected Accern’s analysis:

  Get UMC alerts:

  UMC – United Microelectronics Corporation: UMC Shareholders Elect 14th Term of Directors at Annual Shareholders Meeting (twst.com) UPDATE: Bernstein Upgrades United Microelectronics (UMC) to Market Perform (streetinsider.com) UMC’s new burn center fills three-decade need in New Orleans (neworleanscitybusiness.com) Community breakfast at Sparta UMC is open to all (mlive.com) Shopper News blog: Beaver Ridge UMC youth — ‘we’re there to help’ (knoxnews.com)

  A number of brokerages recently commented on UMC. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of UMC from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $2.10 to $2.60 in a research report on Sunday. ValuEngine cut shares of UMC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. UMC presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.60.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Shares of United Microelectronics Corp (NYSE:UMC) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.19.

• [By Money Morning News Team]

  United Microelectronics Corp. (NYSE: UMC) is a semiconductor company based in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

  Founded as Taiwan’s first semiconductor company in 1980, UMC is best known for manufacturing integrated circuits used by larger semiconductor companies like Nvidia Corp. (Nasdaq: NVDA) in their products.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2019: Energy Transfer Equity, L.P.(ETE)

Advisors’ Opinion:

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Like last quarter, Energy Transfer Partners delivered strong earnings and cash flow growth. Because of that, the company was able to cover its jaw-dropping 12.4%-yielding distribution by a healthy 1.15 times. That slight decline from the year-ago quarter was caused by parent company Energy Transfer Equity (NYSE:ETE) significantly reducing its support. For a better comparison, the coverage ratio would have still been a solid 1.1 in this year’s first quarter without any assistance from Energy Transfer Equity, while it would have been a worrisome 0.98 in the year-ago period without the parent company’s help. That improvement is exactly what investors wanted to see this quarter.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  This MLP brings the potential for solid growth and income. Energy Transfer Equity LP (NYSE: ETE) owns the general partner and 100% of the incentive distribution rights (IDRs) of Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco. The company also owns Lake Charles LNG. On a consolidated basis, the family of companies owns and operates a diverse portfolio of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products assets, as well as retail and wholesale motor fuel operations and liquefied natural gas terminaling.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer Equity LP Unit (NYSE:ETE) in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $23.00 target price on the pipeline company’s stock.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2019: VSE Corporation(VSEC)

Advisors’ Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Stantec (NYSE: STN) and VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

• [By Money Morning Staff Reports]

  Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) will increase its dividend forward yield by 10.26%, VSE Corp. (Nasdaq: VSEC) will increase its dividend payout by 14.29%, and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC) will increase its dividend payout by 26.67%.

• [By Tyler Crowe, Rich Smith, and Daniel Miller]

  In the spirit of Lynch’s investment principles, we asked three of our Motley Fool investors to each highlight a stock Wall Street isn’t paying much attention to, but could be a great investment. Here’s a brief look at their selections: WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC), Control4 (NASDAQ:CTRL), and VSE Corporation (NASDAQ:VSEC). 

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2019: AVG Technologies N.V.(AVG)

Advisors’ Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  FinnCap cut shares of Avingtrans (LON:AVG) to a corporate rating in a research report report published on Monday.

  Shares of LON:AVG opened at GBX 223 ($2.97) on Monday. Avingtrans has a one year low of GBX 174.11 ($2.32) and a one year high of GBX 260 ($3.46).

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2019: Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MDGL)

Advisors’ Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers
  Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDGL) shares surged 144.96 percent to close at $265.61 on Thursday in reaction to an encouraging Phase 2 clinical trial update. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company said its liver-directed, thyroid hormone receptor called MGL-3196 showed a statistical significance in the primary endpoint of lowering liver fat at 12 weeks and also 36 weeks.
  Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VKTX) shares rose 101.01 percent to close at $9.99 on Thursday after falling 4.42 percent on Wednesday.
  Akers Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKER) jumped 45.58 percent to close at $0.474. The developer of rapid health information technologies said Wednesday afternoon it was granted a 180-day extension from the Nasdaq Stock Market to meet the requirement of a minimum $1.00 per share closing bid price for 10 straight days.
  Kitov Pharma Ltd (NASDAQ: KTOV) gained 40.93 percent to close at $3.03 after the FDA approved Kitov's Consensi for the treatment of osteoarthritis pain and hypertension.
  China Customer Relations Centers, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCRC) rose 28.21 percent to close at $19.86.
  J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE: JILL) climbed 26.45 percent to close at $7.84 after the company posted upbeat quarterly earnings.
  Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS) shares climbed 21.93 percent to close at $2.78 in reaction to an encouraging FDA update. The biotechnology company that focuses on therapies for the treatment of cancer said the FDA granted a Fast Track designation for fimepinostat (CUDC-907) in patients with relapsed or refractory.
  Boxlight Corporation (NASDAQ: BOXL) gained 21.23 percent to close at $7.48.
  Kirkland's, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIRK) rose 16.21 percent to close at $12.83 after reporting upbeat Q1 results.
  The Brink's Company (NYSE: BCO) jumped 16.2 percent to close at $79.25 as the company announced plans to acquire Dunbar Armored for $520 million in cash.
  Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAOI) rose 15.14 percent to c
• [By Sean Williams, Chuck Saletta, and Brian Feroldi]

  In recent weeks, a couple of under-the-radar players have wowed Wall Street. Less than three weeks ago, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) reported top-line results from its 36-week phase 2 study involving MGL-3196 as a treatment for NASH. Overall, Madrigal’s liver biopsy results showed that 70% of patients with a more than 30% fat reduction at week 12 demonstrated a greater than two-point reduction in their NAFLD Activity Score by the 36th week. That was more than double the 32% of patients that demonstrated a similar response by taking the placebo. 

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:MDGL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 1,068 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,404% compared to the typical daily volume of 71 call options.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2019: BlackRock Utility and Infrastructure Trust(BUI)

Advisors’ Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Blackrock Utlts Infra&Pwr Oprtnt Trst (NYSE:BUI) announced a monthly dividend on Monday, October 1st, NASDAQ reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.121 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, October 31st. This represents a $1.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 12th.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Media stories about Blackrock Utlts Infra&Pwr Oprtnt Trst (NYSE:BUI) have trended somewhat negative this week, Accern reports. The research group identifies negative and positive press coverage by monitoring more than twenty million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Blackrock Utlts Infra&Pwr Oprtnt Trst earned a media sentiment score of 0.00 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave headlines about the real estate investment trust an impact score of 47.3004100251897 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near term.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Blackrock Utlts Infra&Pwr Oprtnt Trst (NYSE:BUI) declared a monthly dividend on Wednesday, August 1st, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.121 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, August 31st. This represents a $1.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 14th.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  News headlines about Blackrock Utlts Infra&Pwr Oprtnt Trst (NYSE:BUI) have trended somewhat positive on Sunday, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. Accern ranks the sentiment of press coverage by monitoring more than twenty million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Blackrock Utlts Infra&Pwr Oprtnt Trst earned a news impact score of 0.00 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news articles about the real estate investment trust an impact score of 47.4349959781156 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the near term.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blackrock Utlts Infra&Pwr Oprtnt Trst (NYSE:BUI) by 23.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 7,911 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Blackrock Utlts Infra&Pwr Oprtnt Trst worth $829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.