3 Capital Markets Stocks to Sell Now

Popular Posts: 10 Best “Strong Buy” Stocks — QIHU POWR UA and more7 Biotechnology Stocks to Buy NowBiggest Movers in Healthcare Stocks Now – EXAS CLDX CLVS HSP Recent Posts: Biggest Movers in Consumer Noncyclical Stocks Now – CALM BDBD PPC LO Biggest Movers in Transportation Stocks Now – SWFT NM KNX HTLD Hottest Capital Goods Stocks Now – SLCA CMI HEI.A FLR View All Posts

For the current week, the overall ratings of three capital markets stocks are worse, according to the Portfolio Graderdatabase. Each of these rates a “D” (“sell”) or “F” overall (“strong sell”).

This week, Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. () falls to a D (“sell”), worse than last week’s grade of C (“hold”). Affiliated Managers operates as an asset management company providing investment management services to mutual funds, institutional clients, and high net worth individuals in the United States. The stock has a trailing PE Ratio of 29.40. .

This week, GFI Group () drops from a C to a D rating. GFI Group provides brokerage services and data and analytics products to institutional clients. The stock also gets an F in Earnings Revisions. The stock price has fallen 8.8% over the past month, worse than the 1.7% decrease the S&P 500 has seen over the same period of time. .

Medallion Financial’s () rating weakens this week, dropping to a D versus last week’s C. Medallion Financial is a specialty finance company that originates and services loans financing the purchase of taxicab medallions and related assets. The stock also rates an F in Earnings Surprise. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

Sirius XM Is Driven to Win

Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) is once against shifting into drive in the resale market.

The satellite radio provider announced a deal this morning with Kia, arming its used-car department with financial incentives to push premium radio if it's available. Buyers of pre-owned vehicles that already have factory-installed Sirius or XM receivers will be receiving complimentary three-month trial subscriptions.

It's smart bait.

Sirius XM knows that getting drivers hooked on premium radio is easy. A healthy 44% of car buyers who kick the tires of satellite radio convert into self-paying customers. Sirius XM also gets the important contact information that it wouldn't otherwise have, allowing the company to market directly to buyers of secondhand cars down the line.

The South Korean automaker's Kia Motors America subsidiary joins what are now more than 9,000 auto dealerships in the Sirius XM Pre-Owned Vehicle Program.

Just 30% of the 50 million cars that are bought in this country are new. One would think that buyers of used cars aren't as lucrative potential subscribers as those paying up for vehicles with that new-car smell. Aren't they less likely to have the disposable income to pay for radio subscriptions? Thankfully, that isn't the case.

CFO David Frear recently revealed that there is no difference in the churn rate between subscribers driving off the lot with new or old cars. Churn rates will naturally be higher for those on monthly plans instead of annual installments -- and that's where the used-car market loses some of its appeal -- but there is just no difference between buyers on the same plan. The value proposition for Sirius XM is too great on the resale front. The receiver's already in the car! The investment was made years earlier. Why should it remain dormant?

Sirius XM can't afford to wait in getting the word out.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now

The dashboard is about to get crowded as consumers load up on smartphones and tech giants introduce streaming services. Sirius XM's conversion rate has held up well in the connected car, but things will get interesting once Apple and Google introduce their streaming platforms later this year. Google hasn't made any bones about jumping into the streaming music market, and there are too many reports claiming that Apple is negotiating with the record labels for streaming rights to ignore.

A war for the dashboard is coming, and the bigger Sirius XM's army is when the battle begins the better.

Let's get serious about Sirius
Despite Sirius XM being one of the market's biggest winners since bottoming out three years ago, there is still some healthy upside to be had if things go right for it -- and plenty of room for it to fall if things don't. Read all about Sirius in The Motley Fool's brand-new premium report. To get started, just click here now.

 

3 Things That Went Bank of America’s Way This Week

Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC  ) big dividend boost wasn't the only good thing to happen to the bank this week.

Investors in Bank of America were understandably preoccupied over the past several days, as the news of the big bank's dividend hike, to $0.05 per share, hogged all their attention. Though the increase wasn't huge, the psychological boost was enormous, since this was the first time B of A was able to raise its dividend since the financial crisis.

But that wasn't the only positive news for Bank of America in the last week of March. Here are a few more tidbits of good news that came along, giving the big bank's investors even more reason to smile.

1. A big payment to resolve mortgage claims
The announcement that B of A would be paying the Federal Housing Finance Agency $9.5 billion to settle all outstanding residential mortgage bond claims is a real biggie, taking a huge liability off of the big bank's plate. Knowing that 88% of these types of claims have now been put to bed is likely making investors breathe easier, as well.

2. Charges against a former CEO are put to bed
Former Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis, the man who helped turn the bank into the behemoth that current chief Brian Moynihan has been furiously trying to trim down, has settled charges against him related to the acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

Lewis and B of A have both settled claims by the New York Attorney General's office that investors were deceived about the financial status of Merrill during its sale to B of A in late 2008. Both portions of the settlement, Lewis' $10 million and the bank's $15 million will be paid by Bank of America, finally putting "paid" to an unpleasantly nagging issue left over from the tumultuous early days of the financial crisis.

3. A mortgage-related lawsuit gets thrown out
In a blow to the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal magistrate judge in Bank of America's hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, ruled in favor of the bank in a mortgage-backed securities case on Thursday. The DOJ was bringing suit against B of A over $850 million in MBSes that it said were misrepresented to investors, using a law called the Financial Institution Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989.

5 Best Machinery Stocks To Buy Right Now

The FIRREA, which enables the government to sue entities based upon damage done to federal institutions, was used to good effect last year against B of A in the so-called "Hustle" suit. That case, in which prosecutors claimed that fraud in Countrywide's fast-paced mortgage loan production pipeline led to losses at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, was a huge win for the federal government.

The DOJ will appeal the ruling, in which the judge stated that FIRREA has historically been used only in cases involving actual mortgage loans, and not MBSes. Right now, though, it's another win for B of A, during one of its most satisfying weeks in years.

The banking sea-change that you can invest in
While Bank of America gets its ducks in a row, there's a brand-new company that's revolutionizing banking, and is poised to kill the hated traditional brick-and-mortar banking model. And amazingly, despite its rapid growth, this company is still flying under the radar of Wall Street. To learn about about this company, click here to access our new special free report.

The 4 Stocks That Drove the Market Lower

March 27, 2014: Markets opened lower on Wednesday even following an upwardly revised estimate of 2.6% growth for U.S. GDP in the fourth quarter and an unexpected drop in new claims for jobless benefits. Biotechs and financials were weak all day, as were the tech stocks. In the final minutes of trading the DJIA was down 0.03%, the S&P 500 was down 0.14%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.49%.

Again today the big market mover among the DJIA stocks was International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) which dropped 1.39% and traded at $189.94 in a 52-week range of $172.19 to $214.89 just ahead of the closing bell. Volume was on track to be about 10% above the daily average of around 5.2 million shares traded. A fund manager at AlphaOne Capital told CNBC he is shorting IBM stock, saying "the cloud is deflationary" for the company.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) bounced lower today, down 1.19% to $22.06 in a 52-week range of $19.98 to $26.49. Share volume was about equal to the daily average of around 42.7 million shares traded. The networking giant was hit with a lawsuit charging that Cisco violates 11 patents owned by Spherix Inc. (NASDAQ: SPEX) and that virtually all of Cisco's revenues from switches and routers since 2008 were generated from the patent infringements.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded down down 0.73% today at $39.50. The company introduced an iPad version of its Office software suite, including a free version. The 52-week range for the stock is $28.08 to $40.99. Trading volume for Microsoft's shares was about 20% below the daily average of around 38 million shares traded.

The stock doing the most to haul the Dow 30 into the green today was Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM). BofA/Merrill Lynch upgraded the shares from Neutral to Buy, and the rising price of natural gas is helping the shares as well. The stock traded up 1.71% today at $96.33 in a 52-week range of $84.79 to $101.74. Trading volume was nearly equal to the daily average of around 12 million shares traded.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 14 are set to close lower today and 16 are on their way to a higher close.

Facebook and Google in tech Cold War

Facebook and Google are spending billions of dollars to ensure that they remain relevant in the rapidly changing technology landscape.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Facebook and Google are locked in a high-stakes, multi-billion dollar battle to shape the future.

Both companies are spending like crazy on emerging technologies. Their aims: when their current businesses are disrupted -- and they will be -- they'll have a fallback plan.

"While Facebook is doing well now, it knows that its core business could degrade just as MySpace's did," said Carl Howe, analyst at Yankee Group.

That's why Facebook (FB, Fortune 500) has poured billions of dollars into a photo sharing network, facial recognition software, a chat app and now virtual reality company Oculus. Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), in turn, has invested billions in driverless cars, wearable gadgets, military robots and -- most recently through its purchase of Nest -- connected home devices like smoke detectors and thermostats.

It's as if Facebook and Google are now combatants in Silicon Valley's version of a Cold War arms race.

"Facebook and Google are high technology titans engaged in a real world game of 'Monopoly' to grab the choicest technology properties in a bid to maintain and extend their dominance with each other as well and various other rivals," said Laura DiDio principal analyst at consultancy ITIC.

These are long-term bets. For all their attempts to diversify, neither company's purchases have helped them expand beyond their core business models just yet. Both Google and Facebook generated about 90% of their revenue from advertising last year.

By buying Oculus, Facebook is betting that the next tech wave could be ruled by wearable devices. Google is making a similar bet with Glass and its Android Wear smar! twatch platform.

  Punch a shark with the Oculus Rift

The big question is whether Facebook bought the right wearable company.

Mark Zuckerberg said on a conference call with analysts Tuesday that he believes virtual reality has a chance to become the communications platform of the future.

But Oculus is unlike most wearable devices -- it is closed off from the rest of the world, taking over most of your senses, including your entire field of vision. That's great for gaming but it's not like we're going to be able to walk down the street with these things as we do today with smartphones and could even do one day with smartwatches and Google Glass.

"Oculus has a lot of cool, very immersive applications," said Ron Gruia, principal consultant at Frost & Sullivan. "At the same time, Oculus is very isolating, limiting its usefulness."

Best Oil Stocks For 2014

Even if it doesn't succeed, the bet seems to be worth it for Facebook. The company spent $2 billion on Oculus but only $400 million in cash -- loose change for a company with $11.5 billion in its corporate coffers.

But in the emerging Cold War between Facebook and Google, Facebook can't take quite as many risks. Google has $59 billion in cash and can lose a bet every once in a while, as it did with Motorola Mobility. (Google bought Motorola for $12.5 billion in 2011 but subsequently shed most of the assets, including the recent sale of Motorola's smartphone business to Lenovo for about $3 billion.)

Google's mission of cataloging information is also broader than Facebook's "connecting people" goal. So while Facebook can make wild bets like it is with Oculus, it has less wigg! le room t! han Google in ensuring they pay off. Investors showed their disapproval on Wednesday as well. Shares of Facebook were down more than 3%.

But give both companies credit for knowing they can't rest on their laurels. Google CEO Larry Page and Facebook's Zuckerberg seem to recognize that it's not easy to stay on top of the tech world forever.

Numerous firms that were once industry titans fell to Earth after they failed to adapt to a new wave of technology. In fact, both companies literally have their headquarters in the graveyard of former tech darlings.

Facebook's Menlo Park offices are in the former home of Sun Microsystems, which Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) snapped up in 2010. And Google lives in the former headquarters of Silicon Graphics Inc. -- the once-mighty computing company that filed for bankruptcy in 2009.

Is Costco a Good Buy Right Now?

Costco's (NASDAQ: COST  ) performance this year has been patchy with shares down 5%. The company's second-quarter numbers slightly missed consensus expectations as heavy discounting during the holiday period ate into its margins. Weak sales, deflation in gas prices, and forex fluctuations also affected its second-quarter results. Moreover, with competition rising from big box retailers such as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT  ) and competitive pricing from dollar stores such as Dollar General (NYSE: DG  ) , is the membership warehouse retailer in for troubled times ahead?

In trouble
There are a number of factors why Costco is feeling the heat. Forex fluctuations have negatively affected its revenue from international operations. Also, bad weather conditions, which affected many retailers last quarter, also damaged Costco's performance. Its sales were hurt by club closures across the United States, Canada, and even in Japan because of snowstorms.  It also had to close its store in Mexico after a hurricane.

Another reason behind Costco's declining profits is the deep discounts it gave during the holiday season. As a result, profit fell 15%. But, as analysts at Nomura point out, "Costco's consistent low-mid-single-digit traffic gains over the last year in spite of the challenging retail environment were particularly encouraging. We continue to believe the fundamentals of the company are intact."

Some positives
Costco has some reasons to cheer as new memberships increased 13% in the second quarter, following the opening of new stores in Japan and Australia. Costco's executive membership base has also been rising at a good pace, and this will be profitable in the long run since executive members, which represent 38% of all members, spend more than their non executive brethren.

As far as expansion is concerned, Costco opened warehouses at 16 new locations by the end of the second quarter. Looking forward, it has plans to open an additional 14 stores before the end of this fiscal year. The expansion will be carried across the U.S., Canada, Japan, Korea, the U.K., and Australia. Costco plans to open its first store in Spain this year and end the fiscal period with 30 new openings. Given that Costco's new warehouses have fueled its growth in recent times, these new openings should enhance investors' confidence going forward.

Outperforming Sam's Club
Also, Costco has pioneered the warehouse club retail model, which relies on bargaining power, supply chain efficiencies, and smaller markups on branded products, giving it an edge over the likes of Wal-Mart. Also, Costco generated about $162 million per club in the last fiscal year, compared with $80 million per unit at Wal-Mart's Sam's Club. Costco's product assortment and services, along with a friendlier and a better store layout as compared to Sam's Club are some of the factors that make it click with customers.  

Even though Wal-Mart's Sam's Club offers various services such as free flat-tire repair, car battery testing and wiper blade installation, Costco's ancillary business has also been growing well. This segment includes various services such as food courts, photo centers, gas stations, etc., and accounts for around 20% of overall revenue. The ancillary segment's revenue has increased at a faster rate than store revenue because Costco is attracting new customers with the help of its ancillary units using its so called "loss leader strategy."  

In this strategy, a product is sold at or below cost to get customers into the shop. But, this will be beneficial only if they buy other things from its retail department, so success is not guaranteed here.

But what about this potential threat
Also, potential competition cannot be ruled out from dollar stores such as Dollar General. Although Dollar General follows a different format, and is not a warehouse club like Costco, its low pricing could turn out to be a threat. Last year, according to a Kantar Retail price survey, Dollar General's total basket was the cheapest among the retailers surveyed. With everyday low prices and a huge network of stores that exceeds 11,000, the point that Dollar General could be a threat cannot be ignored. Moreover, Dollar General opens 600-700 locations a year, signifying the rapid pace at which it is expanding its reach. 

5 Best Communications Equipment Stocks To Own Right Now

Takeaway
Costco's new stores seem to be performing well, but the company needs to get its act together after a weak quarter last time. It will continue to expand internationally, but at a trailing P/E ratio of 25, I think that it is too expensive to jump in right now. So, investors should wait on the sidelines for a more attractive share price.

16 Pictures That Show There's Hope For Walmart

**To jump directly to the meat and potato pictures, click HERE for Page Three of this article.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- In light of fallout from last Saturday's 24 Pictures From a Walmart That Make Sears Look Classy and the follow-up smash Mistreated Walmart Employees Speak Out Against Company, I need to set a few records straight before expressing -- in words and pictures -- some relatively positive Wal-Mart (WMT)-related sentiment: I'm not practicing Can we make Sarah Palin look dumber than we already think she is? "gotcha" journalism by finding, taking and publishing unflattering images of Walmart and Sears Holdings (SHLD) stores. The pictures are not the story; rather they contain and/or illustrate the story. Best case -- photographs lead to deeper explanations of what's going on. That's what happened as a result of the 24 I posted of the South LA Walmart. I'm not pro-union. I'm not anti-union. I'm agnostic, bordering on apathetic. The only time I had a chance to join a union -- AFTRA in Pittsburgh in 1996-97 -- I chose not to even though they said it was mandatory. I didn't see the utility at the time. I'm not anti-chain store (though, in my younger days, I was). My work on Starbucks (SBUX) attests to that. My coverage of Walmart isn't political. Not in the least bit. I simply have no dog in that fight. 

And, maybe most importantly, I've been interested in and writing about retail for quite some time. In fact, if you scroll my article history, you'll see I hit it from several angles. An interest in the well-established discipline of Walmart patheticism (my word) represents a natural progression. 

Sometimes I explore the general sorry state of a large swath of physical retail. Often, and pursuant to what the present article covers, I consider attempts by big box retail to become more urban (or produce smaller stores, which you generally need to do if you want to tap quintessential or decidedly more urban markets). For instance, as they started opening across Southern California, I visited several CityTarget stores -- that's Target's (TGT) alleged urban concept. In late 2012, I published CityTarget: Major Disappointment, but Is It an Epic Failure?. In that article, I came to a conclusion that still stands: Target missed a major opportunity to differentiate itself in urban neighborhoods. Walk into a CityTarget and you'll be hard pressed to distinguish it from the traditionally big box, suburban Targets you have come to know and have your personal banking information stolen from. In fact, as I described in the above-linked article, there's not even a noticeable square footage difference between Target store types: On average, SuperTargets take up the most square footage at 177,291 apiece. Expanded food stores come in at 129,281 per. General merchandise stores run 119,084 square feet each. And CityTargets are not too far behind thus far at 102,800 square feet per location. I ran the most recent numbers and there's been no meaningful change in those numbers over the last couple of years. 75,000 square feet might sound like a lot; however, in practice, it doesn't feel like it. CityTarget is little more than Target's slightly smaller stepchild.  In terms of doing urban (or smaller stores in pseudo-urban or suburban locations) and doing it relatively well, Walmart wins. In fact, it renders Target an embarrassment. Whereas Target made slight adaptations to its standard fare store, Walmart's urban (and smaller store) concept -- Walmart Neighborhood Market -- feels like a completely different experience. You don't feel quite like you're in a Walmart that just so happens to be smaller. You actually feel as if, on some level, Walmart reinvented itself for dense spaces inside core traditional city neighborhoods and to diversify its business in places where it already operates. Don't get me wrong -- Walmart hasn't necessarily innovated like Amazon.com (AMZN) with the neighborhood market concept. However, it didn't mail it in the way Target has. Relative to today's pitiful physical retail environment that's a small victory worth texting home about. And it speaks to the controversy last Saturday's article and the events of the past week triggered: Walmart can -- with a little love and attention -- do things well.

Stock quotes in this article: WMT, TGT, SHLD, WFM 

We'll drive ourselves insane trying to determine why one store's clean while another's a disgusting mess. But I think we can agree there's no excuse for the latter. And, as many of its own people stated so loudly and clearly, Walmart corporate deserves your scorn for its alleged mismanagement and mistreatment of many of its retail workers. Of course that's nothing new at Walmart. However, going into last week's articles I had no idea, for example, just how bad the problem of understaffing, which leads directly to the unkempt stores, is.

We can also agree that, where opportunity exists, Walmart can put its best foot forward.

I'm uncertain if Walmart Neighborhood Market staffers are any more content (or less discontent) than workers at "regular" Walmarts. Maybe we'll find out in the aftermath of this article. But I can state, with confidence, that on the basis of appearance, these smaller, urban-formatted operations provide hope that Walmart can do right by its customers as well as its brand (which, in many hearts and minds, is iconic if not respected).

I visited and photographed the Walmart Neighborhood Market on the perimeter of Downtown Los Angeles. It's part of a mixed-used development just past where Sunset Boulevard turns into Cesar Chavez Boulevard and makes its way into and past downtown. As the images and explanations on the subsequent pages of this article detail, this store represents pretty much the complete opposite -- in both look and feel -- of what we showed you last week from that South LA Walmart store. It's difficult to put into words, but from the moment you pull in the (well-organized and well-attended) parking garage of this Downtown LA Walmart Neighborhood Market, you feel the difference. It's an inviting space. Immediately, you receive the signal that somebody cares. Given Walmart's urban opportunity and its considerable success with the Neighborhood Market concept (the company will do over $8 billion in sales this fiscal year in that space), it's no surprise corporate cares, which appears to impact the way things get done on the ground. As a not-so-aside ... an interesting note from the investor conference transcript where I pulled the $8B stat in the last paragraph: ... you can put a neighborhood market in close proximity to a supercenter and we see an additional $300 a year from customer spent based on traceable tenders. So, its just additive to our business because they are different trips, because they shop differently, stock-up trip at the supercenter on the weekend, fill-in trip at the neighborhood market during the week. We also have had great success in new markets and with new customers who are now accessing our brand in a more convenient way right in their neighborhood. If I had the resources, I would love to do a study that measured the condition of Walmart Supercenters and such on the basis of their proximity to Neighborhood Markets. But I digress ... In the South LA images, when something was out of place, a shelf was empty or a cart was sitting in an isle, it looked bad. It looked like and -- I'm pretty confident in saying -- it was neglect. As a customer, I felt like I was slumming it ... that Walmart was providing me with an inferior experience. They were slapping me in the face. Maybe a visual can help explain what I mean ... Compare this ... ... to this ... There's a worker behind that cart full of boxes restocking a freezer. Throughout the store, if there was inventory on the floor, it was being attended to. That sends the signal to the customer that Walmart's on top of things. That it's making sure it's giving the customer what it needs with as little disruption or disarray as possible.

Stock quotes in this article: WMT, TGT, SHLD, WFM 

Top 5 Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now

The same goes for this shot from the pharmacy, which is actually located adjacent (you walk across a corridor that also connects to the parking garage) to the larger Neighborhood Market. The shopping carts absolutely contain items about to be stocked or restocked. However, unlike what we saw in South LA, there's an employee you can see moving about and set to make quick order of the task.

In the main store, same thing.

Empty magazine racks at the checkout ... it's being taken care of ... Same deal in bread and baked goods ... And even where you find empty spaces on shelves ... it's just not the same. The pictures tell the story ... South LA Walmart Downtown LA Walmart Neighborhood Market South LA Walmart Downtown LA Walmart Neighborhood Market There's even a "spill station" set up in some aisles at this Neighborhood Market ... 

Stock quotes in this article: WMT, TGT, SHLD, WFM 

It might be a bit of stretch, but, in all seriousness, if you stripped away the signage (the prices give it away!) and went in at your least critical, you could confuse the produce section at the Walmart Neighborhood Market with the same at Whole Foods Market (WFM).

That's high praise ...

Even the meat looks good ... As does the timely display (it's already warm in Southern California; in fact it has been for months!) when you walk in the door ... And, of course, it's Walmart so they carry the staples ... In the shell of a nut -- all else equal (as in I didn't know Walmart's history, never wrote last week's article and fielded the response to it) -- I would shop here. Gladly. Relative to what's out there, it's a beautiful store. Generally a step or two below great local markets and Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. But it works. And works well. Based on the $8 billion number, it appears that, in the literal sense, it's working really well for Walmart also. If Walmart could send some of the TLC this store obviously receives to South LA, the other trashed stores we have heard about this week and its employees across the board ... then we would really have something.  Follow @rocco_thestreet --Written by Rocco Pendola in Santa Monica, Calif.

Stock quotes in this article: WMT, TGT, SHLD, WFM  Disclosure: TheStreet's editorial policy prohibits staff editors, reporters and analysts from holding positions in any individual stocks. Rocco Pendola is a columnist for TheStreet. Whenever possible, Pendola uses hockey, Springsteen or Southern California references in his work. He lives in Santa Monica.

SEC, FINRA to Hold Joint Regional BD Compliance Seminars

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced Tuesday the opening of registration for the regional compliance outreach programs for broker-dealers beginning in the spring that will take place in Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia and New York.

The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, in coordination with the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets, is partnering with FINRA to sponsor the programs, which will start in April in Denver and Los Angeles. The other outreach programs in Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami and New York will take place in June.

“These regional programs supplement our national compliance outreach program for broker-dealers by allowing critical regional interaction between staff from the SEC and FINRA and personnel from registered broker-dealer firms operating in the region,” said Kevin Goodman, national associate director of the SEC’s broker-dealer examination program, in a statement. “This local collaboration is an important aspect of our overall outreach efforts.”

FINRA senior vice president for member relations and education Chip Jones added in the statement that FINRA “views these programs as unique learning opportunities because they provide compliance professionals across the country with the opportunity to interact with FINRA and SEC staff. These outreach programs also provide us with an opportunity to listen to the firms regarding their day-to-day compliance initiatives.”

Andrew Bowden, director of the SEC’s National Examination Program, added that the compliance outreach program “is an important part of the commission’s and FINRA’s initiative to share information with the industry about observed deficiencies and control weaknesses and to assist firms in assessing and enhancing their compliance.”

There is no cost to attend the regional programs. Registration is open to all risk, audit, legal and compliance professionals employed by broker-dealers.

 

 

Top 10 China Stocks To Buy Right Now

Top 10 China Stocks To Buy Right Now: Bona Film Group Limited(BONA)

Bona Film Group Limited distributes films in the People?s Republic of China. It distributes films to movie theaters, as well as to non-theatrical distribution channels, including DVD and Blu-ray and other home video products; Internet and digital distribution; in-flight entertainment; and cable, satellite, and broadcast televisions. The company also invests in the production of Chinese and Hong Kong films in order to obtain the distribution rights for movie theaters and non-theatrical channels. In addition, Bona Film Group operates six movie theaters in five cities of the People?s Republic of China; operates a talent agency business that represents artists; and involves in film advertising and television production businesses. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

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 Bona Film Group (Nasdaq: BONA  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  With just a quick glance at the chart, Bona Film Group Ltd (NASDAQ:BONA) doesn't look like anything other than an erratic mess. When you take a step back and take a look at the longer-term chart of BONA, however, you can see the last several weeks have ushered in a major bullish change of direction for the stock... meaning now's a great time to start wading into a position.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-china-stocks-to-buy-ri! ght-now.html

Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Own For 2014

Top 5 Biotech Stocks To Own For 2014: Redhill Biopharma Ltd (RDHL)

Redhill Biopharma Ltd. is an Israel-based biopharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on the development and acquisition of therapeutic candidates. The Company's pipeline consists of six late clinical development therapeutic candidates, two of which have completed bioequivalence clinical trials subject to review and approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration and, in some cases, regulatory authorities in other countries. The Company's six clinical stage therapeutic candidates include RHB-101, RHB-102, RHB-103, RHB-104, RHB-105 and RHB-106.

RHB-101

RHB-101 is a treatment of hypertension, heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction (following myocardial infraction) by means of controlled release of an active ingredient known as carvedilol, which is designed to be administered to patients on a once-daily basis. RHB-101 is based on a patented technology for the controlled release of drugs administered orally.

RHB-102

RHB-102 is a once-daily controlled release oral formulation of ondansetron. RHB-102 utilizes a technology called CDT that uses salts to provide a controlled release of ondansetron.

RHB-103

RHB-103 is an oral thin film formulation of rizatriptan intended for the treatment of acute migraine headaches. Migraine is a neurovascular disorder (related to nerves and blood vessels) characterized by recurrent headaches in one side or both sides of the head.

The product is based on a technology called VersaFilm.

RHB-104

RHB-104 is an antibiotic combination therapy for the treatment of Crohn's disease (with a PIII clinical study underway), as well as Multiple Sclerosis (with an ongoing PIIa clinical study) and Rheumatoid Arthritis. RHB-104 is a combination of clarithromycin, clofazimine and rifabutin, t! hree generic antibiotic ingredients, in a single capsule.

RHB-105

RHB-105, an antibiotics and proton pump inhibitor drug targeting Helico! bacter Pylori infection. RHB-105 is a combination of three approved drug products omeprazole, which is a proton pump inhibitor (the natural body pump that produces the gastric acids used for digesting the food in the stomach), and amoxicillin and rifabutin which are antibiotics. Chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori irritates the mucosal lining of the stomach and small intestine.

RHB-106

RHB-106, is a tablet for the preparation and cleansing of the gastrointestinal tract prior to the performance of abdominal procedures. Its abdominal procedures include diagnostic tests, such as colonoscopy, barium enema or virtual colonoscopy, as well as surgical interventions, such as laparotomy.

The company competes with GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis Groupe, Hoffman-La Roche Ltd, Merck and Co., Inc, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Salix Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Breaking news

  Vitran Corporation (NASDAQ: VTNC) announced today that it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement with TransForce pursuant to which TransForce has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Vitran not already owned by TransForce for US$6.50 in cash per share, in accordance with TransForce's prior proposal. To read the full news, click here. ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) today announced it signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) to sell three utility-scale projects in Western China, with a total capacity of 60MW, to Jiangsu Akcome Solar Science & Technology Co on December 30, 2013. To read the full news, click here. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) today announced it has terminated the merger agreement with Apollo Tyres (NSE:ApolloTYRE). To read the full news, click here. RedHill Biopharma (NASDAQ: RDHL) today announced that it h! as entere! d into a definitive agreement with leading healthcare investor OrbiMed Israel Partners Limited Partnership, an affiliate of OrbiMed Advisors LLC, for the sale of RedHill's American Depository Shares and warrants in a private placement transactionor a total sum of $6.0 million. To read the full news, click here.

  Posted-In: Guggenheim US Stock FuturesNews Eurozone Futures Global Pre-Market Outlook Markets

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-biotech-stocks-to-own-for-2014.html

Hot Safest Stocks For 2014

Hot Safest Stocks For 2014: Transportadora de Gas del Sur SA (TGS)

Transportadora de Gas del Sur S.A. (TGS) is engaged in the transportation of natural gas and production and commercialization of natural gas liquids (NGL). TGS's pipeline system connects major gas fields in southern and western Argentina with gas distributors and industries in those areas and in the greater Buenos Aires area. The Company also renders midstream services, which consist of gas treatment, removal of impurities from the natural gas stream, gas compression, wellhead gas gathering and pipeline construction, operation, and maintenance services. The Company operates in three segments: natural gas transportation services through its pipeline system; NGL production and commercialization, and other services, which include midstream and telecommunication services.

During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company's gas transportation represented approximately 42% of total net revenues. During 2009, its NGL production and commercialization segment a ccounted for 50% of the total revenues of the Company. During 2009, its other services segment accounted for 8% of total revenues of the Company. Its other services segment consists of midstream and telecommunications services. Through midstream services, TGS provides integral solutions related to natural gas from wellhead up to the transportation systems. The services consists of gas gathering, compression and treatment, as well as construction, operation and maintenance of pipelines, which are generally rendered to natural gas and oil producers at wellhead. The customers' portfolio also includes distribution companies, industrial users, power plants and refineries.

During 2009, the Company provided a range of technical services to different customers. The services consisted of connections to the transportation system, engineering inspections, project management and ! professional technical counseling. Telecommunication services are provided through Telcosur S. A. (Telcosur), who renders services both as an independent c! arrier of carriers and to corporate clients within its area. Telcosur has a digital land radio connection system.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Telecom Italia SpA (TIT) lost 1.8 percent as Standard & Poor's said it may downgrade the phone company's debt to non-investment grade. TGS Nopec Geophysical Co. (TGS) tumbled the most in two years after reducing its revenue forecast. Celesio AG jumped to a three-year high on a report that McKesson Corp. may buy the German drug distributor.

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  TGS (TGS) slumped 7.4 percent to 176.90 kroner as Norway's largest surveyor of underwater oil-and-gas fields lowered its forecast for full-year revenue to $920 million to $1 billion because of lower-than-expected demand from industry. It had projected sales of $970 million to $1.05 billion.

• [By Dividend]

  Transportadora de Gas Del Sur S.A. (TGS) has a market capitalization of $308.26 million. The company employs 829 people, generates revenue of $466.44 million and has a net income of $43.33 million. Transportadora de Gas Del Sur's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $170.33 million. The EBITDA margin is 36.52 percent (the operating margin is 27.41 percent and the net profit margin 9.29 percent).

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-safest-stocks-for-2014.html

Best Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014

Best Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:

• [By TaniaC]

  Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) is a consumer products company whose products are marketed in over 200 countries and territories throughout the world. It operates in two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care and Pet Nutrition.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  ) will release its quarterly report on Friday, and investors have watched the stock hit new all-time record highs in November before falling back in the past two months. Despite the optimism, Procter & Gamble earnings face pressure from international giant Unilever (NYSE: UL  ) as well as domestic rivals Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) and Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB  ) . The question facing investors is whether P&G can sustain its longtime competitive advantages against its rivals and bolster its growth.

• [By James Well]

  Analysts' Consensus Position on Pfizer
  
  Thirteen analysts including those at TheStreet, Thomson Reuters/Verus, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley and Argus Research! are optimistic about the performance of Pfizer going forward and, hence, reiterated a consensus buy recommendation at an average target price of $31.78 per share. Last Wednesday, analysts at Goldman Sachs removed Pfizer from Goldman's conviction buy list (CL) where Pfizer has been since Aug. 9, 2011, and placed it on the buy list but raised its price target from $34 to $35 per share. Jami Rubin, an analyst with Goldman Sachs, claimed that Pfizer has gone up by 82.5% since being added to the CL as against 53.9% for the S&P 500 during the period and, therefore, there was the need to replace Pfizer with AbbVie at a price target of $60 because they claimed AbbVie has greater upside at this time.

• [By Dan Burrows]

  Rival Colgate-Palmolive (CL) has different concerns, namely sluggishness in emerging markets where it enjoys commanding market share and derives more than half its revenue.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-blue-chip-stocks-to-watch-for-2014.html

Top Safest Stocks To Own Right Now

Top Safest Stocks To Own R ight Now: iShares 1-3 Year Credit Bond ETF (CSJ)

iShares Lehman 1-3 Year Credit Bond Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the investment-grade credit sector of the United States bond market as defined by the Lehman Brothers 1-3 Year U.S. Credit Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of investment-grade United States credit securities, corporate debt and sovereign, local authority and non-United States agency bonds that are United States dollar denominated.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of the securities in the Index, which has a similar investment profile as the Index. The Index includes investment grade United States credit securities that have a remaining maturity of greater than or equal to one year and less than three years, and have more than $250 million or more of outstanding face value. Barclays Global Fund Advisors serves as an advisor to the Fund.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GURUFOCUS]

  In addition to individual stocks several funds pay a monthly dividend. Below is a sampling of these:
  Monthly Bond Funds- iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Credit Bond (CSJ) | Yield: 1.29%
  - Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV) | Yield: 1.25%
  - Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV) | Yield: 2.96%
  - Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF (BLV) | Yield: 4.42%

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-safest-stocks-to-own-right-now-2.html

Best China Stocks To Own For 2014

Best China Stocks To Own For 2014: China Lodging Group Limited (HTHT)

China Lodging Group, Limited, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and manages a chain of hotels in the People?s Republic of China. It operates HanTing Express Hotel that targets knowledge workers and value-conscious travelers; HanTing Seasons Hotel, which targets mid-level corporate managers and owners of small and medium enterprises; and HanTing Hi Inn for budget-constrained travelers. As of March 31, 2011, the company had 473 hotels consisting of 259 leased-and-operated hotels and 214 franchised-and-managed hotels; and 162 hotels under development, including 74 leased-and-operated hotels and 88 franchised-and-managed hotels. China Lodging Group, Limited was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China.

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 China Lodging Group (Nasdaq: HTHT  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [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 China Lodging Group (Nasdaq: HTHT  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-china-stocks-to-own-for-2014.html

Flirting With a Natural Gas Shortage

Two Predictions   

Two of the predictions I made for 2014 were that natural gas prices would be higher, and that oil prices would be lower. My natural gas prediction was "The average Henry Hub spot price for natural gas will be higher in 2014 than in 2013."

Already, only two months after making the natural gas prediction, my certainty that it will prove to be correct has gone from roughly 70 percent to 95 percent. For oil prices, it's still too early to tell. This week I want to discuss the reasons that I believe the outlook for natural gas prices is bullish for the rest of the year. Next week I will address the situation with oil prices that continue to defy gravity.

A fuller discussion of the current market fundamentals and the implications for specific investment plays is presented in the latest issue of The Energy Strategist for subscribers.

The Nature of Natural Gas Storage

Natural gas consumption in the US is highly cyclical. Between April and November of each year, more natural gas is produced than consumers demand.  Producers use a system of underground pressurized storage that builds inventories until mid-fall, which are then depleted through the winter. Natural gas can be stored in depleted oil or gas reservoirs, in natural aquifers, or in salt caverns. Due to this cyclical depletion, the natural gas storage picture looks like this:

Source: US Energy Information Administration 

It isn't obvious from the graph, but injection season — that is, the stretch when natural gas inventories begin to rebuild — historically begins as early as mid-March and as late as mid-April. It is mostly a function of the severity of the winter season. The average date that marks the beginning of injection season is right! around April 1.

In the past five years, the earliest date at which inventories have turned upward was March 16. This happened in 2012, after an abnormally warm winter. In fact, the winter of 2011/2012 failed to pull gas inventories below 2 trillion cubic feet (tcf) for the first time in more than 20 years. Inventories in 2012 bottomed at 2.4 tcf, which was also earlier than average. It is perhaps unsurprising with this high level of inventory that natural gas prices bottomed out a month later below $2 per million Btu (MMBtu), and they didn't recover to the $4/MMBtu level for a full year.

But this year's winter has been the coldest in at least 30 years, and the result was the fastest depletion of natural gas in storage on record. With yet another major bout of winter weather sweeping across the country, we are headed into injection season with seriously depleted inventories. That will have implications for the rest of the year.

This Year's Inventory Picture

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports on the country's natural gas inventory picture weekly. Each Thursday at 10:30 a.m. ET the EIA releases the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report, which gives inventories as of the previous Friday.

As of Feb. 21, the nation's gas in storage stood at 1.35 tcf. This is the lowest level since 2008, and the lowest level recorded in February since 2003. Inventories also hit these levels in February 2001. One thing all of these years have in common is that we entered injection season with inventories that were lower than average, and it took months to get the inventories back to normal range. And each of these winter seasons saw natural gas prices spike above $10/million Btu (MMBtu).

So far that hasn't happened this year, although we have seen some spikes briefly go over $8/MMBtu. But history ar! gues that! even though inventories should begin to recover in 2 to 6 weeks, natural gas prices are likely to be higher this injection season than last year. In 2013 prices remained for the most part below $4/MMBtu until December, but this year's inventory picture provides a strong indicator that prices will remain above $4 — with the possibility of higher spikes — throughout the rest of the year.

For investors, this presents an opportunity. The major natural gas producers should see year-over-year results that are better than they were a year ago. But surprisingly, some of the biggest natural gas producers have sold off recently on the perception of a flat to negative outlook in the months ahead. This pullback was caused by very short-term factors and has created some real opportunities given the likelihood that natural gas prices will remain elevated for months.

Conclusions

To be clear, my prediction of higher natural gas prices for 2014 was based on longer-term trends such as the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals and the phaseout of coal in power production. In fact, when I made this year's prediction I wrote that short-term weather events such as "an exceptionally cold winter" can override longer term market drivers. This has been the case this year.

So while the longer-term market factors favor higher natural gas prices, the current inventory situation should also prove favorable this year for natural gas producers. It's a win-win for these companies, and the downside risk appears to be low.

(Follow Robert Rapier on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook.)

Portfolio Update

Bakken Windfalls Beckon    

Ahead of Robert's promised analysis of oil market dynamics next week, it's probably prudent to assume that crude has defied numerous crash predictions because global demand is keeping pace with global supply. Oil prices have been strong enough recently that today's 2 percent bump based on the Russian invasion of Crim! ea looks ! almost routine.

So did the latest set of strong quarterly numbers reported last week by two of our favorite Bakken oil drillers, Aggressive Portfolio holding Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR) and Growth Portfolio pick Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL). They have returned 42 percent and 37 percent, respectively, since we recommended them a year ago, and by the looks of the latest numbers are far from done.  

All Continental did last year was increase its proved reserves 38 percent even as total output grew 39 percent and crude production 71 percent. The company is forecasting production growth of 26 to 32 percent in 2014, and based on recent exploration and development trends seems more likely to exceed that guidance than to undershoot it.

Fourth-quarter results had some warts, in fact they missed estimates as the discounts on Continental's crude relative to the benchmark widened, while the nasty winter limited production gains in North Dakota.

But the discounts, at least, should continue to shrink as the midstream infrastructure buildout in the Bakken continues, and in the meantime Continental is continuing to aggressively reduce well costs while developing new prospects. Its SCOOP play, for example (short for South Central Oklahoma Oil Province) has in less than two years gone from a gleam in founder Harold Hamm's eye to a significant gusher now accounting for 16 percent of the company's total output, with a return rate rivaling the Bakken.

As a result of these improved returns, Continental's cash flow is gradually catching up to its capital spending. And while the company is certainly more highly leveraged than some of its competitors, to this point you would have to say that the leverage has been put to good use.   

The stock exceeded our original $110 buy below target in September, and now is an opportune time to raise it with new highs within reach. Buy CLR below $125.

Whiting doesn't have quite the same growth profile as Continental but is more th! an its ma! tch on costs, while offering the more conservatively managed balance sheet. Whiting's production grew 21 percent last year and the company is aiming to increase it another 18 percent or so in 2014. And that forecast doesn't fully account for improved well completion techniques now delivering much higher production rates.

Whiting shares bounced smartly off their 200-day moving average early last month, and haven't looked back. With our previously increased buy maximum hit again, we're raising our sights. Buy WLL below $76.   

– Igor Greenwald

Stock Talk

We encourage you to engage with our analysts and your fellow subscribers on our website. To ask a question or post a comment related to a particular article, please do so in the Stock Talk field at the bottom of that article.

Or, to ask a general question, please go to the main Stock Talk page found under the Resources menu for each publication.

DirecTV Tunes into Buybacks

We're recommending a media-related company that is rewarding investors with a disciplined buyback strategy, explains Richard Moroney, editor of Dow Theory Forecasts.

Since launching its share-repurchase program in 2006, DirecTV (DTV) has spent nearly $29 billion to shrink its share count by 61%. For the 31 quarters ended September, the company paid an average price of $32 per share.

In the first nine months of 2013, DirecTV spent $3.28 billion to repurchase enough shares to reduce the count by 10%, paying an average price of $57 per share.

Management has targeted $4 billion in stock buybacks in 2013, entering the December quarter with $1.6 billion remaining under its current repurchase plan.

In coming years, DirecTV expects capital spending to taper from 2013 levels, potentially freeing up more cash to be returned to investors.

For now, DirecTV seems content to maintain its buyback strategy and eschew a dividend.

Management has frequently cited the tax advantages of repurchasing stock over paying a dividend, which exposes earnings to taxation at both the corporate and shareholder levels.

Moreover, DirecTV does not appear to be overpaying for its own shares. The stock trades at just 12 times projected 2014 earnings.

The company will disclose more details on repurchases February 20, when it posts December-quarter results.

Analysts expect DirecTV to earn $1.28 per share, down 9%, on 5% revenue growth. For 2014, the consensus projects 17% growth in per-share profits on 5% higher sales. We rate the stock a long-term buy.

Subscribe to Dow Theory Forecasts here…

More from MoneyShow.com:

Scripps Networks Interactive

Value Fund Trio: Internet, TV, and Global IT

Buyback Expert Bets on Tech

Skyworks: Quantitative Standout

"The Internet of Things" has become a popular catch phrase to describe the interconnectedness of devices using sensors and actuators that are embedded in physical objects, such as cars, smartphones, computers, home appliances, clothing, you name it, explains Chuck Carlson, editor of DRIP Investor.

One firm that plans to have a major stake in this growth is Skyworks Solutions (SWKS). The company manufactures analog semiconductors that're essential to expanding the Internet of Things.

These products are embedded in products in a variety of industries, from wireless communications and automotive, to medical and energy. The company is perhaps best known for being a supplier to Apple's iPhone smart phones.

The stock popped recently on the company's impressive December quarter. Revenues advanced 11% in the quarter to $505 million. Per share profits of $0.67 were up nearly 22% over the year-earlier quarter.

The company looks for its momentum to continue in 2014. For fiscal 2014 ending in September, the firm should post per-share profits of at least $2.60, representing an 18% increase over fiscal 2013 results.

Financially, the firm is rock solid. The company finished 2013 with nearly $649 million in cash and virtually no debt. The strong finances and earnings growth should fund additional stock buybacks—the firm repurchased 670,000 shares during the December quarter.

Skyworks does not currently pay a dividend, but management said on the latest earnings call that a dividend "is a possibility in the future, no question."

The stock sports some of the strongest Quadrix numbers among the some 4,700 stocks we currently score in our Quadrix universe.

The Overall score is 100 with Value and Momentum scores of 80 and 97. Skyworks also scores well relative to its peers, with its two sector-specific scores coming in at 94 and 100 (all scores are out of a possible 100).

Best Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Please note that Skyworks offers a direct-purchase plan, whereby any investor may buy the first share, and every share, directly. Minimum initial investment is $1,000.

Subscribe to the DRIP Investor here…

More from MoneyShow.com:

Icahn Eyes eBay

Value Fund Trio: Internet, TV, and Global IT

Tech Trio: Music, Tweets, Reviews

Will 1,100 Stores Closures Save RadioShack? Probably Not

It's been a tough few years for RadioShack, topped off with an ugly 2013.

The retailer announced fourth quarter and full year 2013 earnings today. The Fort Worth, TX-based company posted a $344 million operating loss for the year, and a same-store-sales drop of 19% for the fourth quarter. Not only that, RadioShack will be closing up to 1,100 stores across the country, and that may not be the end of store closings.

The dismal news is killing the company's stock. RadioShack shares are plunging more than 16% to about $2.26 this afternoon.

What's going on with RadioShack lately? The electronics retailer has long been challenged by e-commerce businesses like Amazon, but things have been particularly tough for RadioShack of late.

It may be that time is running out for the company. Last year it named Joseph C. Magnacca as its fourth CEO in three years. Magnacca was formerly a Walgreen Walgreen Co executive before joining RadioShack.

On the call with investors today, Magnacca said disappointing earnings were the result of poor foot traffic, fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas and bad weather. Surely, those are reasons just about any retailer could cite, but RadioShack's quarter was particularly bad.

Magnacca was quick to point out that his turnaround plan for RadioShack, which he announced in July, will take time and that results will vary.

Here's a quick breakdown of his plan:

Car insurance is cheapest in December - Study

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Shopping for car insurance? You may want to check the calendar first.

That's the takeaway from a yearlong study released Thursday by InsuranceQuotes.com, which found that the cost of car insurance can vary by up to 48% depending on what month it's purchased.

Nationally, December was the most affordable month to buy, with coverage 8% cheaper on average than policies purchased in March, the most expensive month.

The price swings were much larger in many individual states. In Hawaii, it was 48% cheaper to buy in December than in March, the study found; in Pennsylvania, December was 34.5% cheaper than the most expensive month, April.

  Tiny cars flunk crash test

Researchers said they couldn't identify any single factor driving the variability. Complicating matters was the fact that the patterns vary across states; although December was the cheapest month nationally on average, it was the most expensive month in 11 individual states.

This is the first year the study has been conducted, and InsuranceQuotes senior analyst Laura Adams said it's "very difficult at this point to take away any patterns."

"There are multiple factors that make rates variable," she said. "We can't pinpoint any one."

Varied pricing patterns in different states are to be expected since insurance is regulated at the state level, analysts said. In addition, since climates vary by region, carriers in different states experience surges in weather-related claims that can raise costs at different times.

December is likely the cheapest month in many places because rate increases and inflation adjustments often take effect once the new year begins in January.

Adams said the findings underscore the importance of shopping around and looking out for better deals than the one you've got. InsuranceQuotes has a free calculator on its website to help drivers evaluate their options.

"Rates are constantly changing, much more so than the average consumer would realize," Adams said.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now

Mid cap telco equipment stock Alcatel Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU) is up 205.9% since the start of the year for a much better performance�verses peers or benchmarks like Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) or the iShares North American Tech-Multimedia Networking ETF (NYSEARCA: IGN)���meaning its probably worth taking a closer look at the stock as its been producing plenty of good news for a change.�I should note that we have recently added�Alcatel Lucent SA to our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio as a�technical based trade because we think shares will continue higher on speculation�about an�improved global footprint�for this leading mobile data network provider.

What is Alcatel Lucent SA?

France based Alcatel Lucent SA provides products and innovations in IP and�cloud networking as well as ultra-broadband fixed and wireless access by serving service providers and their customers, as well as enterprises and institutions throughout the world. In addition, Alcatel Lucent SA's Bell Labs is�one of the world�� foremost technology research institutes that is has been�responsible for countless breakthroughs�which have shaped the networking and communications industry.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Daktronics Inc.(DAKT)

Daktronics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells various electronic display systems and related products, as well as provides related maintenance and professional services worldwide. The company offers scoring and timing products, such as indoor and outdoor scoreboards, digit displays, scoring and timing controllers, statistics software, and other related products; timing systems for sports events, primarily aquatics and track competitions; and audio systems integrated into a solution that include scoring, timing, message display, and/or video capability for sports venues, as well as related control systems. It also provides automated rigging and hoist products, which comprise of arena center-hung scoreboard/display systems for small and large sporting facilities; automated rigging for theatre applications, including high schools; and video display systems, such as displays to show various levels of video, graphics, and animation, as well as controllers to manage the operation of the display. In addition, the company provides architectural lighting and display products, which include freeform video elements; message display systems for commercial applications; digital billboards that offer digital display solutions for the outdoor advertising industry; Visiconn system, a primary software application for controlling content and playback loops for digital billboard applications; and digit and price displays consisting of outdoor time and temperature displays, as well as Fuelight digit displays designed for the petroleum industry. Further, it offers transportation products comprising various light emitting diodes-based displays for road management, parking, mass transit, and aviation applications; and rents its display equipment. The company sells its products through its direct sales force, as well as through resellers. Daktronics, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is based in Brookings, South Dakota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On Wednesday, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT  ) will release its latest quarterly results. But can the company that's famous for helping professional sports keep score fare well enough to make investors the ultimate winners?

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap flat panel display stock�Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ: OLED) was hit by bearish news in late November and the trend lines on its technical�charts appear to be confused as to what direction the stock will head, meaning its probably time to take a closer look at the situation along with the stock�� performance verses that of flat panel display peers like large cap Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW)�and small cap players like Daktronics, Inc (NASDAQ: DAKT) and SGOCO Group Ltd (NASDAQ: SGOC)

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT  ) also knows the score. The largest supplier of electronic scoreboards and other gargantuan displays boosted its semi-annual dividend by 4%. Investors will be getting $0.12 a share every six months. Daktronics was able to return more money to its stakeholders after posting a slight increase in quarterly revenue as it reversed a year-ago loss with a small profit.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited (CCM)

Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates a network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in the People�s Republic of China. The company�s services comprise linear accelerators external beam radiotherapy, gamma knife radiosurgery, head gamma knife systems, body gamma knife systems, proton beam therapy, diagnostic imaging, and other treatment and diagnostic modalities. It offers clinical support services; develops treatment protocols for doctors; and organizes joint diagnosis between doctors in its network and clinical research. The company also operates a specialty cancer hospital, as well as leases medical and diagnostic equipment. As of March 31, 2011, it operated a network of 121 centers with 68 hospital partners that cover 46 cities and 24 provinces, and administrative regions in China. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People�s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  China is set to ease the one child policy, something that could benefit Chinese stocks in general but be especially beneficial to insurance stocks like China Life Insurance Company Ltd (NYSE: LFC) and CNinsure Inc (NASDAQ: CISG) plus health care stocks like Mindray Medical International Ltd�(NYSE: MR) and Concord Medical Services Hldg Ltd (NYSE: CCM). First, let�� be clear that China is NOT abolishing the one child policy as the changes will merely�allow married couples to have two children if one spouse is an only child plus it will be up to China�� 34 province-level administrations to revise�their laws and put the new policy into effect. Moreover, China�� family-planning bureaucracy employs more than 500,000 full-time workers and six million part-time workers all the way down to the village level to�collect billions of dollars in fines and these bureaucrats have fought for years against policy changes���meaning they could throw up roadblocks if not placated. With that said, the insurance and health care sectors are two sectors with publicly Chinese stocks that look set to�take advantage of the coming changes.

Top India Stocks To Own For 2015: Cinemark Holdings Inc(CNK)

Cinemark Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in the motion picture exhibition business. As of June 30, 2011, it operated 436 theatres with 4,983 screens in 39 states of the United States, as well as in Brazil, Mexico, and 11 other Latin American countries. The company is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sue Chang]

  Cinemark Holdings Inc. (CNK) : The movie theater company is well positioned to capitalize on the film�� popularity with movie goers with operations both in the U.S. and Latin America. Shares of Cinemark are up 26% so far this year.

• [By John Udovich]

  The shares of small cap IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) have slipped more than 10% this week on growth concerns - meaning it might be a good idea to take a closer look at the stock plus its performance�verses other cinema stocks like Carmike Cinemas, Inc (NASDAQ: CKEC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) along with the PowerShares Dynamic Leisure & Entertainment ETF�(NYSEARCA: PEJ).

• [By Rich Smith]

  As movie-theater operator Cinemark (NYSE: CNK  ) exits the Mexican market, another "gringo" is expanding to fill the gap -- from even farther north of the border.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Emergent Biosolutions Inc. (EBS)

Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, engages in the development, manufacture, and commercialization of specialized products for use in defense and commercial markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Biodefense and Biosciences. It markets BioThrax, an FDA licensed vaccine for the prevention of anthrax disease; and RSDL (decontamination lotion) product for removal or neutralization of chemical warfare agents from the skin. The company�s development pipeline includes Anthrivig (Human Anthrax Immunoglobulin), a polyclonal anthrax therapeutic candidate; PreviThrax, a recombinant anthrax vaccine candidate, NuThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed with CPG 7909 Adjuvant); BioThrax with a novel adjuvant; and Thravixa (Fully Human Anthrax Monoclonal Antibody), a therapeutic being studied for use against symptomatic anthrax infection. In addition, it develops TRU-016, a humanized anti-CD37 therapeutic candidate, ba sed on its ADAPTIR (Modular Protein Technology) platform that is in Phase I/II clinical trials to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Further, the company develops preclinical product candidates targeted for solid tumors, inflammatory bowel disease, graft versus host disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and a human vaccine to protect against influenza caused by a range of circulating H5 influenza strains. Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Traders Reserve]

  I discovered Emergent Bio Solutions (EBS) when I ran my proprietary P/E Gap model at the end of December. Without getting into the details, P/E Gap identifies stocks that have the potential to rally based on being significantly undervalued.

• [By Stephen Quickel]

  Emergent BioSolutions (EBS) is a far smaller specialist in bio-medical products for the military and commercial markets, including anthrax vaccine and decontamination agents. With revenues nearing $400 million, EBS is acquiring Canada's Cangene Corp. to expand its product line.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Pitney Bowes Inc(PBI)

Pitney Bowes Inc. provides mail processing equipment and integrated mail solutions worldwide. It offers a suite of equipment, supplies, software, services, and solutions for managing and integrating physical and digital communication channels. The company?s Small & Medium Business Solutions group engages in the sale, rental, and financing of mail finishing, mail creation, and shipping equipment and software; provision of supply, support, and other professional services; and provision of payment solutions. Its Enterprise Business Solutions group sells, supports, and offers other professional services for high-speed production mail systems, and sorting and production print equipment; and sells and provides support services for non-equipment-based mailing, customer relationship and communication, and location intelligence software. This group also offers facilities management services; secure mail services; reprographic document management services; and litigation support and eDiscovery services, as well as provides presort mail services and cross-border mail services; and direct marketing services. Pitney Bowes Inc. markets its products and services through its sales force, direct mailings, outbound telemarketing, and independent distributors and dealers to various business, governmental, institutional, and other organizations. The company, formerly known as Pitney Bowes Postage Meter Company, was founded in 1920 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chuck Saletta]

  Watch that dividend quality
  Similarly, by putting quality controls around a company's dividend and ability to pay it, the iPIG portfolio was able to miss one of the largest recent dividend blow-ups, Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI  ) . The company slashed its dividend in half last week, but before that cut, it had a 30-year history of regularly raising its dividend.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI  ) also became a victim of a dividend cut as it chose to reduce its payout by half in order to help it conserve cash as its financial results have deteriorated. With the very difficult task of repositioning itself from the largely obsolete postage business to become a more full-service enterprise communications company, Pitney Bowes will need as much spare cash as possible to reinvest in its new business opportunities.

• [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.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE)

NextEra Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy in the United States and Canada. As of December 31, 2010, NextEra Energy had approximately 43,000 mega watts of generating capacity. The company involves in the generation of renewable energy from wind and solar projects. It also generates electricity through natural gas, nuclear, oil and coal, and hydro power plants. The company serves approximately 8.7 million people through approximately 4.5 million customer accounts in the east and lower west coasts of Florida. In addition, it leases wholesale fiber-optic network capacity and dark fiber to telephone, wireless carriers, Internet, and other telecommunications companies. The company was formerly known as FPL Group, Inc. and changed its name to NextEra Energy, Inc. in May 2010. NextEra Energy, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  Duke's international division felt a $0.06 squeeze from unfavorable exchange rates and low commodity prices for a Saudi Arabian methanol investment, and low rainfall dried up its Brazil hydro profits. NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE  ) sold off its last hydro assets in March to "further [optimize our] generation portfolio and concentrate [our] resources." Although Duke isn't pulling out today, CEO Jim Rogers once again assured investors that Duke "will continue to monitor the reservoir levels."

• [By David Dittman]

  Answer: AES Corp (NYSE: AES), NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE: NEE) and NRG Energy Inc (NYSE: NRG) are all trading below or within a reasonable range of my current buy-under targets and are well placed to build wealth for the medium and long terms.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE  ) reported earnings on Tuesday, underwhelming on revenue but exceeding on earnings expectations. As the largest renewable energy utility in the U.S., let's see if NextEra's newest report will put more wind in its sales.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Datawatch Corporation(DWCH)

Datawatch Corporation engages in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, and support of business computer software products primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company?s products include Monarch 11, a desktop reporting and data analysis application that allows users to extract and manipulate data from ASCII report files, PDF files, or HTML files; Monarch Data Pump, a data replication and migration tool, which provides information delivery and data extract, and transform and load capabilities in one automated solution; and Monarch Enterprise Server that offers Web-enabled report storage, transformation, and distribution, including data analysis, visualization, and MS Excel integration. It also offers Monarch RMS, a Web-based report analytics solution that integrates with existing enterprise content management system; Monarch Report Manager on Demand, a document archive system that stores text, images, intelligent data streams, and unstructur ed content with file compression and encryption; and Datawatch Dashboards, an interactive dashboard solution that gives various levels of users a visual overview of operational performance, as well as the ability to monitor specific business processes and events. In addition, the company provides iMergence iStore, a report management solution, which manages computer-generated reports, mines the data contained in them, and allows users to interactively merge and transform them into new reports; Visual QSM, a Web-enabled IT service management system that incorporates workflow and network management capabilities, and provides Web access to multiple databases while enabling customers to interact through browser; and Visual Help Desk, which offers Web-based help desk and call center solutions. It sells its products through direct sales force, value added resellers, and distributors. Datawatch Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  A clouded future
  With cost-cutting and operational efficiency being the name of the game for most tech companies in this uncertain growth environment, companies like Datawatch (NASDAQ: DWCH  ) , which provides information optimization for enterprise networks, are thriving.

• [By James Oberweis]

  Steve Halpern: We're conducting a series of interviews with the top performing advisors from last year's Top Picks Report. This past year, your top stock pick, Datawatch (DWCH) rose more than 150%. Congratulations on that.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Seagate Technology.(STX)

Seagate Technology Public Limited Company designs, manufactures, markets, and sells hard disk drives for enterprise, client compute, and client non-compute market applications worldwide. The company?s products are used in enterprise servers, mainframes, and workstations; desktop and notebook computers; digital video recorders; personal data backup systems; portable external storage systems; and digital media systems. It also provides data storage services for small to medium-sized businesses, including online backup, data protection, and recovery solutions; and ships external backup storage solutions under its Free Agent Go and Free Agent Go Flex product lines. The company sells its products primarily to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. Seagate Technology Public Limited Company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Philip Mause]

  I think that the current environment continues to favor companies with strong balance sheets that can take advantage of generous credit markets and, in this connection, I am still bullish on AAPL, MSFT, Cisco (CSCO), Seagate (STX), Western Digital (WDC) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). All things being equal, higher interest rates are bad for stocks. But the market has already priced in substantial increases in interest rates so that interest rate increases do not necessarily constitute sell signals.

• [By Michael J. Carr]

  While Einhorn has proven his ability to find winners on the short side, he maintains a "net long" position in his funds, which means he has more long positions than shorts. One of his recent winners on the long side was Seagate Technology (Nasdaq: STX), which Einhorn began buying in 2011 and resulted in a 64% average annual return in less than two years.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  With its status as one of the giants of the hard-disk drive industry, Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX  ) finds itself facing the challenge of dealing with falling PC sales. Yet even as other PC-centered companies have seen their share prices plunge, Seagate stock has risen to all-time highs going back to its IPO a decade ago. Let's take a look at how Seagate has moved beyond PC worries and what lies ahead for the storage-technology company.

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Hard drive manufacturer Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX  ) soared to new highs this week on what should have been a predictable business update and earnings release. The company pays a 4% dividend and has near-perfectly executed an adaptation strategy to address the shift away from PCs -- all while analysts and pundits have predicted its demise along with its peers'. To top things off, Barron's released its top 500 American companies, including Seagate as a top 10 pick. The best part of the story is that Seagate is still cheap, even after a 12-month gain of nearly 40% and more than 30% year to date.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: VeriSign Inc.(VRSN)

VeriSign, Inc. provides Internet infrastructure services to various networks worldwide. The company provides domain name registry services and infrastructure assurance services. It offers registry services that operate the authoritative directory of various .com, .net, .cc, .tv, and .name domain names, as well as the back-end systems for various .jobs and .edu domain names; and network intelligence and availability services that provide infrastructure assurance to organizations comprising Verisign iDefense security intelligence services, managed domain name system services, and distributed denial of service mitigation. VeriSign, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sue Chang and Saumya Vaishampayan]

  VeriSign Inc. (VRSN) �shares lost 5%. The Internet-domain company on Thursday said its fourth-quarter profit rose to $1.94 a share from 65 cents a share a year ago. However, the stock has come under pressure following comments from an analyst that it is losing growth traction.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) was down, falling 4.64 percent to $52.85 after the company reported Q4 results.�

  Commodities
  In commodity news, oil traded up 2.19 percent to $99.98, while gold traded up 0.70 percent to $1,266.20. Silver traded up 0.36 percent Friday to $20.00, while copper rose 0.36 percent to $3.24.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.57 per share on revenue of $240.61 million.

  Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.80 per share on revenue of $2.16 billion.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACUR)

Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of pharmaceutical product candidates utilizing its proprietary Aversion and Impede technologies. Its Aversion Technology is a proprietary platform technology providing abuse deterrent features and benefits to orally administered pharmaceutical drug products containing abusable active ingredients, such as tranquillizers, stimulants, sedatives, and decongestants. The company offers OXECTA Tablets CII, which are oral formulations of oxycodone HCl for the management of acute and chronic moderate to severe pain; and Impede PSE, a pseudoephedrine hydrochloride tablet product candidate. It is also developing opioid analgesic product candidates, which would be used to relieve pain while discouraging common methods of opioid product misuse and abuse, including intravenous injection of dissolved tablets or capsules; nasal snorting of crushed tablets or capsules; and intentional swallowing of excess quantities of tablets or capsules. In addition, the company investigates and develops mechanisms to incorporate abuse deterrent features into abused and misused pharmaceutical products using its Impede Technology. Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a license, development, and commercialization agreement with King Pharmaceuticals Research and Development, Inc. to develop and commercialize certain opioid analgesic products utilizing the company?s proprietary Aversion Technology in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company was founded in 1935 and is based in Palatine, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  On Tuesday, small cap specialty pharmaceutical company�Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: ACUR) surged 27.52% to $1.90 on no apparent news beyond a speculative Seeking Alpha article that talked about certain catalysts����meaning its worth taking a closer look at the company to see what�� going on and whether shares could move higher.�

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Thursday
  Acura Pharmaceuticas (NASDAQ: ACUR  ) checks in on Thursday. Drugmakers use Acura's Aversion and Impede technologies to create abuse-deterrent treatments. In short, if an abuser tries to extract the active ingredient of a drug to heighten addictive experiences, Acura's technologies kick in to make the whole dose unusable.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: AutoZone Inc.(AZO)

AutoZone, Inc. retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories. The company?s stores offer various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. Its automotive hard parts product line includes A/C compressors, batteries and accessories, belts and hoses, carburetors, chassis, clutches, CV axles, engines, fuel pumps, fuses, ignition, lighting, mufflers, starters and alternators, water pumps, radiators, and thermostats. The company?s maintenance items include antifreeze and windshield washer fluid; brake drums, rotors, shoes, and pads; chemicals, including brake and power; steering fluid, oil, and fuel additives; oil and transmission fluids; oil, air, fuel, and transmission filters; oxygen sensors; paint and accessories; refrigerant and accessories; shock absorbers and struts; spark plugs and wires; and windshield wiper s. Its discretionary product line comprises air fresheners, cell phone accessories, drinks and snacks, floor mats and seat covers, mirrors, performance products, protectants and cleaners, sealants and adhesives, steering wheel covers, stereos and radios, tools, and wash and wax products. The company also offers commercial sales program that provides the delivery of parts and other products to local, regional, and national repair garages, dealers, service stations, and public sector accounts. In addition, it sells the ALLDATA brand automotive diagnostic and repair software through the Website, alldata.com; and automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products through the Website, autozone.com. As of May 7, 2011, the company operated 4,467 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, and 261 stores in Mexico. AutoZone, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is based in Memphis, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Fried]

  David Fried: Sure. I mean, one of the companies, to go back to your question before, if you want to talk about a company that buys back stock as a part of the culture and a part of the corporate plan is AutoZone (AZO).

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Heading into last night’s earnings report, O’Reilly had returned 50% this year including reinvested dividends, easily besting peers Autozone (AZO), which had returned 22%, Genuine Parts (GPC), which has returned 26%, and Advance Auto Parts (AAP), which had returned 38%,� thanks in large part to a 25% gain in the last month due to its purchase of General Parts International. Clearly, investors thought O’Reilly had something going for it its competitors did not.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: United Bankshares Inc.(UBSI)

United Bankshares, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides commercial and retail banking services and products in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, savings, time, and money market deposit accounts; demand deposits, statement and special savings, and NOW accounts; and variable and fixed-term money market accounts and certificates of deposit. The company?s loan products portfolio comprises personal, commercial, floor plan, and student loans; construction and real estate loans; and consumer loans, including credit card and home equity loans. It also offers individual retirement accounts, safe deposit boxes, wire transfers, credit card, and other banking products and services. In addition, the company offers trust services; and services to correspondent banks, such as check clearing, safekeeping, and the buying and selling of federal funds. The company?s nonbank subsidiaries engage in other community banking services, such as asset management, real p roperty title insurance, investment banking, financial planning, and brokerage services. United Bankshares operates 112 full service offices in West Virginia, Virginia, Northern Virginia, Maryland, southeastern Ohio, and Washington, D.C. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Fredrik Arnold]

  Ten Champion dogs that promised the biggest dividend yields into July included firms representing five of nine market sectors. The top stocks were three of five from the financial sector: Universal Health Realty Trust (UHT); Mercury General Corp. (MCY); Old Republic Int'l (ORI). The other two financial firms, HCP Inc., and United Bankshares Inc. (UBSI), placed sixth and eighth.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (HRZN)

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation, a specialty finance company, lends to and invests in development-stage companies in the United States. It provides secured loans to companies backed by established venture capital and private equity firms in the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, and cleantech industries. Horizon Technology Finance Corporation was founded in 2008 and is based in Farmington, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By BDC Buzz]

  I believe investors should look past the current low dividend yields and relatively higher multiples of NAV per share for BDCs such as FDUS, MAIN, and TCAP, but should consider the total return for these companies. The table below compares FDUS and MAIN to both ACAS which does not pay dividends and Horizon Technology Finance (HRZN) that pays a higher than average dividend but after taking into account dividend growth, special dividends, and NAV per share growth (using last twelve months actual for projection purposes) it is clear that the expected investor return is based on more than the current dividend yield.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Rockwell Collins Inc (COL)

Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Rockwell Collins), incorporated on March 1, 2001, is engaged in design, production and support of communications and aviation electronics for commercial and military customers worldwide. The Company�� products and systems are primarily focused on aviation applications, The integrated system solutions and products it provide to its served markets include communications, navigation, automated flight control, displays/surveillance, simulation and training, integrated electronics and information management systems. The Company also provides a range of services and support to its customers through a network of service centers, including equipment repair and overhaul, service parts, field service engineering, training, technical information services and aftermarket used equipment sales. The Company operates in two segments: Government Systems and Commercial Systems.

Government Systems

The Company�� Government Systems business provides a range of electronic products, systems and services to customers, including the United States Department of Defense, other ministries of defense, other government agencies and defense contractors around the world. These products, systems and services support airborne, precision weapon, ground and maritime applications and are used in line-fit applications on new equipment, as well as in retrofit and upgrade applications designed. The Company�� defense-related systems, products and services include communications systems and products designed to enable the transmission of information across the communications spectrum, including satellite communications; navigation products and systems, including radio navigation products, global positioning system (GPS) equipment, handheld navigation devices and multi-mode receivers; avionics sub-systems for aircraft flight decks that combine flight operations with navigation and guidance functions that can include flight controls and displays, information/data processing and communicat! ions, navigation, safety and surveillance systems; cockpit display products, including multipurpose flat panel head-down displays, wide field of view head-up and helmet-mounted displays; simulation and training systems, including visual system products, training systems and services, and maintenance, repair, parts and after-sales support services.

Avionics consists of electronic solutions for a range of airborne platforms, including fixed and rotary wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the associated aircrew and maintenance training devices and services. The Company provides complete avionics solutions (including cockpit avionics, mission system applications and system integration) and also provides individual avionics products to platform integrators. The Company serves various roles within these markets, including system and subsystems integrator, as well as provider of various electronic products. Communication products include spectrum voice and data connectivity for government and military use in the air, on the ground and at sea. Surface solutions include electronic systems applied to a variety of non-airborne market segments.

Commercial Systems

The Company�� Commercial Systems business supplies aviation electronics systems, products and services to customers located throughout the world. The customer base is consists of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of commercial air transport, business and regional aircraft, commercial airlines and business aircraft operators. The Company�� systems and products are used in both OEM applications, as well as in retrofit and upgrade applications designed.

The Company�� commercial aviation electronics systems, products and services include integrated avionics systems, such as Pro Line Fusion. Capabilities include synthetic and enhanced vision enabled flight displays, advanced flight and performance management systems, fly-by-wire integrated flight controls and information management! solution! s to improve operational efficiency; integrated cabin electronics systems, including cabin management systems, passenger connectivity and entertainment solutions, business support systems to improve passenger productivity and passenger flight information systems; communications systems and products, such as data link, high frequency, very high frequency and satellite communications systems; navigation systems and products, including landing sensors to enable automatic landings, radio navigation and geophysical sensors, as well as flight management systems; situational awareness and surveillance systems and products, such as synthetic and enhanced vision systems, surface surveillance and guidance solutions, head-up guidance systems, weather radar and collision avoidance systems; integrated information management solutions to improve the overall efficiency of flight, maintenance and cabin operations. These include on-board information management systems and connectivity solutions, airborne and ground applications and services, and ground infrastructure and services; electro-mechanical systems, including integrated pilot control solutions and primary and secondary actuation systems; simulation and training systems, including full-flight simulators for crew training, visual system products, training systems and engineering services, and maintenance, repair, parts, after-sales support services and aftermarket used equipment.

Air transport aviation electronics include avionics, cabin systems and flight control systems for commercial transport aircraft platforms. Business and regional aviation electronics include integrated avionics, cabin management and flight control systems for application on regional and business aircraft platforms. The Company develops integrated avionics, cabin and flight control solutions for business and regional aircraft OEMs and support them with the integration into other aircraft systems. Products offered for OEM applications in the business and regional aircraft cate! gory are ! marketed directly to the aircraft OEMs.

The Company competes with Honeywell International, Inc., Thales S.A., Panasonic, Raytheon Co., Harris Corp., BAE Systems Aerospace, Inc., General Dynamics Corporation, L3 Communications, Inc., The Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman Corp., CAE Inc., General Electric Co. and Garmin International Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Katie Spence]

  Major profits ahead
  With a price tag of $52 billion, the KC tanker contract is one of the Pentagon's largest weapons initiatives. Further, some analysts estimate that with future parts and maintenance, the contract worth could climb to $100 billion. This is great news for Boeing, but it's also great news for its subcontractors on the project -- Honeywell International� (NYSE: HON  ) is supplying the auxiliary power unit and cabin pressure control unit, Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC  ) is supplying Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures, United Technologies' (NYSE: UTX  ) subsidiary Pratt & Whitney is supplying the engines, Rockwell Collins� (NYSE: COL  ) is supplying the integrated display system, and Raytheon�is supplying the digital radar-warning receiver. All in all, this is a major initiative for defense contractors, and good news for Boeing is good news for all.�

• [By Rich Smith]

  The U.S. Department of Defense announced the award of 10 separate contracts Thursday, worth a bit over $340 million in aggregate value. Boeing and Raytheon claimed about one third of the money on offer, apiece. As for other companies participating in Pentagon funding, these included the following:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Yesterday, a day before Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL  ) unveiled its latest quarterly results, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share of its common stock. This amount matches Rockwell Collins' previous four quarterly distributions.

• [By Rich Smith]

  The U.S. Department of Defense awarded multiple contractors shares in some 17 contracts Tuesday, valued at up to $1.3 billion in combined dollar value. Most of the funds awarded went to a series of 13 contractors working on a single cyber-defense project -- but there were a few other winners. Among them: