Sunday, November 30, 2014

Hot Oil Service Stocks To Own Right Now

Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT  ) is going through an identity crisis of sorts that I'm surprised hasn't raised some legal red flags or caused more concern on Wall Street. The company maintains its main operational office in Houston, was formerly legally based in Bermuda, moved to Switzerland in 2009, and now seeks the greener pastures of Ireland to operate at lower costs and further attract top talent. What's going on here? Is Weatherford gaming the system, or�is it�possibly hiding something? One thing's for sure, this is perfectly legal but something sure doesn't smell right since tax shelters are increasingly being vilified in political circles here in the�United States. Ireland has also been under pressure to make�its tax structures harder to abuse by multinational corporations.�

The oil services player has been looking to capitalize on the favorable tax structure that�the Swiss have benefited for years and years. With greater international scrutiny of Swiss tax laws as well as top executive and board member pay, Weatherford is now hoping to incorporate in Ireland while maintaining its tax domicile in Switzerland. Keep in mind that�tech companies like Apple, Google, and even Facebook�all take advantage of Ireland's favorable tax rate environment. That doesn't make it right for Weatherford to follow�the same�path.�

Top 5 Healthcare Equipment Companies To Invest In 2015: Ameren Corp (AEE)

Ameren Corporation (Ameren), incorporated on August 7, 1995, is a utility holding company. The Company�� principal subsidiaries are Union Electric Company (Ameren Missouri) and Ameren Illinois Company (Ameren Illinois). The Company's segments include Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois. Ameren Missouri operates a rate-regulated electric generation, transmission and distribution business, and a rate-regulated natural gas transmission and distribution business in Missouri. Ameren Illinois operates a rate-regulated electric and natural gas transmission and distribution business in Illinois. AER consists of non-rate-regulated operations, including Ameren Energy Generating Company (Genco), AmerenEnergy Resources Generating Company (AERG) and Ameren Energy Marketing Company (Marketing Company). In December 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the divestiture of its merchant generation business, formerly known as Ameren Energy Resources Company, LLC (AER).

Ameren Missouri supplies electric and natural gas service to a 24,000-square-mile area in central and eastern Missouri. This area has an estimated population of 2.8 million and includes the Greater St. Louis area. Ameren Missouri supplies electric service to 1.2 million customers and natural gas service to 127,000 customers. Ameren Illinois supplies electric and natural gas utility service to portions of central and southern Illinois having an estimated population of 3.1 million in an area of 40,000 square miles. Ameren Illinois supplies electric service to 1.2 million customers and natural gas service to 806,000 customers. Ameren has other subsidiaries responsible for activities, such as the provision of shared services. Ameren owns an integrated transmission system that consists of the transmission assets of Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois and ATXI.

Ameren operates two balancing authority areas, AMMO (which includes Ameren Missouri), and AMIL (which includes Ameren Illinois, ATXI, AERG, and Genco excluding EEI an! d Genco�� Elgin CT energy center). During the year ended December 31, 2012, the peak demand was 8,868 megawatts in AMMO and 9,720 megawatts in AMIL. The Ameren transmission system directly connects with 15 other balancing authority areas for the exchange of electric energy. Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois and ATXI are transmission-owning members of MISO. EEI operates its own balancing authority area and its own transmission facilities in southern Illinois. The EEI transmission system is directly connected to the transmission systems of MISO, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and Louisville Gas and Electric Company. EEI�� energy centers are dispatched separately from those of Ameren Missouri, Genco and AERG.

Ameren�� portfolio of natural gas supply resources includes firm transportation capacity and firm no-notice storage capacity leased from interstate pipelines. Ameren Missouri primarily use the interstate pipeline systems of Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company, Trunkline Gas Company, Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, and Mississippi River Transmission Corporation to transport natural gas to energy centers. Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois develop and manage a portfolio supply under term agreements with producers, interstate and intrastate firm transportation capacity, firm storage capacity leased from interstate pipelines, and on-system storage facilities to maintain natural gas deliveries to customers throughout the year and especially during peak demand periods. Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois primarily use Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company, Trunkline Gas Company, Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, Mississippi River Transmission Corporation, Northern Border Pipeline Company, and Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation interstate pipeline systems to transport natural gas to their systems.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Justin Loiseau]

    Stable earnings are a result of a plethora of factors, but friendly regulation is the best starting point. Ameren (NYSE: AEE  ) is making major strides in Illinois legislature, with recent wins for both smart grid modernization projects and $330 million more in natural gas investments.

  • [By Justin Loiseau]

    The Illinois Senate approved new legislation on Tuesday that would allow Ameren (NYSE: AEE  ) to invest $330 million more in its natural gas delivery system, according to an Ameren press release.

  • [By Justin Loiseau]

    Regulatory resilience
    Ameren (NYSE: AEE  ) and Dynegy (NYSE: DYN  ) aren't letting regulatory snafus get in the way of their plans. The two companies published a statement this week assuring investors that despite the Illinois Pollution Control Board's denial of a variance relief transfer, Dynegy still plans to acquire Ameren Energy Resources.

Hot Oil Service Stocks To Own Right Now: Rockwell Medical Technologies Inc.(RMTI)

Rockwell Medical Technologies, Inc. manufactures, sells, and distributes hemodialysis concentrate solutions and dialysis kits primarily in the United States, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. The company?s hemodialysis product duplicates kidney function in patients with failing kidneys, known as end stage renal disease, an advanced stage of chronic kidney disease; and dialysis solutions are used to maintain life, remove toxins, and replace nutrients in the dialysis patient?s bloodstream. Its products include Renal Pure and CitraPure liquid acid concentrate, Dri-Sate dry acid concentrate and mixing systems, RenalPure powder bicarbonate concentrate, and SteriLyte liquid bicarbonate concentrates; and various ancillary products comprising blood tubing, fistula needles, specialized custom kits, dressings, cleaning agents, filtration salts, and other supplies. The company also has a license to manufacture and sell soluble ferric pyrophosphate (SFP), a Phase III clinical trial p roduct to improve the treatment of dialysis patients with iron deficiency. Rockwell Medical Technologies sells its products to domestic hemodialysis providers through direct sales people and independent sales representation companies, as well as through independent sales agents and distributors internationally. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Wixom, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Rockwell Medical (NASDAQ: RMTI) was also down, falling 19.90 percent to $10.80 after Brean Capital initiated the company at a Sell rating and a $4 price target.

  • [By John Udovich]

    Small cap dialysis stock Rockwell Medical Inc (NASDAQ: RMTI) looks set to decline when the market opens after Brean Capital initiated coverage with a sell rating and a price target of $4.00, meaning it might be time to take a closer look at what is going on with the stock along with�the performance of large cap dialysis stocks DaVita Healthcare Partners (NYSE: DVA)�and Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE: FMS) along with small cap dialysis stocks NxStage Medical, Inc (NASDAQ: NXTM).�

  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    Rockwell Medical (RMTI) manufactures hemodialysis concentrate solutions and dialysis kits, and it sells, distributes and delivers these and other ancillary hemodialysis products primarily to hemodialysis providers in the U.S. and internationally. This stock closed up 5.3% to $5.17 in Tuesday's trading session.

    Tuesday's Range: $4.89-$5.25

    52-Week Range: $3.16-$8.59

    Tuesday's Volume: 1.15 million

    Three-Month Average Volume: 1.26 million

    From a technical perspective, RMTI bounced sharply higher here right above some near-term support levels at $4.81 to $4.65 with decent upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of RMTI within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if RMTI manages to take out its 200-day moving average at $5.24 and then once it clears more near-term resistance at $5.94 with high volume.

    Traders should now look for long-biased trades in RMTI as long as it's trending above some key near-term support levels at $4.81 to $4.65 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.26 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then RMTI will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $8 to $8.50.

Hot Oil Service Stocks To Own Right Now: Bottomline Technologies Inc. (EPAY)

Bottomline Technologies (de), Inc. provides cloud-based payment, invoice, and banking solutions to corporations, insurance companies, financial institutions, and banks worldwide. Its solutions are used to streamline, automate, and manage processes and transactions involving global payments, invoice receipt and approval, collections, cash and document management, risk mitigation, reporting, and document archive. The company’s products include cash management and treasury platforms that enable banks to offer ACH and BACS payments, wires, international payments, check production, balance and information reporting, and cash management facilities; and legal spend management solutions, which integrate with claims management, and time and billing systems to automate legal invoice management processes. It also offers Paymode-X, a business-to-business electronic settlement network, such as online access to purchase orders, invoices, payments, and remittance details, as well a s comprehensive workflow and turnkey vendor enrollment and support; and WebSeries and C-Series, the payment and document automation solutions that generate payment instructions along with consolidated bank reporting of cash activity. In addition, the company provides forms management, mobile documentation, workflow automation, and payments solutions to healthcare organizations. Further, it offers SWIFT access service that enables corporations exchange financial information with their banks and counterparties. Additionally, the company provides consulting, project implementation, and training services; and consumable products for laser check printing that comprise magnetic ink character recognition toner and blank-paper check stock, as well as printers and printer-related equipment. Bottomline Technologies (de), Inc. sells its products directly through sales force, as well as through various channel partners and resellers. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Bottomline Technologies (de) (NASDAQ: EPAY) shares gained 12.03% to touch a new 52-week high of $35.20 after the company reported upbeat Q1 results.

  • [By Steve Symington]

    What:�Shares of Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY  ) jumped more than 10% Friday after the cloud-based financial transaction specialist reported solid fiscal first quarter 2013 results.�

Hot Oil Service Stocks To Own Right Now: Rackspace Hosting Inc(RAX)

Rackspace Hosting, Inc. operates in the hosting and cloud computing industry. It provides information technology (IT) as a service, managing Web-based IT systems for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large enterprises worldwide. The company?s service suite includes dedicated hosting comprising customer management portal and other management tools that manage data center, network, hardware devices, and operating system software; and cloud computing that enables customers to provide and manage a pool of computing resources, as well as delivery of computing resources to business when they need them. It offers cloud servers, cloud files, and cloud sites, as well as cloud applications, such as email, collaboration, and file back-ups; and hybrid hosting that provides a combination of dedicated hosting and cloud computing services. The company also offers customer support services. It sells its service suite through direct sales teams, third-party channel partners, an d online ordering. The company was formerly known as Rackspace.com, Inc. and changed its name to Rackspace Hosting, Inc. in June 2008. Rackspace Hosting, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Shares of CenturyLink (CTL) have dropped more than 2% today on reports that it’s trying to buy cloud-computing company Rackspace Hosting (RAX).

  • [By Jim Jubak]

    This is the part of the cloud market where Google competes��nd where Google cuts prices. The public cloud sector is dominated by Amazon.com (AMZN) with Microsoft (MSFT), Google, IBM (IBM), and Rackspace Hosting (RAX) competing for the Number Two slot.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Equities Trading DOWN
    Shares of Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX) were down 13.47 percent to $42.67 after the company reported a 40 percent drop in its third-quarter net income.

  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX) shares climbed 12.87% to $34.63 in the pre-market trading session on confirmation of approach by potential buyers and partners.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

10 Best Paper Stocks To Buy Right Now

With shares of Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) trading around $16, is the stock an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze it with the relevant sections of our Cheat Sheet investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Barnes & Noble�is a content, commerce, and technology book-selling company that provides customers access to books, magazines, newspapers, and other content across its multi-channel distribution platform. The company operates 1,338 bookstores in 50 states, 647 bookstores on college campuses, one e-commerce site, and develops digital content products and software. Barnes & Noble operates in three segments: B&N Retail, B&N College and Nook. As the last nationwide bookseller, Barnes & Noble may be preparing to close its doors — the company has struggled to compete with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).�Its founder, Leonard Riggio, suggested that the company may be able to survive if it splits its digital businesses from its physical stores.

Top 5 New Stocks To Watch Right Now: TriStar Wellness Solutions Inc (TWSI)

TriStar Wellness Solutions, Inc., formerly Biopack Environmental Solutions Inc., incorporated on August 28, 2000, is engaged in developing, marketing and selling, NCP's Beaute de Maman product lines, which is a line of skincare and other products specifically targeted for pregnant women, as well developing the Soft and Smooth Assets. The Company supplied biodegradable food containers and industrial packaging products to multinational corporations, supermarket chains and restaurants located across North America, Europe and Asia. In May 2013, the Company acquired HemCon Medical Technologies Inc.

The Company�� priority direct-to-consumer target markets are focused on women�� health and wound care. The second core product area is directed at the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) wound care market space. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company focused the sales and marketing resources for the Beaute de Maman brand on efficient Internet portals via the brand Website and selected Web-based retailers.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Last Friday, small cap stocks Tristar Wellness Solutions Inc (OTCMKTS: TWSI) jumped 14.94% while Hybrid Coating Technologies (OTCBB: HCTI) and Bulova Technologies Group, Inc (OTCMKTS: BTGI) sank 23.53% and 13.04%, respectively. It should be mentioned that only one of these small cap stocks appears to be the subject of paid promotions or investor relations type activities. So what will these three small cap stocks do for investors this week? Here is a quick reality check to help you decide on a trading or investing strategy:

10 Best Paper Stocks To Buy Right Now: Greif Inc (GEF)

Greif, Inc., incorporated on January 25, 1926, is a producer of industrial packaging products and services with manufacturing facilities located in over 50 countries. The Company offers a line of industrial packaging products, such as steel, fiber and plastic drums, rigid intermediate bulk containers, closure systems for industrial packaging products, transit protection products, water bottles and reconditioned containers, and services such as container lifecycle management, blending, filling and other packaging services, logistics and warehousing. It also produces containerboard and corrugated products for niche markets in North America. It sells timber to third parties from its timberland in the south-eastern United States. It has four segments: Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services, Flexible Products & Services, Paper Packaging and Land Management.

Rigid Industrial Packaging and Services

In the Rigid Industrial Packaging and Services, the Company is a provider of rigid industrial packaging products, including steel, fiber and plastic drums, rigid intermediate bulk containers, closure systems for industrial packaging products, transit protection products, water bottles and reconditioned containers, and services, such as container lifecycle management, blending, filling and other packaging services, logistics and warehousing. It sells industrial packaging products to customers in industries, such as chemicals, paints and pigments, food and beverage, petroleum, industrial coatings, agricultural, pharmaceutical and mineral, among others.

Flexible Products and Services segment

In the Flexible Products and Services segment, the Company is a producer of flexible intermediate bulk containers and a North American provider of industrial and consumer multiwall bag products. Its flexible intermediate bulk containers consist of a polypropylene-based woven fabric that is partly produced at its production sites, as well as sourced from strategic regional sup! pliers. Its industrial and consumer multiwall bag products are used to ship a range of industrial and consumer products, such as seed, fertilizers, chemicals, concrete, flour, sugar, feed, pet foods, popcorn, charcoal and salt, primarily for the agricultural, chemical, building products and food industries.

Paper Packaging segment

In the Paper Packaging segment, the Company sells containerboard, corrugated sheets and other corrugated products to customers in North America in industries such as packaging, automotive, food and building products. Its corrugated container products are used to ship such products as home appliances, small machinery, grocery products, building products, automotive components, books and furniture, as well as numerous other applications. Operations related to industrial and consumer multiwall bag products have been reclassified to Flexible Products and Services segment.

Land Management segment

In the Land Management segment, the Company is focused on the active harvesting and regeneration of the United States timber properties to achieve long-term yields. It also sells, from time to time, timberland and special use land, which consists of surplus land, HBU land and development land. As of October 31, 2013, it owned approximately 252,475 acres of timber property in the southeastern United States and approximately 10,300 acres of timber property in Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Geoff Gannon]

    For those of you wondering if Greif Brothers Cooperage has any relation to Greif (GEF) ��yes. It has every relation. It�� the same exact company. And it�� still in pretty much the same business. They used to just make barrels. Now they make all kinds of different drums, containers, etc. That�� not a very big change for a company to make over 60 years or so.

10 Best Paper Stocks To Buy Right Now: Iberpapel Gestion SA (IBG)

Iberpapel Gestion SA is a Spain-based holding company engaged in the paper industry. The Company operates through three divisions: Forestry, involved in the acquisition and cultivation of eucalyptus plantations in Argentina, Uruguay and Spain; Industrial, focused on the production of bleached pulp and paper products, and Commercial, specialized on the distribution of products such as printing and photocopy paper, offset paper, light-coated paper, laser printing paper, paper bags and envelopes. The Company�� subsidiaries include Distribuidora Papelera SA, Moliner Dominguez y Cia SA, Ibereucaliptos SA, Papelera Guipuzcoana de Zicunaga SA, Central de Suministros de Artes Graficas Papel SA and Copaimex SA, among others. The Company�� major shareholders include ONCHENA, SL and BESTINVER GESTION, SA. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Holly LaFon]

    The top contributing stock for the quarter was Saft Groupe (XPAR:SAFT).� The company has two main divisions: the Specialty Battery Group (SBG), which makes lithium batteries for various end markets including satellites, utility meters and military applications; and the Industrial Battery Group (IBG), which produces rechargeable nickel and lithium-ion batteries for industrial back-up power, aviation, rail, telecom and energy storage industries.�

  • [By GURUFOCUS]

    The top contributing stock for the quarter was Saft Groupe (XPAR:SAFT).� The company has two main divisions: the Specialty Battery Group (SBG), which makes lithium batteries for various end markets including satellites, utility meters and military applications; and the Industrial Battery Group (IBG), which produces rechargeable nickel and lithium-ion batteries for industrial back-up power, aviation, rail, telecom and energy storage industries.�

10 Best Paper Stocks To Buy Right Now: UPM-Kymmene Corporation (UPM1V)

UPM-Kymmene Corporation is a Finland-based paper and forest products company. The Company operates, along with its subsidiaries, in three segments: the Energy and Pulp segment is divided into three units: Energy, which includes the Company�� hydropower plant and shares in energy companies; Pulp, which includes the Company�� pulp mills, and Foster and Timber, which includes forests, wood procurement, sawmills and further processing; the Paper segment includes the Company�� paper mills, producing magazine paper, newsprint, fine papers, and specialty papers, and the Engineered materials segment is structured into two units: Label, which includes label-stock factories and slitting, and distribution terminals, and Plywood, which includes plywood mills. The Company�� other operations include the wood plastic composite unit, development units and logistic services. On October 2, 2013, it completed the sale of the wood processing mill in Aigrefeuille d'Aunis, to Groupe FP Bois. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Corinne Gretler]

    UPM-Kymmene Oyj (UPM1V) fell 3.9 percent to 12.18 euros. UBS AG lowered Europe�� second-largest papermaker to sell from neutral. The brokerage said that demand for the company�� product will not recover in Europe and that the industry will probably reduce its capacity next year.

10 Best Paper Stocks To Buy Right Now: Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund(CFP)

Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund is a closed-ended equity fund of fund launched and managed by Cornerstone Advisors, Inc. The fund invests funds investing in the public equity markets of the United States. It invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund was formed on April 26, 2007 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    But you can see in several places the consequences of the stampede toward high yield. Here are just a few:

    Closed-end funds Cornerstone Progressive (NYSEMKT: CFP  ) and Pimco High Income (NYSE: PHK  ) both make fixed payments back to fund shareholders on a monthly basis, and their distribution yields are truly extraordinary, at about 17% and 12%, respectively. Those dividends have enticed shareholders to pay $1.30 to $1.40 or more for each $1 of assets in the funds. Yet during most months, a substantial portion of those distribution payments has simply been a return of investor capital rather than true income from the funds' investments. A recent study discussed in The Wall Street Journal found that returns on a portfolio with a combined value and dividend-income strategy outperformed a strategy focused more exclusively on maximizing dividends by an average of 1.7 percentage points per year, a huge edge in long-run returns. In the dividend ETF arena, most funds tend to focus on maximizing yield. Although the popular Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (NYSEMKT: VIG  ) ETF bucks the trend by screening first for consistent dividend growth and only then looking at yield as a factor, many rival ETFs start with high-yielding stocks as their baseline and only then consider other desirable traits. Others focus solely on high-dividend niches of the market, such as iShares FTSE NAREIT Mortgage-Plus (NYSEMKT: REM  ) and its concentration on high-yield mortgage REITs.

    When dividend stocks get too popular, their prices get out of line with both their dividend income and the fundamentals of the businesses that underlie those stocks. In simpler terms, when dividend stocks become bad values, it's time to consider looking elsewhere for a margin of safety.

10 Best Paper Stocks To Buy Right Now: Resolute Forest Products Inc (RFP)

Resolute Forest Products Inc., AbitibiBowater Inc., is a global forest products company. The Company�� products include newsprint, commercial printing papers, market pulp and wood products. The Company owns or operates pulp and paper mills and wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea. On November 7, 2011, it began doing business as Resolute Forest Products. As of December 31, 2011, it owned or operated 18 pulp and paper mills and 23 wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea. The Company�� segments include newsprint, coated papers, specialty papers, market pulp and wood products. On January 14, 2011, it acquired the noncontrolling interest in Augusta Newsprint Company (ANC). In April 2012, the Company held approximately 48.8% of the outstanding shares of Fibrek Inc. In December 2012, the Company purchased Bowater Mersey Paper Company Limited. oklyn Power Corporation. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Calling all cash flows
    When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Resolute Forest Products (NYSE: RFP  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    There's no foolproof way to know the future for Resolute Forest Products (NYSE: RFP  ) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result.

  • [By Saibus Research]

    Consolidation has been incremental in the paper and forest products industry. In May 2012, Resolute Forest Products (RFP) (formerly AbitibiBowater) announced that it had acquired 50.1% of Fibrek and acquired the remaining 49.9% in August. 2011 saw International Paper (IP) announce a hostile takeover of Temple-Inland and after offering $32/share in cash as well as the assumption of $600M of TIN's debt, IP was able to close the deal in February 2012. 2011 also saw Rock-Tenn (RKT) acquire Smurfit-Stone to create the number two player in the linerboard segment with 20% market share, trailing only International Paper's 40%. We see these moves as a prudent step to consolidation in the industry as certain types of paper such as newsprint and uncoated free sheet (office paper) are seeing falling demand due to increased use of digital resources.

10 Best Paper Stocks To Buy Right Now: CenturyLink Inc.(CTL)

CenturyLink, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated communications company. The company provides a range of communications services, including voice, Internet, data, and video services in the continental United States. Its services include local exchange and long distance voice telephone services, as well as enhanced voice services, such as call forwarding, caller identification, conference calling, voicemail, selective call ringing, and call waiting; wholesale local network access services; and data services, including high-speed Internet access services, data transmission services over special circuits and private lines, and switched digital television services, as well as special access and private line services. The company also offers fiber transport, competitive local exchange carrier, security monitoring, and other communications, as well as professional and business information services. In addition, it provides other related services, such as leasing, selling, installing, and maintaining customer premise telecommunications equipment and wiring; payphone services; and network database services, as well as participates in the publication of local telephone directories. Further, the company offers printing, direct mail services, and cable television services; and wireless broadband Internet access services and satellite television services. As of December 31, 2010, it operated approximately 6.5 million telephone access lines. CenturyLink, Inc was founded in 1968 and is based in Monroe, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lauren Pollock]

    CenturyLink Inc.(CTL) swung to a steep third-quarter loss as the telecommunications company recorded a $1.1 billion impairment charge tied to its data-hosting segment, while revenue fell for the fifth consecutive quarter. Shares declined 2.6% to $33 premarket.

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    You can find many examples of this phenomenon recently:

    Late last month, Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI  ) cut its dividend in half after announcing worse-than-expected sales and income. The stock had suffered from weakness in Pitney Bowes' core mailing and enterprise business solutions segments, and the company chose to sacrifice its former double-digit yield in order to shore up its financial condition. Even after the cut, the stock still yields a fairly high 5%. In February, CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL  ) cut its dividend by about 25%, again after reporting weak guidance for its earnings for the remainder of 2013. Even though the rural telecom company chose simply to put cash previously earmarked to pay its former yield of 7% toward share buybacks instead, the stock plunged more than 20% in response to the move, although it has rebounded significantly since then as investors recognized the fundamental benefits to the company from the capital reallocation. Until three months ago, Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF  ) had a high dividend yield approaching 7% despite terrible conditions in its iron-ore and metallurgical-coal businesses. After announcing earnings in mid-February, the company cut its dividend by more than three-quarters in a move that will conserve cash for the ailing producer of raw materials for steel production. Now, the stock yields just 2.6%.

    That's not to say that all of the highest dividend paying stocks are doomed to reduce their payouts. Businesses that are designed to focus on maximizing cash flow rather than seeking growth can often sustain very high yields for years. Vanguard High Dividend Yield (NYSEMKT: VYM  ) and other dividend ETFs use a combination of factors beyond simple yield to choose stocks with sustainable high payouts.

Friday, November 21, 2014

10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Watch Right Now

One of the benefits of attending the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B  ) shareholders' meeting is learning from the great value investors and Buffettologists who also make the yearly trek to Omaha. In this multipart series, Fool analyst Rex Moore speaks with Lawrence Cunningham, author of The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America. The book offers a unique approach by arranging all of Buffett's shareholder letters thematically, rather than chronologically.

Today, Professor Cunningham explains why all of the Berkshire companies fit together so well, despite their vast differences.

What about the stock?
Thanks to the savvy of investing legend Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway's book value per share has grown a mind-blowing 586,817% over the past 48 years. But with Buffett aging and Berkshire rapidly evolving, is this insurance conglomerate still a buy today? In The Motley Fool's premium report on the company, Berkshire expert Joe Magyer provides investors with key reasons to buy as well as important risks to watch out for. Click here now for instant access to Joe's take on Berkshire!

Best Logistics Companies To Own For 2015: Hyundai Motor Co (HYMLF.PK)

HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY is a Korea-based automobile manufacturer. Along with its subsidiaries, the Company operates in three business divisions: vehicle division, financial division and other business division. Its vehicle division manufactures passenger cars under the brand names of Centennial, Genesis, Veloster, Azera, Sonata, i40, Elantra, Accent, i30cw, i20, ix20 and others; sport utility vehicles (SUVs) under the brand names of Veracruz, Santa Fe and Tucson, and commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses, special vehicles and bare chassis, as well as provides automobile maintenance services and related components. Its financial division mainly provides automobile financing services and credit card services. Its other business division includes construction of railways and others. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Quoth the Raven]

    It was reported this morning that Hyundai's (HYMLF.PK) CEO, John Krafcik, has gone on the record and said that the U.S. government shutdown could affect the U.S. automobile market negatively. He's made a headline that's been picked up by news organizations across the board this morning. It echoes sentiments from executives at both Ford and GM. Autonews.com reported:

10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Watch Right Now: Craft Brew Alliance Inc (BREW)

Craft Brew Alliance, Inc., incorporated on May 4, 1981, is an independent craft brewer. The Company is engaged in brewing, marketing and selling of craft beers in the United States. The Company operates two segments: Beer related operations and Pubs and Other. Beer related operations include the brewing and sale of craft beers from its five breweries. Pubs and Other operations primarily include its five pubs, four, of which are located adjacent to its breweries. The Company brews its Widmer Brothers, Redhook and Kona beers in each of its three mainland production breweries, including New Hampshire Brewery, Oregon Brewery and Washington Brewery. The Company also owns and operates a small manual style brewery, primarily used for small batch production at the Rose Quarter in Portland, Oregon. The Company�� beer portfolio is consisted of the Widmer Brothers, Redhook and Kona brand families. On May 2, 2011, the Company sold 42% interest in Fulton Street Brewery, LLC.

The Company�� Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen is a golden, cloudy wheat beer with a pronounced citrus aroma and flavor. This beer is usually served with a lemon slice. Its Drifter Pale Ale is brewed with generous amounts of summit hops. It also includes Drop Top Amber Ale and Rotator India Pale Ale. Initial beers in the series 924 series include the Nelson Imperial IPA and the Pitch Black IPA, which is a Pacific Northwest twist on a traditional IPA, brewed in the style of a Cascadian Dark. Beers in this brand are offered as a draft product and as a four pack for bottles. Widmer Brothers beers include Brothers��Reserve and Alchemy Project. Widmer Brothers seasonal beers are Citra Blonde, Okto, Brrr and W series.

The Redhook family of beers is consisted of sessionable (lower alcohol by volume) and approachable beers. Its Long Hammer IPA is the beer within the brand family and is English pub-style bitter ale with a bold hop aroma and profile that is not overpoweringly bitter. Its

Redhook Pilsner is a crisp, easy-! drinking, golden lager that is modeled after beers originally brewed in Plzen, Czechoslovakia. Redhook ESB is rich, full-bodied amber ale with a smooth flavor profile featuring toasted malts and a pleasant finishing sweetness. Its Copperhook Ale is copper-colored ale with caramel notes and a clean refreshing finish. The Company�� Blueline Series brand is offering from the Redhook brand family for the West Coast beer drinker. These beers are hand crafted by the brewers and are available at its Washington Brewery pub, as well as at select restaurants, bottle shops and public houses in the Seattle, Washington area. Its Brewery Backyard Series is produced at its New Hampshire brewery as a draft product available at the brewery�� pub and at select local establishments. Redhook seasonal beers include Nut Brown Ale, Winterhook Winter Ale and Wit.

The Company�� Kona Beers brand family is consisted of beers that deliver the essence of the Hawaiian Islands that is Always Aloha. The Company�� Longboard Island Lager is a traditionally brewed lager with a delicate, slightly spicy hop aroma that is complimented by a fresh, malt-forward flavor and a smooth, refreshing finish. Its Fire Rock Pale Ale is a crisp, Hawaiian Style pale ale with pronounced citrus and floral hop aromas and flavors that are backed up by a generous malt profile.

Kona seasonal beers include Koko Brown Ale, American brown ale with a deep amber color and rich mahogany hues. This ale has a smoky, roasted nut aroma and flavor, with a coconut twist. Koko Brown Ale is Kona�� spring seasonal. Its Pipeline Porter is smooth and dark, with a roasty aroma and earthy flavor. This ale is brewed with fresh 100% Kona coffee. Its Wailua Wheat is golden, sun-colored ale with a bright, citrusy flavor. This beer is brewed with a touch of tropical passion fruit to impart a slightly tart and crisp finish. Kona offers two variety packs: Island Hopper variety 12-packs and Big Kahuna variety 24-packs. Both packages include the brewe! ry�� Lo! ngboard Island Lager along with Fire Rock Pale Ale and then two of its Aloha series seasonal offerings: Koko Brown, Wailua Wheat and Pipeline Porter.

The Company competes with Heineken, Corona Extra and Guinness.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Louis Navellier]

    The fantastic performance and growth of this company was noted by Portfolio Grader back in August and the stock was upgraded to an A. Shares of SAM stock remain a “strong buy” at the current price. When it comes to beer stocks to buy now, this is one of the most tempting.

    Best Booze Stocks to Buy Now -�Craft Brew Alliance (BREW)

    Craft Brew Alliance (BREW) makes craft beers under three very popular brands for beer aficionados. The Widmar Brothers, Redhook and Kona brands of beer have all received rave reviews … and that’s just one reason BREW is one of the best beer stocks to buy now.

10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Watch Right Now: Softbank Corp (SFTBF)

SOFTBANK CORP. is a Japan-based company that provides digital information services. The Company has six business segments. The Mobile Communication segment provides cellular phone services and sells attached cellular phone terminals. The Broadband and Infrastructure segment provides high-speed Internet access services, Internet protocol (IP) phone service, and contents. The Fixed Communication segment provides transmission services for audio and data, as well as exclusive line and data center services. The Internet Culture segment is engaged in the Internet advertising, broadband portal and auction businesses. The Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) segment sells personal computers (PCs), peripheral devices and software for PC use, as well as provides business-to-business and business-to-customer e-commerce services. The Others segment is involved in the broadcasting media, technology service, media marketing and overseas fund businesses.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By MARKETWATCH]

    LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks rose Wednesday after a lower open, managing solid gains with most other Asian markets were closed for the Christmas holiday. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) climbed 0.8% to 16,009.99, its first close above the 16,000 level since late 2007. The broader Topix ended with a more modest 0.1% rise. Seven & I Holdings Co. (JP:3382) (SVNDF) , operators of the 7-Eleven convenience-store chain, rose 1.5% as a Nikkei Asian Review report said it planned to pay about 楼5 billion yen to purchase nearly half of Bals, which runs home-and-kitchen-furnishings retailer Francfranc. Chip maker Renesas Electronics Corp. (JP:6723) (RNECY) was a strong performer, rallying 6.5% after suffering a sizeable drop in the previous session. On the downside, shares of Softbank Corp. (JP:9984) (SFTBF) fell 0.5%, after a separate article in the Nikkei saying that previously reported plans by the firm to buy T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) through its newly acquired Sprint (S) unit would value the transaction at more than 2 trillion yen ($19 billion) and would take place as early as next spring. Auto-maker stocks were mostly higher after trading mixed following the release of Japanese car-sales data for November. Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) added 0.2%, Honda Motor Co. (JP:7267)

  • [By Sophia Yan]

    Also poised to win big in the Alibaba IPO is Masayoshi Son, Japan's richest man. He is CEO of telecoms group Softbank (SFTBF), which has seen the value of its original $20 million investment soar to about $54 billion.

  • [By MARKETWATCH]

    LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks inched downward Wednesday, with action quiet as most other Asian markets were closed for the Christmas holiday. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) eased 0.1% to 15,874.40, with the Topix 0.2% lower, failing to get a bump from gains in Wall Street's abbreviated session Tuesday. Shares of Softbank Corp. (JP:9984) (SFTBF) slipped 0.3%, showing little reaction to an article in the Nikkei Asian Review saying that previously reported plans by the firm to buy T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) through its newly acquired Sprint (S) unit would value the transaction at more than 2 trillion yen ($19 billion) and would take place as early as next spring. Seven & I Holdings Co. (JP:3382) (SVNDF) , operators of the 7-Eleven convenience-store chain, rose 0.5% as a separate Nikkei report said it planned to pay about 楼5 billion yen to purchase nearly half of Bals, which runs home-and-kitchen-furnishings retailer Francfranc. On the upside, Renesas Electronics Corp. (JP:6723) (RNECY) rallied 5.3% after suffering a sizeable drop in the previous session.

  • [By Jonathan Berr]

    Opposition to the latest wireless rumored wireless merger might have come as a surprise to Sprint’s CEO/pitchman Daniel Hesse and Masayoshi Son, the head of Japan’s SoftBank (SFTBF), which acquired a controlling interest in Sprint for $1.9 billion last year. For one thing, it’s hard to imagine the new company posing much of a competitive threat. A combined Sprint/T-Mobile would have 53 million users — significantly greater than their individual parts, but still less than half the 110 million served by AT&T and the 120 million subscribers under the Verizon flag.

10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Watch Right Now: ICICI Bank Ltd (IBN)

ICICI Bank Limited (the Bank), incorporated on January 5, 1994, is a banking company. The Bank, together with its subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates, is a diversified financial services group providing a range of banking and financial services, including commercial banking, retail banking, project and corporate finance, working capital finance, insurance, venture capital and private equity, investment banking, broking and treasury products and services. It operates under four segments: retail banking, wholesale banking, treasury and other banking. Retail Banking includes exposures of the Bank, which satisfy the four criteria of orientation, product, granularity and low value of individual exposures for retail exposures. Wholesale Banking includes all advances to trusts, partnership firms, companies and statutory bodies, which are not included under Retail Banking. Treasury includes the entire investment portfolio of the Bank. Other Banking includes hire purchase and leasing operations and other items. As of March 31, 2012, the Bank had 17 subsidiaries. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013, the Company added 348 branches and 1,475 automated teller machines (ATMs) to its network, taking its branch and ATM count to 3,100 and 10,481 respectively at March 31, 2013.

Retail Banking

The branch network serves as an integrated channel for deposit mobilization, selected retail asset origination and distribution of third-party products, as well as the focal point for customer service. During fiscal 2011, the Bank continued its focus on increasing the proportion of low-cost retail deposits in its funding base. During fiscal 2011, its retail disbursements increased as it focused on opportunities in residential mortgages, vehicle finance and construction equipment finance. The Company also continued to focus on cross-selling new products and products of its life and general insurance subsidiaries to its existing customers. As of March 31, 2013, its ATMs offer services such a! s opening fixed deposits, payment of credit card and utility bills, payment of insurance premium, mobile re-charges and ultra fast cash.

Small Enterprises

The Company offers banking solutions to small and medium enterprises across industry segments. The Company supports the growth of the small and medium enterprises sector while adopting a cluster-based financing approach for enterprises with a homogeneous profile in industries, such as infrastructure, engineering, information technology, education, life-sciences and agri-based businesses. The Company also offers supply chain financing solutions to the channel partners of large corporates.

Corporate Banking

The Bank offers a suite of corporate banking products, including rupee and foreign currency debt, working capital credit, structured financing, loan syndication and commercial banking products and services. The Company also puts in place product specific teams with a view to focus on designing financial solutions for clients spread across structured finance, project finance, loan syndication and markets. The relationship team also works with its Markets Group to assist customers in devising and executing risk management strategies to address foreign currency, interest rate and liquidity risks. Its loan syndication franchise enables the Bank to structure, underwrite and syndicate rupee and foreign currency debt with Indian and offshore investors. The Bank has built robust sector-specific syndication skills across project finance, merger and acquisition (M&A) financing and structured finance to provide optimal financing solutions.

International Banking

The Company�� international banking business is focused on meeting the foreign currency needs of its Indian corporate clients and partnering them in their global expansion, taking select trade finance exposures linked to imports to India. ICICI Bank has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Russia and Canada, branches in the U! nited Sta! tes, Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Dubai International Finance Centre and Qatar Financial Centre and representative offices in the United Arab Emirates, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The Bank�� wholly owned subsidiary, ICICI Bank UK PLC, has 11 branches in the United Kingdom and a branch each in Belgium and Germany. ICICI Bank Canada has nine branches. ICICI Bank Eurasia Limited Liability Company has one branch.

The Company develops products and service offerings to meet the requirements of the Non Resident Indian (NRI) community. The Bank launched I-Express, an instant cross-border money transfer option for NRIs through its select partners in the Middle East. The I-Express facility offers the remitter an option of visiting any partner outlet for instant credit into the beneficiary account maintained with ICICI Bank in India, at no extra cost. The Company also launched Fixed Rupee on Money2India.com, a facility that enables NRIs to send the exact rupee amount remittance to India since the exchange rate is confirmed at the time of initiating the remittance.

Inclusive and Rural Banking

Inclusive and Rural Banking include offering credit to the rural market through the Bank's branches and dedicated field teams and financial inclusion through business correspondents. The Bank focuses on improving its product and service offerings to meet the requirements of all participants in the rural market, including farmers, traders, commission agents, small processors and other medium agri-corporates. The Bank focuses on building capacity to implement its financial inclusion plan. The Bank also focused on opening accounts for routing benefit payments under various government schemes and has received the mandate for opening accounts of individuals under these schemes in certain states.

The Bank has also identified 25 business correspondents having a network of over 7,500 customer service points, to service these cust! omers. Th! e Bank provides basic financial services to the unbanked and underbanked

population comprising small and marginal farmers, daily wage labourers, beneficiaries of government. Around 47% of the Bank�� branches are in rural and semi-urban areas

Treasury

The Bank provides provide foreign exchange and derivative products and services to customers through its Markets Group. These products and services include foreign exchange products for hedging currency risk, foreign exchange and interest rate derivatives, such as options and swaps and bullion transactions.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Selena Maranjian]

    Finally, Caxton Associates' biggest closed positions included Sprint Nextel�and JPMorgan Chase. Other closed positions of interest include India-based ICICI Bank (NYSE: IBN  ) . In April, the bank reported double-digit profit increases and rising ROE. Analysts at Zacks downgraded the bank earlier this month, though, citing deterioration of its credit quality and expected steep operating expenses.

  • [By Anuchit Nguyen]

    Indian stocks declined, with the benchmark index halting a four-week rally, after central bank Governor Raghuram Rajan�� comment that inflation is still high. ICICI Bank (IBN) dropped to the lowest level since Sept. 5. The S&P BSE Bankex Index retreated 1.8 percent.

  • [By Selena Maranjian]

    Finally, Viking's biggest closed positions included News Corp.�and Schlumberger. Other closed positions of interest include India-based ICICI Bank (NYSE: IBN  ) . In April, the bank reported double-digit profit increases and rising ROE, and it recently yielded 2%. Analysts at Zacks downgraded the bank earlier this month, though, citing deterioration of its credit quality and expected steep operating expenses. ICICI is a major lender in India and is growing briskly there, and is�expanding abroad, targeting even China. Its stock is up about 29% over the past year and has averaged 20.5% annually over the past decade.

  • [By Chuck Carnevale]

    ICICI Bank Limited-ADR (IBN)

    My second featured aggressive financial is ICICI Bank Limited-ADR (IBN), an ADR (American Depository Receipt) headquartered in India. This company is the largest private sector bank in India. Current low valuation is what most attracted me to this aggressive selection. However, I believe that prospective investors should carefully consider the amount of price volatility that has historically occurred with their share price. Nevertheless, for those dividend growth investors with a stomach for risk, this company may be worth taking a closer look at.

10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Watch Right Now: C&F Financial Corporation(CFFI)

C&F Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for Citizens and Farmers Bank that provides various banking and related financial services to individuals and businesses. It operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Mortgage Banking, and Consumer Finance. The Retail Banking segment offers various types of checking and savings deposit accounts; business, real estate, development, mortgage, home equity, and installment loans; and ATMs, Internet banking, and credit cards, as well as travelers? checks, safe deposit box rentals, collection, notary public, wire service, and other customary bank services. This segment provides retail banking services at its main office in West Point, Virginia; and 17 branches in Chester, Hampton, Mechanicsville, Midlothian, Newport News, Norge, Providence Forge, Quinton, Saluda, Sandston, Varina, West Point, Yorktown, Williamsburg, and Richmond, Virginia. The Mortgage Banking segment originates conventional mortgage loans, mortga ge loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, mortgage loans partially guaranteed by the Veterans Administration, and home equity loans. This segment provides mortgage loan origination services through 15 locations in Virginia, 4 in Maryland, and 2 in North Carolina, as well as 1 each in Wilmington, Delaware; Moorestown, New Jersey; and York, Pennsylvania. The Consumer Finance segment provides automobile loans in Virginia and in portions of Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, and West Virginia through offices in Richmond and Hampton, Virginia; Nashville, Tennessee; and Towson, Maryland. The company also offers brokerage services, and insurance and title insurance services. C&F Financial Corporation was founded in 1927 and is based in West Point, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Doug Hughes]

    An example of that would be C&F Financial (CFFI) in Westport, Virginia. The CEO, Larry Dillon, has been there for 35 years, plus, the bank is trading at a p/e of 6 or 7, if you can believe it. It's only $2 over book value.

10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Watch Right Now: Superconductor Technologies Inc.(SCON)

Superconductor Technologies Inc. engages in the development and production of high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials and associated technologies worldwide. The company is leveraging its technologies, including HTS materials and cryogenics, to develop second generation (2G) HTS wire for power applications. Its HTS-based products play a role in emerging power generation, conversion, and distribution applications by enhancing grid reliability and efficiency. The company?s flagship wireless product, SuperLink, combines a specialized filter using patented HTS technology with a proprietary cryogenic cooler and a low-noise amplifier. Its commercial product offerings include SuperLink, a receiver front-end HTS wireless filter system that eliminates out-of-band interference for wireless base stations; AmpLink, a ground-mounted unit for wireless base stations that includes a high-performance amplifier and up to six dual duplexers; and SuperPlex, a multiplexer that provide s low insertion loss and cross-band isolation. The company also grants the U.S. government a royalty-free, non-exclusive, and nontransferable license to use its intellectual property. It sells its products primarily to wireless carriers through direct sales force in the United States, as well as through indirect channels internationally. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Bryan Murphy]

    Just for the record, Superconductor Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCON) isn't over the hump yet. But, given the likelihood that it could get over the hump with little to no fanfare, now's the time to put SCON on your radar.

  • [By Bryan Murphy]

    It's not the kind of thing anybody would have expected to hear, or read, five months ago, but Superconductor Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCON) is close to becoming one of the market's best bullish short-term bets. Yes, we're talking about the same Superconductor Technologies that plunged from $2.57 to $1.66 in August - hitting new lows in the process - on news that the company was issuing $12 million worth of new stock... right in front of news that SCON booked another significant quarterly loss.� By November, the disaster's final tally was officially recorded - an 82% plunge in the prior quarter's revenue for SCON. As they say though, nothing lasts forever. That includes a malaise that can hold a stock down. Indeed, it's looking like SCON is about to make an explosive move higher.�

  • [By Bryan Murphy]

    A week and a half ago, not to mention a couple of months ago, I suggested Superconductor Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCON) was a budding bullish play worthy of your attention. I get the suspicion that while more than a handful of traders read my take, the vast majority of the people who read that commentary weren't as impressed with (SCON) as I was. That's fine. Yet, being a diehard - and perhaps being a glutton for punishment - this is one of those trading ideas I can't let go of, mostly because Superconductor Technologies refuse to give up. Thing is, the stock's given me some new bullish fodder to use since the last look back on January 6th.

10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Watch Right Now: Track Data Corp (TRAC)

Track Data Corporation is a financial services company that provides real-time financial market data, fundamental research, charting and analytical services to institutional and individual investors through telecommunication lines and the Internet. The Company also disseminates news and third-party database information from approximately 100 sources worldwide. The Company operates in three segments: professional market, which provides market data services and trading, including electronic communications network (ECN) services, to the institutional professional investment community; non-professional market, which includes Internet-based online trading and market data services to the non-professional individual investor community, and arbitrage trading. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Track Data Securities Corp. (TDSC) is a registered securities broker-dealer. Track Data provides an integrated Internet-based online trading and market data system, proTrack, for the professional institutional traders, and myTrack and myTrack Edge, for the individual trader. It operates Track ECN, an ECN that enables traders to display and match limit orders for stocks.

Professional Market

MarkeTrack provides domestic and international market information, updating quotelines, options and futures displays, real-time spreadsheets, tick-by-tick updating graphics, news services and third-party databases, user-defined screen layouts, access to back-office order and execution services. The solution allows users to calculate theoretical values of options and determine the most beneficial investment strategy through calculating returns on alternative investments, including options and futures. MarkeTrack serves approximately 700 customers in trading and institutional investment management positions. Customers include floor traders, block traders, market makers, over the counter (OTC) traders, options specialists, head traders, arbitrageurs and hedge fund managers.

The Company offers proTrack ! as a direct access trading system for the professional market. Among the trading features offered by proTrack are point and click equities and options trading, direct access to market makers and ECNs, hot keys, smart order routing, reserve book, quick modification of existing orders, multiple order types and a variety of market data and news. proTrack offers trading through TDSC and clearing through Penson Financial Services, Inc. It is also available for use by other broker dealers under a service bureau arrangement.

TDSC operates an ECN that enables traders to display and match limit orders for stocks. The ECN allows trading of National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (Nasdaq) Global Market, Nasdaq Capital Market, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and American Stock Exchange (AMEX) listed securities, and exchange-listed securities on its platform. Track ECN displays orders on the National Stock Exchange (NSX). Track Data Corporation's NewsWatch service includes a consolidated news ticker, including database with text indexing and access to a variety of third-party databases.

The Company competes with Bloomberg Financial, Thomson/Reuters Group, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Inc., Lava, Inc., Acquire Media, NYSE, Nasdaq, DirectEdge and BATS.

Non-Professional Market

Track Data offers Internet-based online trading and market data services through its myTrack and myTrack Edge products. myTrack and myTrack Edge offer trading of United States-based stocks, options and mutual funds, as well as stock index-based futures. For those traders who are the most active and engage in day trading, the myTrack Pro contains multi windows-based features and enhancements that are designed to satisfy the needs of the trader community. myTrack Edge provides access to information on stocks, options, indices, and news, including bid and ask prices, charts, research and other information for any listed or Nasdaq-traded stock and numerous over-the-counte! r bulleti! n board (OTC-BB) stocks, as well as the ability to establish and track securities, cash, margin and buying power positions on a real-time basis. Real-time quotes, news, charting and technical analysis are available in various pay packages. Volume trading can result in rebates equivalent to the service plan charges.

The Company also offers AIQ Systems and Dial/Data Service. AIQ Systems develops and markets artificial intelligence (AI) based stock market analysis and charting software for personal computers. By simulating the reasoning of top market technicians, AIQ's Expert Systems delivers trading signals and market insight, as well as advanced technical charting and screening capabilities. Dial/Data is an Internet-based service that provides historical and end-of-day pricing data for United States, Canadian and European exchange-traded equities and related instruments, futures, equity options, futures options, mutual funds, bonds, government issues, money markets and indexes.

The Company competes with E*Trade Group, Inc., Trade Station Group, Inc., Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Options Express, TD Ameritrade, Inc., e-Signal, DTN, AT Financial, Data Corp., The Dow Jones Retrieval Service, Compuserve, Telescan, Commodity Systems, Inc., Equis International, Windows on Wall Street and Omega.

Arbitrage Trading

The Company engages in arbitrage trading activity. Its trading strategy consists principally of establishing hedged positions consisting of stocks and options. The Company also engages in options trading. The Company's trading strategy consists of selling short deep out-of-the-money calls and puts.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Bill Smith]

    FDS operates in a highly competitive industry, some with more resources. Their competitors include:
    Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI)BloombergInteractive (IDC)MSCI Inc. (MXB)Morningstar Inc. (MORN)Track Data Corp. (TRAC)Edgar Online (EDGR)McGraw-Hill (MHP )

Monday, November 17, 2014

Top India Stocks To Buy Right Now

The threat that the partial shutdown of the American government could bring the world's largest economy close to defaulting on its debt was weighing on global markets Monday.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index, the regional heavyweight, slumped over 1% to 13,853.32. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.7% to 22, 973.95 and India's BSE 30 index lost 0.5% to 19, 808.71. Mainland China markets were closed for a public holiday. Benchmarks across Europe were moving lower.

DEFAULT: Would pound your portfolio

Early-morning stocks were on the decline on Wall Street, too, ahead of Monday's opening bell. Dow Jones industrial average index futures fell 0.8%, Standard & Poor's 500 index futures slumped 1% and Nasdaq index futures were down 0.9%.

Wall Street stocks had posted modest gains Friday, driven by optimism at the time that Washington's bickering politicians would resolve their budget fight. The Dow rose 0.5%, to close at 15,072.58. The S&P 500 index added 0.7%, to 1,690.50. The Nasdaq rose 0.9%, to 3,807.75.

Hot Performing Companies To Own For 2015: Sify Technologies Limited(SIFY)

Sify Technologies Limited provides enterprise and consumer Internet services primarily in India. The company offers various corporate network/data services comprising e-commerce and network connectivity solutions, such as end-to-end services network, application, and security services; voice origination and termination services; co-location and managed hosting services; and system integration services for data centre build, hardware distribution, security solutions, and turnkey projects. It also provides application services, including SLEMS and Microsoft Exchange messaging platforms; I-test for online assessment and LiveWire, which enable management of training processes across the organization; document management system for the management of documents electronically; and Forum, a forward supply chain solution. In addition, the company operates e-Ports that offer browsing, chat, email, gaming, utility bill payment, travel ticketing, hotel booking, mobile recharge, Intern et telephony, and online share trading services; and portals, which provide news, views, reviews, interactions, and services in the areas of movies, sports, finance, food, videos, astrology, online games, shopping, and travel, as well as offers content offerings and broadband services. Further, it provides infrastructure management services, such as network management, datacenter and helpdesk outsourcing, desktop and storage outsourcing, IT security outsourcing, LAN and WAN outsourcing, database and telecom outsourcing, and application monitoring and management services to automotive, chemical, media, and financial enterprises; and virtualization design, integration, and deployment services for servers, storage, networks, and end user clients. Sify has approximately 1,278 e-Ports in 200 towns and cities; and serves 1,06,000 broadband subscribers through 1500 cable TV Operators. The company, formerly known as Sify Limited, was founded in 1995 and is based in Chennai, India. Advisors' Opinion:

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Leading and Lagging Sectors
    Technology stocks gained Tuesday, with Ku6 Media Co (NASDAQ: KUTV) leading advancers. Among leading tech stocks, gains came from Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ: RBCN), Bitauto Holdings (NYSE: BITA) and Sify Technologies (NASDAQ: SIFY). Utilities shares dropped by 0.11 percent in the US market today.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Leading and Lagging Sectors
    Technology stocks gained Tuesday, with Ku6 Media Co (NASDAQ: KUTV) leading advancers. Among leading tech stocks, gains came from Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ: RBCN), Bitauto Holdings (NYSE: BITA) and Sify Technologies (NASDAQ: SIFY).

Top India Stocks To Buy Right Now: Stewart Information Services Corporation(STC)

Stewart Information Services Corporation provides title insurance and related information services required for settlement by the real estate and mortgage industries. It operates in two segments, Title Insurance-Related Services and Real Estate Information. The Title Insurance-Related Services segment offers services that include searching for and examining documents, such as deeds, mortgages, wills, divorce decrees, court judgments, liens, paving assessments, and tax records, as well as provides titles insurance for residential and commercial properties, undeveloped acreage, farms, ranches, and water rights. This segment serves attorneys, builders, developers, home buyers and home sellers, lenders, and real estate brokers. The Real Estate Information segment offers products and services, which primarily include lender services, title technology, foreign and domestic government services, mapping, title information, Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 tax-deferred property e xchanges, pre-employment services, and online filing and transaction management. Its customers include mortgage lenders and servicers, mortgage brokers, mortgage investors, government entities, commercial and residential real estate agents, land developers, builders, title insurance agencies, and others interested in obtaining property information, as well as accountants, attorneys, investors, and employers. The company has operations primarily in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, central Europe, Mexico, central America, and Australia. Stewart Information Services Corporation was founded in 1893 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Tower Group has dropped 12% to $3.88 today at 11:39 a.m., while Stewart Information Services (STC) has dipped 0.1% to $31.16, the�Navigators Group�(NAVG) has fallen 1.4% to $54.78 and HCI Group�(HCI) has gained 1% to $38.16.

  • [By James Fink]

    My housing pick is Houston-based Stewart Information Services (STC), a 120-year-old real estate business founded in 1893, that is still owned and managed by the founding family.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Tower Group has dropped 40% to $4.43 today, and some other small insurers are also getting dinged this morning. HCI Group (HCI) has fallen 1.8% to $39.36, Stewart Information Services (STC) has declined 0.7% to $31.36 and the Navigators Group (NAVG) has ticked down 0.4% to $56.10.

Top India Stocks To Buy Right Now: Tata Motors Ltd(TTM)

Tata Motors Limited, an automobile company, engages in the manufacture and sale of commercial and passenger vehicles primarily in India. The company offers cars, utility vehicles, trucks, buses and coaches, and defense vehicles, as well as develops electric and hybrid vehicles for personal and public transportation. It also involves in distributing and marketing cars; and financing the vehicles sold by the company. In addition, the company engages in the provision of engineering and automotive solutions, as well as machine tools and factory automation solutions; construction equipment manufacturing; automotive vehicle components manufacturing and supply chain activities; tooling and plastic and electronic components for automotive and computer applications; and automotive retailing and service operations. It offers its products and services through its dealership, sales, services, and spare parts network. The company also markets its commercial and passenger vehicles in Eu rope, Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, South Asia, and South America. The company was formerly known as Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Limited and changed its name to Tata Motors Limited in July 2003. Tata Motors Limited was founded in 1945 and is based in Mumbai, India.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dividend King]

    Earnings per share (TTM) came in at $3.48, compared to -$0.33, $1.46, and $4.17 for competitors General Growth Properties Inc. (GGP), Macerich Co. (MAC) and Vornado Realty Trust (VNO), respectively.

  • [By James Well]

    Pfizer�� Net Income Growth Is Increasing Leading to Increase in Its Operating Margins

    Net incomes and operating margins of a company give some insights into its financial health. Pfizer�� net income growth has accelerated this year. In fact, when compared with its direct competitors like Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi, the rate of increase of net income growth trailing twelve months (TTM) is greatest at Pfizer with $10.68 billion followed by Novartis with $9.37 billion while Merck and Sanofi lagged behind with $4.53 billion and $4.05 billion respectively. Really, rather than increasing, there has been a decrease in Merck�� and Sanofi�� net incomes this year which should be a source of concern for investors. A healthy operating margin shows that a company is earning more per dollar of sales and, hence, able to pay for its fixed costs including interest on debt.

Top India Stocks To Buy Right Now: Infosys Technologies Limited(INFY)

Infosys Ltd. provides information technology (IT) and consulting services worldwide. It offers IT services, such as application, architecture, independent validation and testing, information management, infrastructure, packaged application, SOA, systems integration, and knowledge services; product engineering services, manufacturing process and plant solutions, and product lifecycle management services; and consulting services in the areas of information and technology strategies, product innovation, next generation commerce, process excellence, and learning and complex change. The company also provides business process outsourcing solutions in the areas of business platforms, customer service outsourcing, finance and accounting, human resources outsourcing, legal services, sales and fulfillment, and sourcing and procurement outsourcing. In addition, it offers collaborative analytics solutions; digital consumer platform; Finacle universal banking solution; iProwe, a Web ac cessibility assessment product; mConnect, a real-time enterprise middleware; and research and analytical support services. Further, the company offers unified communications and collaboration solution that streamlines business processes between employees, customers, and suppliers; iTransform that helps healthcare organizations accelerate transition to new platforms; and supply chain visibility and collaboration product suite. It serves aerospace and defense, airlines, automotive, banking, capital markets, communication services, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, education, energy, healthcare, high technology, hospitality and leisure, insurance, life sciences, logistics and distribution, publishing, resources, utilities, and retail industries. Infosys Ltd. has a strategic partnership with Alstom SA. The company was formerly known as Infosys Technologies Limited and changed its name to Infosys Ltd. on June 16, 2011. Infosys Ltd. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered i n Bengaluru, India.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Infosys (NYSE: INFY  ) will release its quarterly earnings report next Monday, but investors are already skittish about how well the IT services company will be able to perform. In a sluggish environment for global economic growth generally and for IT spending in particular, the entire outsourcing and consulting industry has felt the pressure, and as a primary beneficiary of more positive trends in the industry over the years, Infosys is potentially vulnerable to a reversal in those trends.

Top India Stocks To Buy Right Now: Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd(RDY)

Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a pharmaceutical company. It produces finished dosage forms, active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, and biotechnology products. The company also conducts research in the areas of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, inflammation, and bacterial infection. In addition, it involves in the contract manufacture generic prescription and over-the-counter products for branded and generic companies in the United States. The company primarily focuses on therapeutic categories of cardiovascular, diabetes management, gastro-intestinal, and pain management. It markets its products in India, the United States, Europe, and the Russian Federation. The company has a co-development and commercialization agreement with Rheoscience A/S for the development and commercialization of Balaglitazone/DRF 2593, a partial PPAR-gamma agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes; an agreement with ClinTec Internatio nal for the development of an anti-cancer compound, DRF 1042; collaboration with the National Cancer Institute in Maryland; and an agreement with Argenta Discovery Limited for the joint development and commercialization of a novel approach to the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It also has an agreement with 7TM Pharma for drug discovery collaboration on selected drug targets; and an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline plc to develop and market pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, oncology, gastroenterology, and pain management. Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Hyderabad, India.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Carroll]

    The company's generic drug segment should also help push emerging market sales. Abbott markets generic pharmaceuticals outside the U.S. only, and while the division isn't growth-oriented -- sales actually fell around 2% for the quarter -- it provides an entry for the company to push into lucrative new markets such as India, where generics make up the large majority of the country's retail market. The company will face tougher competition in this industry, however: Firms such as India-based Dr. Reddy's (NYSE: RDY  ) have also pushed hard into emerging markets lately, and Dr. Reddy's in particular should benefit from its being headquartered in one of the industry's top locales.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Following FDA approval of its abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA,�Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY  ) announced today that it launched its lamotrigine extended-release tablets, the generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's Lamictal.�

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Teva has dropped 7.7% to $37.85 today at 3:23 p.m. but doesn’t seem to be spreading though the generic drug space. Taro Pharmaceuticals (TARO) ha gained 1.1% to $79, while Actavis (ACT) has gained 1.2% to $156.25 and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (RDY) has advanced 1% to $40.24. Mylan (MYL) has dropped 0.7% to $38.40.

Dollar General Corp. (DG) Q1 Earnings Preview: June Is Not a Pearl of a Month for Earnings

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG) will release first quarter 2014 earnings before the market open on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. On the same day, Rick Dreiling, Dollar General's chairman and chief executive officer, and David Tehle, chief financial officer, plan to host a one hour conference call beginning at 9:00 a.m. CT/10:00 a.m. ET to discuss the Company's financial results for the quarter.

Wall Street anticipates that the discount retailer will earn $0.73 per share for the quarter, which is $0.02 more than last year's profit of $0.71 per share. iStock expects DG to hit Wall Street's consensus number, the iEstimate is $0.73, too.

[Related -Five Below Inc (FIVE): The Greatest Discount Retailer I Have Ever Seen]

Sales, like earnings, are expected to rise, increasing a healthy 7.7% year-over-year (YoY). Dollar General's consensus revenue estimate for Q1 is $4.56 billion, which is more than last year's $4.23 billion.

Dollar General Corporation is a discount retailer in the United States. As of February 28, 2014, it operated 11,215 stores located in 40 states, primarily in the southern, southwestern, midwestern and eastern United States. The Company offers a selection of merchandise, including consumables, seasonal, home products and apparel. The Company's merchandise includes national brands from manufacturers, as well as private brand selections with prices at substantial discounts to national brands. It offers its merchandise at everyday low prices through its convenient small-box (approximately 7,200 square feet) locations.

[Related -Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE:FDO) Q1 Earnings Preview: What To Watch?]

DG has been a solid bullish EPS surprise generator. The Discount, Variety Stores operator topped Wall Street's consensus estimate 14 of the last 16 quarters. Typically, DG earned $0.04 more than analysts projected with a range of $0.01 to $0.08 beyond the street view.

Meanwhile, the pair of misses was small at -$0.01 and -$0.02 less than the forecast. Unfortunately, Q1 or the June announcement produced both bearish surprises. In fact, the Pearl month has been tough on shareholders. The stock backed up in the days surrounding three of the last four quarterly checkups, losing -2.4%, -4.8%, and -7% while gaining just 0.9% for the lone green reaction.

Costs rising faster than sales could be the reason this June might struggle too. In 2014, operating profit margin fell to 9.92% of sales from 10.33% in 2013. That might not sound like much, but it the difference was $72 million in 2014 or $0.23 per share less in operating profits.

On a positive note, inventory rose at a slower pace than sales (6.5% v. 9.25%) and actually fell on a per-store basis.

Overall: Dollar General Corp.'s (NYSE:DG) June history and shrinking operating margin suggests it is best to stay away from DG before the first quarter earnings announcement. 

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Hot Heal Care Stocks To Watch Right Now

Asian stocks outside Japan fell as stronger growth in U.S. service industries fueled speculation the Federal Reserve will soon reduce economic stimulus.

HSBC Holdings Plc (5) slumped 5 percent in Hong Kong after earnings at Europe�� biggest bank missed estimates. Sony Corp. (6758) slid 4.6 percent in Tokyo after its board rejected billionaire Daniel Loeb�� call to spin off part of its entertainment business. Fonterra Shareholders Fund climbed 1.3 percent in New Zealand, recouping some of yesterday�� record decline after China and Russia halted imports of milk powder from Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd., the world�� largest dairy exporter.

The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index retreated 0.5 percent to 440.98 at 8:18 p.m. in Hong Kong, as more than two stocks fell for every one that rose.

��he ramp-up in the U.S. economy is not only gaining momentum, but is accelerating,��Evan Lucas, a Melbourne-based market strategist at IG Markets Ltd., a provider of trading services for equities, currencies and commodities, said by e-mail. ��his is increasing the hawkish view of the Fed. This is why the September taper talk will continue. The blueprint for monetary stimulus tapering will be laid out in September with the first wind-back in October.��

Top 5 Prefered Companies To Buy For 2015: Le Gaga Holdings Limited (GAGA)

Le Gaga Holdings Limited engages in cultivating, processing, and distributing vegetables, fruits, and tea leaves in the People�s Republic of China and Hong Kong. The company is also involved in cultivating and selling fir trees. It offers solanaceous vegetables, including sweet peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, pumpkins, and cucumbers; leafy vegetables comprising flowering Chinese cabbage, baby bok choy, and baby Chinese cabbage; and cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and Chinese cabbage. As of March 31, 2012, the company operated 11 farms with an aggregate area of 1,671 hectares in Fujian, Guangdong, and Hebei provinces. It sells approximately 50 varieties of vegetables primarily to wholesalers, institutional customers, and supermarket chains. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Le Gaga Holdings (NASDAQ: GAGA) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings.

    Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.34 per share on revenue of $1.01 billion.

Hot Heal Care Stocks To Watch Right Now: TAL International Group Inc.(TAL)

TAL International Group, Inc. engages in the lease of intermodal containers and chassis. It operates in two segments, Equipment Leasing and Equipment Trading. The Equipment Leasing segment involves in the acquisition, lease, re-lease, and sale of various intermodal transportation equipment, such as dry freight containers, which are used for general cargo, including manufactured component parts, consumer staples, electronics, and apparel; refrigerated containers that are used for perishable items, such as fresh and frozen foods; and special containers, which are used for heavy and oversized cargo, such as marble slabs, building products, and machinery. It also leases chassis, which are used for the transportation of containers and tank containers that are used to transport bulk liquid products, such as chemicals, as well as finances port equipment, which includes container cranes, reach stackers, and other related equipment. The Equipment Trading segment purchases container s from shipping line customers and other sellers of containers, and resells these containers to container traders and users of containers for storage or one-way shipment. As of December 31, 2009, it had a fleet of 701,946 containers and chassis, including 31,137 containers under management for third parties, representing 1,139,523 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Brian Pacampara]

    Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, freight container lessor TAL International (NYSE: TAL  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

  • [By ABN]

    TAL International Group (TAL) is one of the world's largest lessors of intermodal freight containers for the shipping business with 17 offices in 11 countries and approximately 230 third-party container depot facilities in 40 countries. TAL's fleet consists of approximately 1,238,000 containers and 2,031,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).

Hot Heal Care Stocks To Watch Right Now: Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (ICPT)

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on September 4, 2002, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics to treat chronic liver diseases utilizing its bile acid chemistry.The Company�� product candidates treat orphan and more prevalent liver diseases for which there are limited therapeutic solutions. The Company�� product candidate, obeticholic acid, or OCA, is a bile acid analog, a chemical substance that has a structure based on a naturally occurring human bile acid. It is developing OCA initially for primary biliary cirrhosis, or PBC, as a second line treatment for patients who have an inadequate response to or who are unable to tolerate standard of care therapy and therefore need additional treatment. The Company is conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial of OCA in PBC, which it calls the POISE trial, that serves as the basis for seeking regulatory approval in the United States and Europe. As of December 19, 2012, the Company completed enrollment of the POISE trial with 217 patients.

The Company�� clinical focus is on the development of OCA, orally administered, first-in-class FXR agonist that has broad liver-protective properties and may a variety of chronic insults to the liver that cause fibrosis, which can eventually lead to cirrhosis, liver transplant and death. The Company owns worldwide rights to OCA outside of Japan and China, where it has licensed the compound to Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, or DSP, and granted it an option to license OCA in certain other Asian countries.The Company is sponsoring an independent study involving more than ten leading PBC centers in North America and Europe, or collectively the Global PBC Study Group, that are pooling their long-term patient data to evaluate the relationship between biochemical and clinical endpoints.

The Company competes with Eli Lilly, Exelixis, Inc., Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG, , Johnson & Johnson, NovImmune SA, Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH, Galmed Medical Researc! h Ltd., Immuron Ltd., Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., NasVax Ltd. , Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. Astellas Pharma US, Inc., AstraZeneca, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Tioga Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    It’s hard not to think it might be. Today, Gilead Sciences (GILD), Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT), Celgene (CELG), Amgen (AMGN) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX).

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Sure Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) might feel like the only biotech stock that matters today, but there are others. For instance, Incyte (INCY) and� BioMarin (BMRN) are on the move after Barclays changed its ratings on the pair.

    REUTERS

    But before getting into that, let’s talk about Barclays’ Ying Huang and team’s thoughts on the sector. Would you believe they echo those of Goldman Sachs in its downgrade of the sector earlier this week (and just about everyone else) by calling this a stock picker’s market?

    Huang explains:

    Biotech should continue to outperform in 2014, but may be a more stock-specific year: We believe biotech as a group will continue to outperform the broad market in 2014 but do not expect a repeat of 2013. In 2013, the Nasdaq Biotech Index outperformed the S&P 500 by a large margin (+65.6% vs. S&P +29.6%), driven by a combination of generalist investor interest, hunt for growth opportunities, healthy long-term outlook for the industry, and an accommodative FDA. While we expect trends to remain strong in the overall industry and for biotech to outperform the broader market in 2014, it will likely be more muted, with fewer meaningful catalysts and as investors favor larger companies with less downside risk.

    Huang too falls back on the PEG ratio–Price/Earnings to Growth–while explaining away the sectors P/E of 31.4, which dwarfs the 18 P/E in U.S. pharmaceuticals. “Looking at PEG ratios, which we view as a more appropriate metric given the growth profile of biotech companies, the group has traded at a reasonable and stable 1.0x for the past decade,” Huang says.

    As for Incyte and BioMarin, Huang explains why he’s bullish on the former, bearish on the latter:

    After taking a closer look at [Incyte's] pipeline assets, we are increasingly bullish on its proprietary JAK1 inhibitor INCB39110 and its IDO inhibitor INCB024360 and have increased ou

  • [By Sue Chang and Ben Eisen]

    Shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ICPT) �soared another 62% following a surge of 281% on Thursday. The company announced on Thursday that halted the trial of its obeticholic acid drug to treat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) ahead of schedule on positive results. The drug could be the first reliable treatment option for patients facing liver transparent and as a result, obeticholic acid could be a true blockbuster, according to Jim Molloy, an analyst at Janney Capital Markets.

Hot Heal Care Stocks To Watch Right Now: Village Super Market Inc.(VLGEA)

Village Super Market, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a chain of supermarkets in the United States. The company?s superstores feature specialty departments, such as home meal replacement, on-site bakery, and expanded delicatessen that includes prepared food, natural and organic food, ethnic and international food, seafood sections, as well as pharmacies and salad bars. Its superstores also offer non-food items, including cut flowers, health and beauty aids, greeting cards, and small appliances. As of December 16, 2011, the company operated a chain of 28 supermarkets under the ShopRite name in New Jersey, Maryland, and eastern Pennsylvania. Village Super Market, Inc. was founded in 1933 and is based in Springfield, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Geoff Gannon]

    Next example: same year (2000), same state (New Jersey), same product (food), different company ��Village Supermarket (VLGEA).

    At the time, these were the company�� last five years of (diluted) earnings per share:

  • [By Geoff Gannon] strong>J&J Snack Foods (JJSF)

    Check out the performance numbers on those three stocks over the last 10-13 years (I bought them at different times). You��l notice that if I just never sold those stocks I wouldn�� need to do anything else. Those three stocks would��e made a fine portfolio for the next decade or so.

    Well, I did sell those stocks. And I did a lot else. And some of it worked very well and some of it worked very badly. But, almost without fail, the net result was never better than what would have happened if I�� kept those three stocks.

    That�� not an accident. It took me a very, very long time to buy stocks when I was a kid. I bought six stocks in my first five years as an investor. That�� not quite a 20 punches approach ��but it�� pretty close.

    Why did I only buy one stock a year?

    Because I didn�� know anything about stocks. And I didn�� think I knew anything about stocks.

    My investment style was formed from a combination of extreme ignorance and extreme confidence. I was totally ignorant about stocks. And I was totally confident that I could learn all I needed to know about the stocks I needed to know about.

    That combination led to focusing on a few very specific stocks. Stocks I was comfortable with.

    When I was 14, there were only two places my money went. Into my brokerage account. Or into video games. So it�� not a surprise I bought Activision. At the time the video game industry had a much clearer future than it does today. And there was no better CEO of a video game company than Bobby Kotick. The balance sheet was pristine. When you backed out cash, the stock was cheap relative to sales. I looked at everything I could about video game companies and I decided sales were pretty profitable and pretty cash generative in this industry. All you needed was sensible capital allocation. All you needed was management that was going to run the place like a business. And I thought you h

  • [By Geoff Gannon]

    Line up the return on capital lines ��for the last 10 years ��for Arden, Village (VLGEA), Weis, Harris Teeter (HTSI), and Kroger and you��l see that the grocer this analyst thinks is unique clearly isn��. Other grocers earn their cost of capital. They just aren�� as well known.

  • [By Geoff Gannon] the last 10 years ��population growth, inflation, and real output per person growth has been so low it�� hard to tell the difference between companies growing at the rate of inflation, along with the population, or along with the economy.

    You have to squint really hard to see any difference in the revenue growth records of DNB, Chuck E. Cheese, and Village.

    This will not be true in all countries and at all times.

    A literally no growth company like Earthlink is actually shrinking. It just happens to look like it�� staying perfectly flat because inflation is hiding the company�� real decay rate. In real terms, the company has been shrinking by about 3% a year for the last 10 years. So, Earthlink is not a no growth company. It�� shrinking.

    That�� a bad sign. And, frankly, I don�� know how to value Earthlink. You would need to evaluate it as a turnaround or something ��not as a business that�� simplly stuck in place. I don�� know how to do that.

    So, Earhtlink goes into the ��oo hard��pile.

    Dun & Bradstreet and CEC Entertainment are actual no growth businesses. This is hidden by their constant share buy backs. So, if you look at their earnings per share growth they look kind of like Peter Lynch�� idea of a ��low growth��company or even a ��talwart�� They aren��. They��e no growth businesses.

    The same is pretty much true with Village Supermarket. Although this is complicated. The nature of their business ��high volume, low cost groceries ��means they can appear to be a no growth business when they are actually just keeping prices down and increasing volume. You would need to check their sales numbers more carefully. Grocery stores often discuss inflation in their annual reports. Village Supermarket always does this.

    (The annual report is Exhibit 13 of the 10-K at EDGAR).

    So, in reality, Village Supermarket may be a slow grower, while CEC Entertainment and Dun & Bradstreet