Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014

FactSet has an update on the second-quarter earnings season today, now that 79% of companies have reported.

Of the 393 companies to report so far, 73% have delivered earnings per share ahead of analysts��consensus estimates. Fifty-five percent have reported revenue above expectations. The number of companies with earnings surprises is in-line with the four-year average, however those with revenue beats is below average; nonetheless, the percentage of companies reporting upbeat revenue crossed the 50% mark for only the second time in the past five years.

Looking at individual sectors, Materials (83%), Health Care (82%), and Information Technology (81%) sectors are those with the largest number of companies with better-than-expected earnings, while Services (50%) and Utilities (57%) trailed the pack.

Yet Financials are reporting the largest upside aggregate differences between actual earnings and estimated earnings: Notable beats came from Goldman Sachs (GS), American International Group (AIG), Bank of America (BAC), and JPMorgan (JPM).

Top Japanese Stocks To Buy For 2015: Cermaq ASA (CEQ)

Cermaq ASA is a Norway-based company active in the aquaculture industry. It is engaged in the farming of salmon and trout. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, operates in one business segment, namely Aquaculture, which consists of two divisions: Fish Feed production, which involves the production and sale of fish feed, and Fish Farming, which involves the breeding and on-growing, as well as the slaughtering, processing, sale and distribution of salmon and trout. The Company�� other activities consist of operations carried out through its subsidiary, Norgrain AS, the associated company, Denofa AS and the parent company. The Company operates through its subsidiaries, including Statkorn Aqua AS and Mainstream Norway AS, among others. In October 2013, the Company sold its second business segment, EWOS Group, to Altor Fund III and Bain Capital. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chuck Carnevale]

  Additional strengths supporting Aflac�� business model can be found by reviewing their common equity or book value (ceq), the lime green line on the following graph, in comparison to their current market value (mkval), the aqua colored more jagged line on the graph. Aflac�� book value has increased steadily except for a minor pause during the Great Recession of 2008. In contrast, their market value has been much more cyclical and erratic. I believe this additionally reflects current undervaluation of Aflac�� shares. This further supports my contention that Aflac is a great business that is currently on sale.

Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014: tw telecom inc.(TWTC)

tw telecom inc. engages in the provision of managed network services in the United States. The company offers data networking, converged, Internet protocol based virtual private network (IP VPN), and Internet access services. The company?s data services include switched native local area network (NLAN), point-to-point elite NLAN, E-Line, extended NLAN, regional ethernet, and IP VPN and managed IP VPN services; and converged and integrated services. It also provides high capacity Internet service with bandwidth speeds ranging from 1.5 Mbps to 10 Gbps to access the Internet and other external networks; and managed services comprising enhanced management services, managed security services, collocation services, and distributed denial of service mitigation. In addition, the company offers network access services for voice, data, image, and video transmission, such as private line, special access, transport arrangements, and metropolitan and regional connectivity; and voice s ervices that provide customers with local and long distance calling capabilities consisting of access trunk, long distance, local toll, local telephone, business access line, and IP trunk services. Further, it offers intercarrier services, such as switched access and local traffic termination services. As of December 31, 2011, the company?s fiber network spanned approximately 27,000 route miles connecting to 15,438 buildings. Its customers include enterprise organizations in the distribution, health care, finance, service, and manufacturing industries; state, local, and federal government entities; system integrators; and communication service providers, such as incumbent local exchange carriers, competitive local exchange carriers, wireless communications, and cable companies. The company was formerly known as Time Warner Telecom Inc. and changed its name to tw telecom inc. in March 2008. tw telecom inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Littleton, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  TW Telecom (NASDAQ: TWTC) jumped 7.04% to $38.90 after the company agreed to be acquired by Level 3 Communications (NYSE: LVLT) in a stock-and-cash transaction valued at $40.86 per share.

• [By Jesse Solomon]

  The latest deals include medical device maker Medtronic's (MDT) $42.9 billion acquisition of rival Coviden (COV), telecom giant Level 3 Communications' (LVLT) $5.7 billion purchase of tw telecom (TWTC), Williams Companies (WMB)' $6 billion controlling stake in natural gas driller Access Midstream Partners (ACMP), and SanDisk's (SNDK) $1.1 billion takeover of flash technology company Fusion-io (FIO).

• [By Garrett Cook]

  TW Telecom (NASDAQ: TWTC) jumped 8.5 percent to $38.43 after the company agreed to be acquired by Level 3 Communications (NYSE: LVLT) in a stock-and-cash transaction valued at $40.86 per share.

Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014: VirnetX Holding Corp(VHC)

VirnetX Holding Corporation engages in developing and commercializing software and technology solutions for securing real-time communications over the Internet. Its software and technology solutions, which include secure domain name registry and GABRIEL Connection Technology, facilitate secure communications and create a secure environment for real-time communication applications, such as instant messaging, voice over Internet protocol, smart phones, eReaders, and video conferencing. The company focuses on commercializing its technology to original equipment manufacturers within the IP-telephony, mobility, fixed-mobile convergence, and unified communications markets. VirnetX Holding Corporation was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Scotts Valley, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  One unexpected positive piece of news for Cisco came in March, when it won a court battle against VirnetX (NYSEMKT: VHC  ) . A jury finding that Cisco hadn't infringed on any VirnetX patents potentially saved Cisco hundreds of millions of dollars in damages or settlement payments, despite the fact that most analysts had expected VirnetX to win as it had in previous cases with similar facts. VirnetX still has remedies to pursue, but the news puts Cisco in a strong position going forward.

• [By Tom Shaughnessy]

  The VirnetX (VHC) short side has opened its toolbox unveiling a simple and manipulative tool idea. It has been suggested that the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") has a limitless amount of control over Federal Court decisions. Although the USPTO does have a bearing in the validity of patents, they in no way can nullify the decision of a Federal Court judge. New Bay Capital LLC ("New Bay") is utilizing inter partes reviews through the USTPO, although a Federal Court judge is not bound by the USTPO's findings.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of VirnetX (NYSEMKT: VHC  ) have jumped today by as much as 12% after the company announced that it has identified an additional developing specification related to its 3GPP LTE, SAE project.

Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014: Inchcape PLC (INCH)

Inchcape plc is a global premium automotive distributor and retailer. The Company provides a professional and financed route to market for automotive manufacturers across five continents. Inchcape acts as a vehicle and parts distributor in 22 of its 26 markets. In these markets, the Company has responsibility for managing the value chain on behalf of a focused portfolio of premium and luxury brand partners. The Company�� responsibilities as a distributor include specifying vehicles to meet local market requirements, organizing logistics from the factory gate through to the retail center, appointing and performance managing the retail network and acting as the national marketer of the brand. The Company derives over two third of its profit from Asia Pacific and emerging markets. Its markets include Hong Kong, Singapore, Russia, Chile, Ethiopia, Australia and the United Kingdom. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Inchcape Plc (INCH) surged 9.9 percent to 645 pence, the highest level since June 2008. The largest publicly traded U.K. car retailer and wholesaler reported first-half adjusted pretax earnings increased 11 percent. The company also announced share buybacks of 100 million pounds in the next year.

Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014: Barclays PLC (GRN)

Barclays PLC (Barclays) is a global financial services provider engaged in retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services. The Company�� operations include its overseas offices, subsidiaries and associates. The Company operates in eight segments: UK Retail and Business Banking (UK RBB), Europe Retail and Business Banking (Europe RBB), Africa Retail and Business Banking (Africa RBB), Barclaycard, Barclays Investment Bank, Barclays Corporate Banking, Wealth and Investment Management, and Head Office and Other Operations. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Todd Shriber, ETF Professor]

  Big losers (down at least 5%): Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bear 3X Shares (NYSE: DUST), iPath Global Carbon ETN (NYSE: GRN), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Value ETF (NYSE: EVAL) and the PureFunds ISE Mining Service ETF (NYSE: MSXX).

• [By Todd Shriber, ETF Professor]

  Big winners (up at least 5%): VelocityShares 3x Inverse Natural Gas ETN (NYSE: DGAZ), iPath Global Carbon ETN (NYSE: GRN), ProShares UltraShort DJ-UBS Natural Gas (NYSE: KOLD) and the ProShares MSCI UltraShort Mexico (NYSE: SMK).

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, the iPath Global Carbon ETN (NYSEMKT: GRN  ) has received the dreaded one-star ranking.

Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014: Red Fork Energy Ltd (RDFEY)

Red Fork Energy Limited is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused in the midcontinent of the United States. The Company�� Big River project is exploiting the oil and liquids rich gas bearing Mississippi limestone formation (the Mississippi Play). The Company�� East Oklahoma project is located east of Tulsa in Oklahoma. The Company�� subsidiaries include Red Fork (USA) Investments, Inc. and EastOK Pipeline LLC. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sally Jones] urrent RDFEY share price is 3.69, or 53.6% off the 52-week high of $7.95.

  Down 49% over 12 months, RDFEY has a market cap of $164.78 million, and trades at a P/B of 1.40.

  Red Fork Energy Limited is engaged in shale gas and oil exploration and production in USA. Red Fork Energy has a large landholding in Oklahoma with producing oil and gas fields, as well as highly prospective development acreage. The company has positioned itself in a premier on-shore, horizontal oil resource play, with a large and growing position in the Mississippi Lime oil and gas play.

  The company reported second quarter 2013 financial results with record sales of $6.985 million for the quarter, representing a 72.5%% increase from the previous quarter. The company had record gross production of 174.8 million barrels oil equivalents, a 33.4% increase from the previous quarter.

  Revenue and net income tracking:

Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014: Linear Technology Corporation(LLTC)

Linear Technology Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets a line of linear integrated circuits. The company's products include amplifiers, comparators, voltage regulators, voltage references, monolithic filters, linear regulators, DC-DC converters, power over Ethernet controllers, battery chargers, data converters, communications interface circuits, RF signal conditioning circuits, Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Damian Illia]

  Although the stock has done pretty well, investors can have another option of investing in the tech sector with Linear Technology Corporation (LLTC) because there is no other semiconductor company that can be able to match the company's profitability. Linear Technology offers thousands of analog products to original equipment manufacturers. The company麓s plan is to specialize in market segments that require high-performance analog with focus on industrial and automotive products. Customers base decisions on quality and Linear麓s chip are considered to be products that have long life and superior technology. This is considered in prices and makes attractive margins to the company.

• [By Dividends4Life]

  This week a few companies answered the call and rewarded their shareholders with higher cash dividends:
  
  Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) engages in regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2.4% to $0.63 per share. The dividend is payable March 15, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 12, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 4.7%.
  
  Cousins Properties Incorporated (CUZ), a real estate investment trust (REIT), owns, develops, and manages real estate portfolio, as well as performs certain real estate-related services. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 66.7% to $0.075 per share. The dividend is payable February 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.8%.
  
  Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC) generates and distributes electric energy, as well as distributes natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Utility Energy and Non-Utility Energy. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2% to $0.3900 per share. The dividend is payable March 1, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 14, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.8%.
  
  BlackRock Inc. (BLK) is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 14.9% to $1.93 per share. The dividend is payable March 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on March 7, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.4%.
  
  ONEOK Inc. (OKE) operates as a diversified energy company in the United States. January 15th the company increased its quarterly dividend 5.3% to $0.40 per share. The dividend is payable February 18, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.5%.
  
  Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. (OHI) is a real es

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Linear Technology (NASDAQ: LLTC) is projected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.46 per share on revenue of $339.26 million.

  Marten Transport (NASDAQ: MRTN) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $0.23 per share on revenue of $168.28 million.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Linear Technology (NASDAQ: LLTC) is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $372.59 million.

  Posted-In: Earnings scheduleEarnings News Pre-Market Outlook Markets