Sunday, June 29, 2014

10 Best Services Stocks To Invest In 2014

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (EBS) recently announced positive results from its phase III study (n=200) on BioThrax. The phase III study was evaluating the immunogenicity and safety of BioThrax (three-dose regimen) for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). The study met both its primary and secondary objectives.

Emergent has already submitted the final results from the phase III study to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to support its supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for BioThrax. Emergent is looking to expand BioThrax��label into the PEP indication.

We note that BioThrax is the only US approved vaccine for the prevention of anthrax disease. The company�� product sales come solely from the sale of BioThrax to the US government.

Emergent currently has a contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is an operating division of the US Department of Health and Human Services. As per the contract, Emergent will supply 44.75 million doses of BioThrax for a five year period. We also note that BioThrax is yet to be licensed in a post-exposure setting.

Top 5 Gas Stocks To Watch For 2015: Winmark Corporation(WINA)

Winmark Corporation operates as a franchisor of four retail store concepts that buy, sell, trade, and consign merchandise. The company franchises retail stores under the ?Plato?s Closet? name that sell and buy used clothing and accessories geared toward the teenage and young adult market; and under the ?Play It Again Sports? name, which sell, buy, trade, and consign used and new sporting goods, equipment, and accessories for various athletic activities, including hockey, wheeled sports, fitness, ski/snowboard, golf, and baseball/softball. It engages in franchising ?Once Upon A Child? branded retail stores that sell and buy used and new children?s clothing, toys, furniture, equipment, and accessories; and ?Music Go Round? branded retail stores that sell, buy, trade, and consign used and new musical instruments, speakers, amplifiers, music-related electronics, and related accessories for parents of children who play musical instruments, as well as for professional and amateur musicians. In addition, the company operates a middle-market equipment leasing business focusing on technology-based assets to serve large and medium-sized businesses; and a small-ticket financing business to serve small businesses. Further, it offers management services to Tomsten, Inc. As of September 24, 2011, the company had 923 franchises in operation. Winmark Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Michael Lewis]

    One of my favorite businesses, Winmark (NASDAQ: WINA  ) , reported earnings this week. Earnings boosted 14% compared to the prior year's first quarter. Though the company continues to franchise its range of secondhand stores, the most compelling growth comes from the leasing division, which saw revenues jump by 30%. The company is underfollowed yet has been paying attractive special dividends while giving investors two-year capital appreciation of roughly 50%. As the company moves forward and pushes its leasing business to new heights, should you get in now?

  • [By alicet236]

    Chairman & CEO, 10% Owner of Winmark Corporation (WINA) John L. Morgan bought 2,000 shares on July 29, 2013 at an average price of $68.55. The total transaction amount was $137,100.

  • [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 Winmark (Nasdaq: WINA  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Winmark (Nasdaq: WINA  ) reported earnings on July 17. Here are the numbers you need to know.

    The 10-second takeaway
    For the quarter ended June 29 (Q2), Winmark beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

10 Best Services Stocks To Invest In 2014: Lowe's Companies Inc.(LOW)

Lowe's Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company offers a range of products for maintenance, repair, remodeling, home decorating, and property maintenance. It provides home improvement products in the categories of appliances, lumber, paint, millwork, building materials, lawn and landscape products, flooring, rough plumbing, seasonal living, tools, hardware, fashion plumbing, lighting, nursery, outdoor power equipment, cabinets and countertops, home organization, rough electrical, and home fashion, as well as boards, panel products, irrigation pipes, vinyl sidings, and ladders. The company also offers installation services through independent contractors in various product categories. Lowe's Companies serves homeowners and renters primarily consisting of do-it-yourself customers and do-it-for-me customers; and commercial business customers, who work in the construction, rep air/remodel, commercial and residential property management, or business maintenance professions. As of August 15, 2011, it operated approximately 1,725 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company also offers its products through electronic product catalogs and Lowes.com. Lowe's Companies, Inc. was founded in 1952 and is based in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Bob Ciura]

    The United States is finally starting to thaw from the brutal winter, and this couldn't come soon enough for retailers. In addition, the housing market continues to strengthen, evidenced by rising home prices across the country. These tailwinds are combining to provide a great deal of support to Home Depot (NYSE: HD  ) , the biggest home-improvement chain in the U.S, as well as close rival Lowe's (NYSE: LOW  ) .

10 Best Services Stocks To Invest In 2014: Rewards Nexus Inc (ERNI)

Rewards Nexus Inc., formerly NIS Holdings Corp., incorporated on June 21, 2004, through its subsidiaries, operates in the loyalty/rewards industry. The Company has launched the Earn IQ rewards program, a consumer loyalty platform-coupled with marketing and advertising services for various industries.

The Company provides consumers with opportunities to interact and engage with online and mobile products. It primarily focuses on various business sectors, including the customer loyalty management market, the gift card industry, the online food ordering industry, and the marketing consulting industry

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Small cap stocks Rewards Nexus Inc (OTCMKTS: ERNI), MyEcheck Inc (OTCMKTS: MYEC) and ITonis Inc (OTCMKTS: ITNS) fell 29.6%, 18.92% and 9.09%, respectively, last Friday. Moreover, some of these small cap stocks are already making big moves again this morning - perhaps in part because they have all been the subject of recent paid promotions. So where are these small cap heading this week and for the long term? Here is a quick reality check:

10 Best Services Stocks To Invest In 2014: Worlds Inc (WDDD.OB)

Worlds Inc., (Worlds.com), incorporated on April 26, 1994, was a three-dimensional (3D) entertainment portal, which leveraged its technology, which the Company retained through its portfolio, to offer visitors a network of virtual, multi-user environments which the Company calls worlds. On May 16, 2011, the Company transferred, through a spin-off to its wholly owned subsidiary, Worlds Online Inc., the majority of its operations and related operational assets. The Company designs and develops software, content and related technology for the creation of interactive, three-dimensional (3D) Internet Web sites. The Company used its technology to produce three-dimensional portals and Web sites. The Company's core technology includes WorldsShaper, WorldsServer, WorldsBrowser, WorldsPlayer and Worlds Gamma Libraries.

WorldsShaper is the visual authoring component of the Company's platform. It allows for quick assembly of pieces to create multi-user, shared state, virtual worlds. The WorldsShaper is an advanced compositing 3D building tool that integrates pre-existing or custom content, such as 3D models, textures or images created in Adobe's Photoshop, or midi or wave sound files, with architectural geometry and interactive behaviors and actions written in Java. WorldsServer is the scalable software that the Company uses to control and operates its on-line virtual communities. WorldsServer manages the registration and authentication of users, the locations of users within the 3D environment, the physical structure of the 3D environment, all information regarding objects that are shared by the participants and any of the interactions between the users such as text chat. This platform also integrates an HTTP server for the delivery of other content such as audio and video streaming and secure e-commerce applications.

WorldsBrowser is used to access the 3D environments. The browser is optimized for speed, delivering relatively fast frame rates per second in textured virtual 3D worlds. T! he WorldsPlayer allows users to view and experience the Company's multi-user, interactive technology. Any world created with the WorldsShaper will be viewable and navigable with the WorldsPlayer. The Worlds Gamma Libraries are consists of sample worlds, textures, models, avatars, actions, sensors, sounds, motion sequences, and other behaviors.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Markman Advisors]

    Public companies leveraging their patent portfolios, (aka "patent plays"), are getting the market's attention. Companies such as Vringo (VRNG), ParkerVision (PRKR), MGT Capital (MGT), Worlds Inc. (WDDD.OB) and others have presented trading opportunities due to their volatility while retaining the chance for a big payoff to those investors who stay the course. Yet there exist viable patent plays that are still undiscovered. Some of these so called "plays," which are not getting enough attention, are actually real companies making and selling real products or services in contrast to pure patent monetization companies. Some known examples are Single Touch Interactive (SITO.OB) and Blue Calypso (BCYP.OB). This article is focused on another one of these patent plays, On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTIV).

10 Best Services Stocks To Invest In 2014: Senomyx Inc.(SNMX)

Senomyx, Inc. engages in the discovery and development of novel flavor ingredients in the savory, sweet, salt, bitter, and cooling areas using proprietary taste receptor-based assays and screening technologies. The company has product discovery, development, and commercialization collaborations with seven food, beverage, and ingredient companies, including Ajinomoto Co., Inc.; Firmenich SA; Kraft Foods, Inc.; Nestle SA; and PepsiCo, Inc. Senomyx, Inc. licenses flavor ingredients to its collaborators on an exclusive or co-exclusive basis. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in San Diego, California.

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

    Leading and Lagging Sectors
    Healthcare stocks gained Wednesday, with Senomyx (NASDAQ: SNMX) leading advancers after the company announced a research agreement with PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP). Among the leading sector stocks, gains came from Pernix Therapeutics Holdings (NASDAQ: PTX), Albany Molecular Research (NASDAQ: AMRI) and Gentiva Health Services (NASDAQ: GTIV).

10 Best Services Stocks To Invest In 2014: EZCORP Inc.(EZPW)

EZCORP, Inc. provides specialty consumer financial services. The company offers pawn loans that are non-recourse loans collateralized by tangible personal property, including jewelry, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods, and musical instruments, as well as sells merchandise consisting of second-hand collateral forfeited from its pawn lending activities or purchased from customers, and new or refurbished merchandise from third party vendors. It also provides a range of financial services, such as signature loans consisting of payday loans, installment loans, and lines of credit; and auto title loans, which include single payment auto title loans, and auto title lines of credit. In addition, the company offers fee-based credit services to customers seeking loans; and advice and assistance to customers in obtaining loans from unaffiliated lenders, as well as provides debit cards. As of September 30, 2011, it operated a total of 1,111 locations consisting of 433 pawn s tores under the EZPAWN or Value Pawn names, and 436 financial services stores under the EZMONEY name in the United States; 178 pawn stores under the Empe� F�il or Empe� Su Oro names in Mexico; 49 financial services stores under the CASHMAX name in Canada; and 15 financial and retail services stores under the Cash Converters name in Canada. Further, the company operates as a franchisor for 13 franchised Cash Converters stores in Canada. EZCORP, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Kell]

    Pawnshop operator EZCorp Inc.(EZPW) reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results as sales in existing stores were strong despite a soft U.S. holiday shopping season. Shares surged 16% to $10.80 premarket.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Trying to pawn off the opportunities that still lay ahead in the back half of 2013, specialty finance company�EZCORP� (NASDAQ: EZPW  ) �reported second-quarter earnings that came in ahead of bottom-line consensus estimates by Capital IQ analysts, but were light on the top line, even as it affirmed the guidance for the full year that it issued after the first quarter.

  • [By Monica Gerson]

    EZCORP (NASDAQ: EZPW) shares fell 9.74% to touch a new 52-week low of $14.01 on FQ4 results.

    Posted-In: 52-Week LowsNews Movers & Shakers Intraday Update Markets

10 Best Services Stocks To Invest In 2014: Fortinet Inc (FTNT)

Fortinet, Inc. (Fortinet), incorporated November 28, 2000, provides network security solutions. Through the Company�� products and subscription services, Fortinet provides integrated and protection against security threats for enterprises, service providers and governmental entities worldwide. Its flagship Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution consists of its FortiGate physical and virtual appliance products that provide a range of security and networking functions, including firewall, virtual private networking (VPN), application control, antivirus, intrusion prevention, Web filtering, vulnerability management, antispam, wireless controller, and wide area network (WAN) acceleration. In addition, the Company offers virtual appliances for the FortiGate, FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, FortiWeb, FortiMail, and FortiScan product lines. On December 7, 2012, the Company completed the acquisition of XDN, Inc. (XDN), a privately held company that provides cloud-based content delivery solutions. On March 8, 2012, the Company completed the acquisition of IntruGuard Devices, Inc. (IntruGuard), a supplier of Intelligent Availability Protection Systems.

FortiGate appliances, from the FortiGate-20 for small businesses and branch offices to the FortiGate-5000 series for big enterprises and service providers, are based on its technology platform. This platform includes its FortiASICs, which are specifically designed for accelerated processing of security and networking functions, and its FortiOS operating system, which provides the foundation for all of its security functions. Its FortiGuard security subscription services provide end-customers with access to dynamic updates to its application control, anti-malware, intrusion prevention, Web filtering and anti-spam functionality based on intelligence gathered by its dedicated FortiGuard Labs team. By combining multiple security and networking functions with its purpose-built FortiASIC and FortiOS, its FortiGate UTM/NGFW solution delivers broad protect! ion against dynamic security threats while reducing the operational burden and costs associated with managing multiple point products. As of December 31, 2012, the Company has shipped over 1,100,000 appliances via more than 10,000 channel partners to more than 150,000 end-customers worldwide, including a majority of the 2012 Fortune Global 100.

Fortinet complements its FortiGate product line with the FortiManager product family, which enables end-customers to manage the system configuration and security functions of multiple FortiGate devices from a centralized console, as well as the FortiAnalyzer product family, which enables collection, analysis and archiving of content and log data generated by its products. The Company also offers other product lines that provide additional protection, such as: FortiAP, secure wireless access points; FortiWeb, security for Web-based applications; FortiMail, multi-featured, high performance messaging security; FortiDB, centrally managed database-specific security; FortiClient, endpoint security for desktops, laptops and mobile devices and that is primarily used in conjunction with its FortiGate appliances; FortiScan, endpoint vulnerability assessment and remediation; FortiSwitch, Ethernet switches; FortiBridge, bypass appliances to help ensure network availability; FortiAuthenticator, scalable secure authentication for enterprise networks; FortiBalancer, optimizing the availability and performance of mobile, cloud, and enterprise applications; FortiCache, reducing the cost of and impact of cached Internet content; FortiDNS, providing secure DNS caching; FortiDDoS, protection against denial of service attack, and FortiVoice, business telephone communication.

FortiGate

The Company�� flagship FortiGate physical and virtual appliances offer a set of security and networking functions, including firewall, VPN, application control, antivirus, intrusion prevention, Web filtering, antispam and WAN acceleration. All FortiGate models a! re based ! on its operating system, FortiOS, and all FortiGate physical appliances include its FortiASICs to accelerate content and network security features implemented within FortiOS. FortiGate platforms can be centrally managed through both embedded Web-based and command line interfaces, as well as through FortiManager, which provides central management architecture for thousands of FortiGate physical and virtual appliances.

By combining multiple network security functions in its purpose-built security platform, the FortiGate provides high protection capabilities and deployment flexibility while reducing the operational burden and costs associated with managing multiple point products. Through FortiGuard security subscription services, its products enable end-customers to add security functionality as required by their evolving business needs and the changing threat landscape. By purchasing FortiGuard security subscription services, end-customers obtain coverage and access to regular updates for application control, antivirus, IPS, Web filtering and anti-spam functions for their FortiGate appliances. With over 30 models in the FortiGate product line, FortiGate is designed to address security requirements for small- to mid-sized businesses, remote offices, enterprises, and service providers.

The FortiGate-20 through -100 series models are designed for perimeter protection for small- to mid-sized businesses, remote offices of distributed organizations and as customer premises equipment for service providers. Optional wireless LAN (WLAN), integration is available for the FortiGate-20, -40, -60 and -80 models, marketed as FortiWiFi, delivering additional network access and security for wireless environments. The FortiGate-200 through -800 series models are designed for perimeter deployment in mid-sized to enterprise networks. These products offer increased capacity and scalability designed to provide high network performance while delivering the same broad security suite as all FortiGate m! odels. Ad! ditionally, the FortiGate-300 -600 and -800 models provide hardware modularity, allowing end-customers the flexibility to customize solutions to their requirements. The FortiGate-1000 through -5000 series models deliver high performance and scalable network security functionality for perimeter, data center and core deployment in enterprise and service provider networks. Additionally, these products provide hardware modularity, allowing end-customers the flexibility to customize solutions to their requirements. Some products within the FortiGate-3000 and -5000 series leverage Advanced Mezzanine Card, or AMC, industry standards for hardware modularization to support the advanced networking requirements of enterprises and service providers, including high-speed networking, WAN connectivity, and network attached storage connectivity. The FortiGate-3950B platform also leverages its Fortinet Mezzanine Card (FMC), that provides hardware modularity to give end-customers the ability to add additional firewall and/or intrusion prevention performance, or the number of interfaces, as their network security needs evolve.

FortiGate System Virtualization (VDOM)

The Company�� FortiOS operating system offers system virtualization capabilities - to divide a security appliance into multiple, separately provisioned and managed instances. This capability is deployed in all of its FortiGate products as its virtual domain (VDOM) feature, where administrators have the ability to segment a single FortiGate appliance platform into multiple FortiGate instances.

FortiManager

The Company�� FortiManager family of products provides a central management solution for its FortiGate products, including the range of network and security features offered within FortiOS. One FortiManager product can manage thousands of FortiGate units, and also provides central management for FortiClient software. FortiManager facilitates the coordination of policy-based provisioning, device configurat! ion and o! perating system revision management, as well as network security monitoring and device control.

FortiAnalyzer

The Company�� FortiAnalyzer family provides network logging, analyzing, and reporting products that securely aggregate content and log data from itsr FortiGate devices and other Fortinet products as well as third-party devices to enable network logging, analysis and reporting. Additional functions such as vulnerability assessments and traffic analysis provide additional value for customers seeking to control and monitor their network infrastructure and security policies. A full range of content and log data, including traffic, event, virus, attack, Web content, and email data may be archived, filtered and mined for compliance or historical analysis purposes. Its FortiAnalyzer product family comes with a suite of standard reports as well as the ability to customize reports. The Company also offers

FortiGuard Security Subscription Services

The Company�� FortiGuard Labs global threat research team, comprised of over 150 professionals, uses automated processes to identify emerging threats, collects threat samples, and replicates, reviews and characterizes attacks. Based on this research, the Company develops updates for virus signatures, attack definitions, scanning engines, and other security solution components to distribute to end-customers through its FortiGuard global distribution network. Its FortiGuard security subscription services are designed to allow the Company to quickly deliver new threat detection capabilities to end-customers worldwide as new threats evolve. End-customers purchase FortiGuard security subscription services in advance, typically for a one year term, to obtain coverage and access to regular updates for application control, antivirus, intrusion prevention, Web filtering, and anti-spam functions for its FortiGate products; antivirus, Web filtering and anti-spam functions for its FortiClient software; antivirus and a! nti-spam ! functions for its FortiMail products; vulnerability management for its FortiGate, FortiAnalyzer and FortiScan products, database functions for its FortiDB appliance, and Web functions for its FortiWeb appliances. The Company provides FortiGuard services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

FortiCare Technical Support Services

The Company�� FortiCare services are its technical support services for the software, firmware and hardware in its products. In addition to its standard support service offering, the Company offers a service that offers faster response times and dedicated support oriented toward accounts. Its standard technical support offering for its products, channel partners often provide first level support to the end-customer, especially for small and mid-sized end-customers, and the Company typically provides second and third level support to its end-customers. The Company also provides knowledge management tools and customer self-help portals to help augment its support capabilities in an efficient and scalable manner. The company provides technical support to partners and end-customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week through regional technical support managers located worldwide.

Training Services

The Company offers training services to its end-customers and channel partners through its training department and authorized training partners. The Company has also implemented a training certification program to ensure an understanding of its products and services.

Professional Services

The Company offers professional services to end-customers primarily for implementations where technical resources are required. Its professional services consultants help in the design of deployments of its products and work closely with end-customer engineers, managers and other project team members to implement its products according to design, utilizing network analysis tools, attack simulation software and scripts.

Th! e Company! competes with Cisco Systems, Inc., Juniper Networks, Inc., Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., McAfee, Inc. , SonicWALL, Inc., and Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lee Jackson]

    Deutsche Bank also listed Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) and Informatica Corp. (NASDAQ: INFA) as the three most controversial stocks. These three literally generated the most hallway, and probably bar-stool, debates at the conference.

  • [By Anders Bylund]

    Nobody seems to expect another round of consolidation in the space. Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT  ) has gained 4.8% today, but other data security experts have stayed flat or traded down. Fortinet always looked like a reasonable takeout target, particularly since the company parted ways with longtime CFO Ken Goldman last year. The Sourcefire deal paints a slightly larger target on Fortinet's back, but you have to wonder who would be able to pay a buyout premium on top of Fortinet's $3.5 billion market cap. Most of the big boys have already picked their positions in the security space, to the point where even Intel has jumped into the game.

  • [By James E. Brumley]

    If you saw the alarming headlines circulating everywhere this morning, then there's a good chance you've already taken on a new position in Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP). Both are solutions to the underscored problem, and truth be told, likely will benefit from ugly reality this morning's news is spreading. FTNT and CHKP may not be the best ways to play the news-based investing theme, however. The best long-term play is a solutions provider called Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. (OTCBB:STAF). While the company may not superficially sit in the same category as Fortinet or Check Point Software Technologies, fundamentally, it does, and may actually be better positioned for growth.

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