Thursday, November 27, 2014

10 Best Freight Stocks To Watch For 2015

10 Best Freight Stocks To Watch For 2015: Chalmers Ltd (CHR)

Chalmers Limited is an Australia-based company engaged in transport, logistic services, warehousing and container storage, repairs and sales. The Company operated in three segments: Transport, Containers and Property. Transport consists of road transport, predominantly import/export FCL containers and the interface with logistics/ warehousing/hubbing services. Containers represent the empty container park operations concerned with handling, storage, repairs, upgrades, pretrips and so on of empty containers on behalf of shipping and leasing company customers. Property represents the capital investment Chalmers has in freeholds located in Melbourne. The Company's subsidiaries include Chalmers Industries Pty Ltd, Chalmers (Australia) Pty Ltd and Chalmers Industries (Brisbane) Pty Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Corinne Gretler]

    Chr. Hansen A/S (CHR) slid 1.7 percent to 186 kroner after Credit Suisse Group AG cut the stock to neutral, the equivalent of hold, from outperform. The brokerage said that profit from its natural-color business remains under pressure. The world's biggest maker of dairy enzymes cut its full-year sales forecast on July 3 because of lower prices for the red pigment carmine.

  • source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/10-best-freight-stocks-to-watch-for-2015.html

Monday, November 24, 2014

Best Managed Healthcare Companies To Buy For 2015

Best Managed Healthcare Companies To Buy For 2015: Digital River Inc.(DRIV)

Digital River, Inc. provides end-to-end global cloud-commerce and marketing solutions. The company offers a range of services that enables its customers to establish an online sales channel. Its services include design, development, and hosting of online stores and shopping carts; store merchandising and optimization; order management; denied parties screening; export controls and management; tax compliance and management; fraud management; digital product delivery via download; physical product fulfillment; subscription management; online marketing, including email marketing; management of affiliate programs; paid search programs; payment processing services; Web site optimization, Web analytics, and reporting; and CD production and delivery services. The company also provides paid search advertising, search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, store optimization, multi-variant testing, and Web analytic and e-mail optimization services. In addition, it offers a range of payment processing services, such as multiple payment methods, fraud management, tax management, cloud-based billing, and other payment optimization services. The company sells its products and services through Internet and direct sales force. It serves software, consumer electronics, and computer and video game product manufacturers, as well as online channel partners, including retailers and affiliates in the United States, Austria, Brazil, China, Germany, Korea, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. Digital River, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Garrett Cook]

    Digital River (NASDAQ: DRIV) shares shot up 46.84 percent to $25.52 after the company agreed to be acquired by an investor group led by Siris Capital Group for $26.00 per share in cash.

  • [By Garrett Cook]

    Digital ! River (NASDAQ: DRIV) shares shot up 47.58 percent to $25.65 after the company agreed to be acquired by an investor group led by Siris Capital Group for $26.00 per share in cash.

  • [By Alex Planes]

    What: Shares of Digital River (NASDAQ: DRIV  ) are trading 8% higher in the afternoon after rocketing to an opening-bell gain of over 11% on Wednesday morning. Investors have cheered Digital River's strong first-quarter earnings and are reacting favorably to respectable (though not strong) guidance issued for the remainder of the fiscal year.

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Digital River (Nasdaq: DRIV  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 30. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

    The 10-second takeaway
    Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Digital River's revenues will expand 0.4% and EPS will wane -85.0%.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/best-managed-healthcare-companies-to-buy-for-2015.html

Friday, November 21, 2014

Best Consumer Companies To Invest In 2014

With shares of Philip Morris (NYSE:PM) trading around $96, is PM an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Philip Morris�manufactures and sells cigarettes and other tobacco products. The company�s portfolio of international and local brands include Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White.�The company sells its products in approximately 180 countries in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Canada. Through its established brands, Philip Morris provides satisfaction to large base of consumers that purchase its products on a daily basis. During good and bad times, the products produced and sold by the company will continue to acquire customers well into the future.

NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW!

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

5 Best Biotech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: WD-40 Co (WDFC)

WD-40 Company incorporated on October 22, 1999, is a global consumer products company dedicated to delivering solutions for a range of maintenance needs of doer and on-the-job users. As of August 31, 2012, the Company�� products included WD-40 Smart Straw, WD-40 Trigger Pro, 3-IN-ONE Professional Garage Door Lube, Spot Shot Pet Clean which is a non-aerosol Spot Shot trigger product, Blue Works product line, and a mildew stain remover under the X-14 brand. In addition, its WD-40 Speciality product line, consists of certain specialty maintenance products. The Company�� three geographical segments are: the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The Company sells its products primarily through mass retail and home center stores, warehouse club stores, grocery stores, hardware stores, automotive parts outlets and industrial distributors and suppliers. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2012, the Company formed WD-40 Bike Company LLC, focused on the development of a line of bicycle maintenance products for cyclists and mechanics.

Multi-Purpose Maintenance Products

The WD-40 brand is a multi-purpose maintenance product and is sold as an aerosol spray, a non-aerosol trigger spray and in liquid form through mass retail stores, hardware stores, warehouse club stores, automotive parts outlets and industrial distributors and suppliers. WD-40 products are sold worldwide in markets, such as North, Central and South America, Asia, Australia and the Pacific Rim, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. WD-40 products has a range of consumer uses in household, marine, automotive, construction, repair, sporting goods and gardening applications, in addition to numerous industrial applications. The 3-IN-ONE brand consists of multi-purpose drip oil and spray lubricant products, as well as other specialty maintenance products. The drip oil is an entry-level lubricant with spout options that allow applications for small mechanisms and assemblies, tool maintenance and threads on screws and bolts. It! also has industrial applications in areas, such as locksmithing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), marine, farming, construction and jewelry manufacturing. In addition to the drip oil line of products, the 3-IN-ONE brand also includes a line of products known as 3-IN-ONE Professional, which is a line of multi-purpose maintenance products. 3-IN-ONE products are sold in the United States, Europe, Canada, Latin America, Australia and Asia.

The Blue Works brand consists of a line of industrial grade, specialty maintenance products that include lubricants, penetrants, degreasers and cleaners designed specifically for the needs of industrial users. Blue Works products were launched in the United States in selected markets in Europe and are sold through the industrial channel. WD-40 Specialist consists of a line of specialty problem solving products that include penetrants, water resistant silicone sprays, corrosion inhibitors and rust removers that are aimed at the current users of the WD-40 brand.

Homecare and Cleaning Products

The X-14 brand is a line of products designed for cleaning needs. X-14 is sold as a liquid mildew stain remover and two types of automatic toilet bowl cleaners. X-14 is sold in the United States through grocery and mass retail channels. The 2000 Flushes brand is a line of long-lasting automatic toilet bowl cleaners, which includes a variety of formulas. 2000 Flushes is sold in the United States and Canada through grocery and mass retail channels. The Carpet Fresh brand is a line of room and rug deodorizers sold as powder, aerosol foam and trigger spray products. Carpet Fresh is sold through grocery and mass retail channels in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. In the United Kingdom, Carpet Fresh is sold under the 1001 brand name. In Australia, Carpet Fresh is sold under the No Vac brand name.

The Spot Shot brand is sold as an aerosol carpet stain remover and a liquid trigger carpet stain and odor e! liminator! . The brand also includes products, such as Spot Shot Instant Carpet Stain & Odor Eliminator and Spot Shot Pet Clean, which are non-toxic and biodegradable. Spot Shot products are sold through grocery and mass retail channels, warehouse club stores and hardware and home center stores in the United States and Canada. Spot Shot products are also sold in the United Kingdom under the 1001 brand name. The 1001 brand includes carpet and household cleaners and rug and room deodorizers, which are sold through mass retail, grocery and home center stores in the United Kingdom. The Lava and Solvol brands consist of heavy-duty hand cleaner products, which are sold in bar soap and liquid form through hardware, grocery, industrial, automotive and mass retail channels. Lava is sold in the United States, while Solvol is sold in Australia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Mike Deane]

    After the closing bell on Wednesday, WD-40 Co. (WDFC) released its third quarter earnings, posting slightly higher revenues and net income than last year’s Q3.

    WDFC’s�Earnings in Brief

    WD-40�reported third�quarter revenues of $95.65 million, up from last year’s Q3 revenues of $93.1 million. Net income�for the quarter came in at $10.4 million, or 69 cents per share, up slightly from last year’s Q3 figures of $10.27 million, or 66 cents per share. WD-40 missed analysts’ estimates of 72 cents EPS on revenues of $99.16 million. Looking ahead, WDFC sees FY2014 EPS in the range of $2.70-$2.83 on revenues between�$380 million and�$387 million, while analysts are expecting EPS of $2.75 on revenues of $387.44 million.

    CEO Commentary

    WD-40′s president and CEO�Garry Ridge released the following comments in the earnings release:�“We are pleased with the solid progress we have made for the year and remain confident that our strategic initiatives are well positioned to carry us into the future. While we continue to see fluctuations in certain markets quarter to quarter, our long-term growth plans remain stable and we continue to deliver on our expectations.”

    WDFC’s�Dividend

    WD-40 declared its last quarterly dividend of 34 cents on June 24. The dividend is payable on July 31, and the stock goes ex-dividend today, July 9.

    Stock Performance

    WDFC stock ended the trading day up 45 cents, or 0.59%, but the stock was headed slightly lower in after hours trading. YTD, the company’s stock is up 2.24%.

    WDFC�Dividend Snapshot

    As of Market Close on July 9, 2014

    Click here to see the complete history of WDFC dividends.

Best Consumer Companies To Invest In 2014: Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.(FDP)

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces, transports, sources, markets, and distributes fresh and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables worldwide. It also offers prepared fruit and vegetables, juices, beverages, snacks, and poultry and meat products. The company provides various fresh-cut fruit products, such as bananas, pineapples, melons, tomatoes, grapes, apples, pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, citrus, avocados, blueberries, kiwi, strawberries, plantains, mangos, and fruit cocktail; and fresh-cut vegetable products primarily consisting of potatoes, onions, bell peppers, and cucumbers, as well as prepared salads, such as coleslaw and potato salad. In addition, Fresh Del Monte Produce engages in ocean freight; and manufacture of plastics and box products comprising bins, trays, bags, and boxes. It offers fresh produce under the DEL MONTE, UTC, and Rosy brands; and prepared fruits and vegetables, juices, beverages, and snacks under the DEL MON TE, Fruit Express, Just Juice, and Fruitini brands. The company markets and distributes its products to retail stores, food clubs, wholesalers, distributors, and foodservice operators. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. was founded in 1886 and is based in George Town, Cayman Islands.

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

    Top decliners in the sector included Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE: FDP), off 6.7%, and Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), down 4%. Shares of Fresh Del Monte tumbled after the company reported weak quarterly earnings.

  • [By Jon C. Ogg]

    The first list of 24/7 Wall St. stocks under book value for the month of August are Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA), Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE: FDP), Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW), Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM) and JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU). We generally have�focused on net asset values and tangible book values, as well as forward price-to-earnings multiples, share price performance, analyst expectations via the Thomson Reuters consensus price target and more.

  • [By Lauren Pollock]

    Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.(FDP) said sales rose in the fourth quarter, driven by a surge in its banana business. The company, however, posted a wider net loss due to higher impairment charges and costs.

  • [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 Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE: FDP  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Best Consumer Companies To Invest In 2014: Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (SFM)

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (Sprouts), incorporated on January 27, 2011, is a specialty retailer of natural and organic food focusing on health and wellness. The Company offers fresh produce, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, grocery, meat and seafood, bakery, dairy, frozen foods, body care and natural household items. The Company�� product offerings focus on fresh, natural and organic foods. Natural foods can be defined as foods that are minimally processed and are free of synthetic preservatives, artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors and other additives, growth hormones, antibiotics, hydrogenated oils, stabilizers and emulsifiers. The Company categorize the over 7,000 range of products, it sells as perishable and non-perishable. Perishable product categories include produce, meat, seafood, deli and bakery. Non-perishable product categories include grocery, vitamins and supplements, bulk items, dairy and dairy alternatives, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health and body care.

The cornerstones of the Company�� business are fresh, natural and organic products. As of July 19, 2013, the Company opened 87 new stores while rebranding 43 Henry�� and 39 Sunflower stores to the Sprouts banner. The Company�� stores include Produce, Bulk Items, Vitamins and Supplements, Grocery, Meat, Seafood, Deli, Bakery, Dairy and Dairy Alternatives, Frozen Foods, Beer and Wine and Natural Health and Body Care.The Company offer its customers a farmers market open-feel environment consisting of an abundant and affordable offering of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs, focused on appearance, flavor and value. The Company�� stores include a crafted selection of more than 450 ranges of scoopable nuts, fruits, trail mixes, grains, beans, cereals, coffee, tea, spices, candy and snacks featured in the center of the store. The Company�� stores feature more than 4,200 vitamins, supplements, natural remedies, functional food, lifestyle support, and herbal supplements. This department includes ! an extensive private label offering.

The Company�� grocery offering focuses on healthy options. The Company carries approximately 4,200 natural and organic products in its grocery aisles, including meal components, natural sodas and other beverages, snacks and bars, baking goods, baby, pet and household items such as detergent and paper towels, and earth-friendly mercantile items. The Company�� Olde Tyme Butcher Shops combine sourcing through its trusted supplier network, product variety and old-fashioned customer service. The Company offers a range of seafood favorites delivered up to six days a week. The Conpany feature a range of fresh deli specialties, including sliced deli meat, salads, dips, entrees, side dishes, fresh made to order sandwiches at value prices and an abundant selection of over 200 varieties of cheeses from around the world.

The Company��bakery offering includes artisan bread alongside a wide assortment of sandwich breads, rolls, tortillas, pitas, muffins, cookies and pies as well as sugar free, gluten free and low carbohydrate products. The Company�� dairy department features a selection of organic, natural and regionally sourced milk, yogurt (including Greek, Australian, organic, and soy-based), butter and eggs, as well as a full selection of vegan and vegetarian alternative dairy products. The Company�� freezer cases feature traditional and ethnic natural and organic entrees and side dishes, along with frozen vegetables, desserts and specialty items, such as gluten-free breads and non-dairy ice creams. The Company offers approximately 2,400 natural, cruelty-free health and beauty products, old-fashioned remedies and modern body care innovations, including facial care products and make up, skin, hair, dental, baby care and grooming products.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Patricio Kehoe]

    Although switching costs are almost nonexistent in the grocery industry, Whole Foods has developed a solid competitive position through a differentiated value proposition that comprises a vast array of products offering and distinct customer service. These traits and its large network of stores have kept the firm ahead of notable competitors like The Fresh Market Inc. (TFM) and Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. (SFM). These rivals operate roughly 150 stores each and handle an average of 10,000 stock- keeping units against 20,000 at Whole Foods.

Best Consumer Companies To Invest In 2014: Kroton Educacional SA (KROT3)

Kroton Educacional SA (Kroton), formerly Opportunity Officepar Participacoes SA, is a Brazil-based company active in the private education sector. The Company and its subsidiaries are engaged in the management of preschool, elementary, secondary and college preparatory schools, as well as higher, professional and post-graduation education, courses and other related educational activities. In addition, it is involved in the wholesale, retail, distribution, import and export of textbooks, course books, magazines and other publications related to preschool, elementary, secondary and adult education, as well as higher, professional and post-graduation education. Kroton operates in both the On-Campus and Distance Learning business, primarily through its 53 Postsecondary units and 447 active Undergraduate Distance Learning centers, as well as cooperates with approximately 800 Associated Schools in basic education. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ney Hayashi]

    Anhanguera Educacional Participacoes SA (AEDU3) tumbled after Brazil�� antitrust regulator signaled it may limit the education company�� merger with competitor Kroton Educacional SA. (KROT3) Lojas Renner SA (LREN3) led retailers higher after a report showed Brazil�� industrial production expanded faster than expected in October, easing concern that growth is faltering.

Best Consumer Companies To Invest In 2014: SunOpta Inc (STKL)

SunOpta Inc. ( SunOpta), incorporated on January 1, 2008, is a global company operating businesses focused on a healthy products portfolio that promotes sustainable well-being. With expertise in field to table integration, it specializes in the sourcing, processing and packaging of natural, organic and specialty food products. The Company operates in two business segments: SunOpta Foods and Opta Minerals.

Its core natural and organic food operations focus on value-added grains, fiber and fruit-based product offerings, supported by a global sourcing and supply infrastructure. Its assets, operations and employees are principally located in North America and Europe. It has two non-core holdings: a 66.1% ownership position in Opta Minerals Inc. and its subsidiaries (Opta Minerals), a producer, distributor and recycler of industrial materials; and an 18.7% ownership position in Mascoma Corporation (Mascoma), a biofuels company.

SunOpta Foods

SunOpta Foods operates in the natural, organic and specialty foods product sectors and utilizes a number of integrated business models to bring cost-effective and products to market. It believes these markets will continue to grow as consumers focus on health and wellness. SunOpta Foods consists of four operating segments: Grains and Foods Group, Ingredients Group, Consumer Products Group and International Foods Group .It focuses on three key go-to-market segments: raw materials, value-added ingredients and consumer-packaged products.

The Grains and Foods Group specializes in marketing organic, identity preserved (IP), and non-GMO grains, ingredients, packaged goods and processing services with a core focus on soybean, sunflower and corn products. The Grains and Foods Group works to ensure that it provides its customers with organic, non-GMO and IP specialty grains and seeds by serving as a grower�� supplier of seed; purchaser of the grower�� specialty crops; and processor and packager of a wide range of grains-! based ingredients and consumer-packaged products. It offers a variety of IP, non-GMO and organic seeds and whole grains including soy, corn and sunflower for food applications offering varieties with superior food , raw material sourcing and processing of soy based ingredients in liquid, spray-dried and roasted formats. It offers Grain-based ingredients which utilize non-GMO and organic soy, corn, sunflower and rice; specialty organic functional ingredients, including maltodextrins, tack blends, fiber products; flavor enhancing products, including snack coatings, cheese powders and flavor systems; an line of organic dairy ingredients; and organic soy and sunflower oils. It offers variety of packaged food products for retail and foodservice use and a full range of bulk grain-based animal feed and pet food products.

The Ingredients Group is focused primarily on fiber products and specialty fruit ingredients. It works closely with its customers to identify product formulation, cost and productivity opportunities aimed at transforming raw materials into value-added food ingredient solutions. It offers fibers and brans, including Canadian Harvest Oat Fiber, SunOpta Soy Fiber, SunOpta Rice Fiber, SunOpta Cellulose Fiber and SunOpta Pea Fiber brands of insoluble organic and conventional fiber products, Barley Balance soluble fiber, MultiFiber blends, value-added starch-based texturizers, and a number of custom processed ingredients. It offers SunOpta Specialty Starch products, including OptaGrade and OptaMist. OptaGrade is a natural, starch-based texturizing agent that is used commercially in a variety of dairy products including natural, imitation, and processed cheeses, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt. OptaMist is also a starch-based texturizing agent that improves the taste, texture and appearance of dairy products, yogurt, cheese products, and salad dressings.

The Consumer Products Group provides natural and organic consumer packaged food products to global fo! od manufa! cturers, distributors and supermarket chains with a variety of branded and private label products. The Consumer Products Group�� products include Conventional and organic beverage processing and re-sealable pouch filling solutions in a variety of product categories, including shelf stable and refrigerated juices, frozen fruits and vegetables, specialty beverages, vitamin waters, electrolyte waters, energy drinks, soups, baby food, and healthy fruit and vegetable based snacks in flexible pouches. It offers nutritious healthy snacks including natural and organic fruit based snacks in bar, twist, rope and bite size shapes, with the ability to add a variety of ingredients including fiber, plus a range of baked and extruded nutrition bars using a wide variety of ingredients including grains, proteins and other ingredients.

The International Foods Group includes European and North American based operations that source and supply raw material ingredients and trade organic commodities. Its principal operations are located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Santa Cruz, California and comprise the global sourcing and supply operations of Tradin Organic, including a business in Dalian, China that supplies food grade organic soybeans, feed, organic sunflower kernels and other grains and distributes certain organic food products, as well as sourcing and processing operations in Ethiopia for organic and specialty coffees and organic and conventional sesame seeds. In addition, the International Foods Group is expanding its integrated processing capabilities with the construction of its value-added organic and specialty cocoa facility in the Netherlands.

SunOpta Foods is subject to a wide range of governmental regulations and policies in various countries and regions where it operates,including the

United States,Canada, the Netherlands, throughout the rest of the EU, China and Ethiopia. These laws, regulations and policies are implemented, as applicable in each jurisdiction, on t! he nation! al, federal, state, provincial and local levels. For example, SunOpta Foods is affected by laws and regulations related to: seed, fertilizer and pesticides; the purchasing, harvesting, transportation and warehousing of grain and other products; the processing, packaging and sale of food, including wholesale operations; and product labelling and marketing, food safety and food defense. SunOpta Foods is also affected by government-sponsored price supports, acreage set aside programs and a number of environmental regulations.

Opta Minerals

Opta Minerals is a vertically integrated provider of custom process optimization solutions and supplier of industrial minerals and silica-free abrasives for use primarily in the steel, foundry, loose abrasive cleaning and municipal water filtration industries. Opta Minerals has offices and production and distribution facilities in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and production locations in Europe in Kosice, Slovakia; Romans, France; and Ermsleben and Rodermark, Germany. Opta Minerals integration of its business acquisitions into its existing operations and financial management systems has created synergies that have increased revenues and profit margins. It has invested in improving plant equipment and infrastructure and has been able to reduce costs while growing production capabilities. It believes that Opta Minerals is well-positioned to expand current operations with modest capital expenditures.

Opta Minerals produces, manufactures, distributes and recycles industrial minerals, silica-free abrasives and specialty sands and other products and services to the foundry, steel, loose abrasive cleaning, roofing granule, marine/bridge cleaning, waterjet cutting, and municipal, recreational and industrial water filtration industries. Its principal product lines include: blends of industrial minerals used primarily in heavy industrial a! pplicatio! ns; silica-free abrasives,and specialty sands, filtration media and other products and services.

Opta Minerals sells industrial mineral products primarily to the foundry and steel industries. Industrial minerals products produced by Opta Minerals include chromites, magnesium blends, lime, nozzle sands, clays, coated sands, petroleum coke, crushed graphite, pre-cast refractory shapes, injection lances, and a wide range of foundry pre-mixes.

Opta Minerals abrasive products are primarily sold into shipbuilding, ship repair, bridge cleaning, waterjet cutting and roofing granule markets. The abrasives produced are free of silica, making them a clean, efficient and recyclable alternative to traditional abrasives. Recycling operations are conducted at Waterdown, Ontario, Norfolk, Virginia and Ermsleben, Germany. This is an important service that Opta Minerals provides to its customers which results in the reuse of materials that would otherwise be sent directly to landfills. Silica-free abrasive products produced by Opta Minerals include BlackBlast, Ultra Blast, EconoBlast, EbonyGrit, Powerblast, Galaxy Garnet, Emerald Creek Garnet, Bengal Bay Garnet and other specialty abrasives.

Opta Minerals also generates revenues from the sale of specialty sands, filtration media and other products and technical services. The silica sands are not sold for use as an abrasive material.Speciality sands and other products and services of Opta Minerals include filtration and industrial sands, garnets for filtration and waterjet cutting, construction sands, golf bunker sand, silica (not sold for loose abrasive applications), colored sand, waterjet cutting replacement parts and components, and technical services.

The industrial minerals industry is characterized by a number of public and private companies that service the bulk of requirements for both the foundry and steel industry. The remaining market requirements are fulfilled by small regionally based companies with limi! ted produ! ct lines that generally focus on local markets.

The silica-free abrasives industry is characterized by a number of regionally-based companies with limited product lines tending to focus on geographically adjacent markets. Their competition varies by product line, customer classification and geographic market. Opta Minerals conducts business throughout North America with a focus on key regions including the Quebec-Detroit corridor, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Texas, all of which are areas of high volume ship repairs and bridge cleaning activities.

The Company competes with Vesuvius Group S.A./N.V., Stollberg Group, SKW Mettalurgie Gmbh, Magnesium Elektron and Prince Minerals.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lisa Levin]

    © 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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    SunOpta (NASDAQ: STKL) shares shot up 12.89 percent to $12.70 after the company reported upbeat Q1 earnings.

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Best Consumer Companies To Invest In 2014: Oshkosh Truck Corporation(OSK)

Oshkosh Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets a range of specialty vehicles, and vehicle bodies worldwide. Its Defense segment manufactures severe-duty, heavy, and medium-payload tactical trucks for the Department of Defense, including hauling tanks, missile systems, ammunition, fuel, and troops and cargo for combat units. The company?s Access Equipment segment offers aerial work platforms and telehandlers used in a range of construction, agricultural, industrial, institutional, and general maintenance applications. This segment also manufactures towing and recovery equipment and related parts; and leases equipments for short-term to rental companies. The company?s Fire and Emergency segment provides custom and commercial fire apparatus, and emergency vehicles, including pumpers, aerial and ladder trucks, tankers, rescue vehicles, wildland rough terrain response vehicles, mobile command and control centers, bomb squad vehicles, hazardous materials control vehicl es, and other emergency response vehicles. This segment also offers snow removal vehicles in airports; custom ambulances for private and public transporters, and fire departments; mobile medical trailers for medical centers and service providers; mobile command and control centers and simulation units; and vehicles for broadcasters, TV stations, broadcast production, and radio stations. Oshkosh Corporation?s Commercial segment manufactures refuse collection vehicles for the waste services industry; front and rear discharge concrete mixers, and portable and stationary concrete batch plants for the concrete ready-mix industry; and field service vehicles and truck-mounted cranes for the construction, equipment dealer, building supply, utility, tire service, and mining industries. The company was formerly known as Oshkosh Truck Corporation and changed its name to Oshkosh Corporation in February 2008. Oshkosh Corporation was founded in 1917 and is based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By James Brumley]

    If the idea of Carl Icahn wanting to split a company up seems vaguely familiar, too … well, that’s hardly anything new, either. Icahn was the key driver behind Transocean (RIG) opting to divest some of its master limited partnership holdings, he desperately wanted OshKosh (OSK) to spin off JLG, and somehow Icahn got credit for sparking Motorola’s (MSI) spinoff of its mobile phone business.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Buy For 2014

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC)�may be Warren Buffett’s favorite bank hands down and it may be the safest of the money center and banking giants now. It turns out that if you work for that bank in the mortgage services unit, it might not be the safest bank when it comes to job security. Reports hit late in the day on Wednesday from Bloomberg, CNBC, and other media outlets�that Wells Fargo was laying off some 2,300 mortgage related jobs. It turns out that the refinancing boom has been crushed by a 100 to 125 basis point rise in mortgages.

The home-lending unit is based in Des Moines, Iowa and the cuts are being spread out around the nation. Frankly, this is not that surprising when you consider what has happened with interest rates. In fact, refinancings were peaking even before mortgage rates hit a low because those who could refinance had already done so.

It turns out that this will make the total layoffs since July come to roughly 3,000. Wells Fargo is the king of mortgage banking, which means it also has the most to lose in opportunity costs. The bank’s total headcount of almost 275,000 workers implies that just over 1% will have been let go. Whether or not more jobs will be terminated if rates keep rising and/or if housing slows is up to you to decide.

5 Best Diversified Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Potomac Electric Power Company(POM)

Pepco Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the transmission, distribution, and supply of electricity. The company also distributes and supplies natural gas. It distributes electricity to approximately 1.8 million customers in the mid-Atlantic region and delivers natural gas to approximately 123,000 customers in Delaware. In addition, the company involves in the retail supply of electricity and natural gas; provision of energy efficiency services to federal, state, and local government customers; and designs, constructs, and operates combined heat and power and central energy plants, as well as owns and operates two oil-fired generation facilities. Further, it offers high voltage electric construction and maintenance services, low voltage electric construction and maintenance services, and streetlight construction and asset management services to utilities, municipalities, and other customers in the Washington, District of Columbia. Additionally, the company holds investments in eight cross-border energy leases. Pepco Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1896 and is based in Washington, District of Columbia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sally Jones]


    Highlight: Pepco Holdings Inc. (POM)

    The POM share price is currently $18.17 or 20.0% off the 52-week high of $22.72. Its yield is 5.90%.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Exelon�shares have been no doubt strong year-to-date, but we think the improvement in underlying business fundamentals is far from reflected in the share price, particularly after the pullback around equity to fund Pepco (POM).

  • [By David Dittman]

    Answer: Richard Stavros, Ari Charney and I had a long conversation about Exelon in the aftermath of the announcement of its proposed acquisition of Pepco Holdings (NYSE: POM).

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Buy For 2014: iShares Short-Term National AMT-Free Muni Bond ETF (SUB)

iShares 2016 AMT-Free Muni Term ETF, formerly iShares S&P Short Term National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P Short Term National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the short-term investment-grade segment of the United States municipal bond market. The Fund invests in a representative sample of the securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Todd Rosenbluth]

    Two others are iShares Short-Term National AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF (SUB) and Market Vectors Short Municipal Index ETF (SMB).

    The Market Vectors fund, not surprisingly, has more A bond exposure and less AA exposure than the iShares fund. However, both have lower average durations than iShares National AMT-Free Muni Bond and thus might appeal to investors concerned about the impact of higher rates.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Buy For 2014: Akbank TAS (AKBNK)

Akbank TAS (Akbank) is a Turkey-based commercial bank. The Bank operates in five segments: the Retail banking segment offers a range of retail services, such as deposit accounts, consumer loans, commercial installment loans, credit cards, insurance products and asset management services; the Corporate and Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SME) banking segment provides financial solutions and banking services to large, medium and small size corporate and commercial customers; the Treasury Activities segment conducts regional and foreign currency spot and forward transactions, treasury bonds, government bonds, Eurobond and private sector bond transactions, as well as derivative trading activities; the Private banking segment offers banking and investment transactions for upper-income groups, and the International banking segment provides services for foreign trade financing, foreign currency and Turkish Lira (TL) clearances, and money transfers through agent financial institutions. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Anuchit Nguyen]

    The Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index capped the longest slide since July 26 as Akbank TAS (AKBNK) and Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS dropped at least 2.9 percent.

  • [By Harry Suhartono]

    The Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index jumped 3.7 percent, the most among major emerging-market gauges, as Akbank TAS (AKBNK) and Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS (HALKB) rallied. Benchmark measures in Poland and the Czech Republic added at least 0.5 percent, while Hungarian shares retreated for a fourth day.

  • [By Julia Leite]

    Turkey�� equity benchmark rallied as Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS and Akbank TAS (AKBNK) advanced at least 5.4 percent. The lira gained for the fourth day.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Buy For 2014: United States 12 Month Oil Fund LP (USL)

The United States 12 Month Oil Fund, LP (US12OF) is a commodity pool that issues limited partnership interests traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca, Inc. (the NYSE Arca). The investment objective of US12OF is for the daily changes in percentage terms of its units per unit net asset value (NAV) to reflect the daily changes in percentage terms of the spot price of light, sweet crude oil delivered to Cushing, Oklahoma, as measured by the changes in the average of the prices of 12 futures contracts for light, sweet crude oil traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (the NYMEX) consisting of the near month contract to expire and the contracts for 11 months, for a total of 12 consecutive months contracts, except when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration, in which case it is measured by the futures contract that is the next month contract to expire and the contracts for 11 consecutive months (the Benchmark Oil Futures Contracts). The Company is managed and controlled by its general partner, United States Commodity Funds LLC (the General Partner). The General Partner is the general partner of US12OF and is responsible for the management of US12OF.

The net assets of US12OF consist primarily of investments in futures contracts for light, sweet crude oil, other types of crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, natural gas, and other petroleum-based fuels that are traded on the NYMEX, ICE Futures or other United States and foreign exchanges (collectively, Oil Futures Contracts). It also invests in other oil interests, such as cash-settled options on Oil Futures Contracts, forward contracts for oil, cleared swap contracts and non-exchange traded (over-the-counter) transactions that are based on the price of oil, other petroleum-based fuels, Oil Futures Contracts and indices based on the foregoing (collectively, Other Oil-Related Investments). For convenience and unless otherwise specified, Oil Futures Contracts and Other Oil-Related Investments collectively are referred to! as oil Interests.

US12OF invests in Oil Interests to the fullest extent possible without being leveraged or unable to satisfy its current or potential margin or collateral obligations with respect to its investments in Oil Futures Contracts and Other Oil-Related Investments. US12OF�� investments in short-term obligations of the United States of two years or less (Treasuries), cash and/or cash equivalents.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Another choice is to use ETFs with a longer-term futures strategy. The United States 12-Month Oil Fund (NYSEMKT: USL  ) holds equal positions in each of the next 12 futures contracts. That reduces the positive impact of near-term backwardation, but it gives you more exposure to the heavier backwardation that exists further into the future.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Buy For 2014: Crestwood Midstream Partners LP (CMLP)

Crestwood Midstream Partners LP engages in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas primarily on the Barnett Shale formation of the Fort Worth Basin in north Texas. The company conducts its operations through its Cowtown System, Lake Arlington Dry System, and Alliance Midstream Assets, as well as the Fayetteville Shale and the Granite Wash plays. As of December 31, 2010, it managed approximately 500 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines. Crestwood Gas Services GP LLC serves as the general partner of Crestwood Midstream Partners LP. The company was formerly known as Quicksilver Gas Services LP and changed its name to Crestwood Midstream Partners LP in October 2010. Crestwood Midstream Partners LP was founded in 2004 and is based in Houston, Texas. Crestwood Midstream Partners LP is a subsidiary of Crestwood Gas Services Holdings LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Aimee Duffy]

    Crestwood Midstream Partners (NYSE: CMLP  ) was one day shy of completing its merger with Inergy Midstream, when CEO Bob Phillips told Bloomberg the partnership was already looking for more deals. Well, it turns out Crestwood had already found a deal, as we learned Thursday. The master limited partnership plans to acquire Arrow Midstream Holdings for $750 million.

  • [By Paul Ausick]

    This deal follows three midstream transactions already this month. Regency Energy Partners LP (NYSE: RGP) will acquire PVR Partners LP (NYSE: PVR) for $5.6 billion, Crestwood Midstream LP (NASDAQ: CMLP) will acquire Arrow Midstream LLC for $750 million, and Buckeye Partners LP (NYSE: BPL) will pay $650 million to Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) for 20 petroleum products terminals along the East Coast.

  • [By Robert Rapier]

    Next week�� issue will tackle the three remaining questions: one on MLP equivalents in Canada and Australia, one on Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP) �and TC Pipelines (NYSE: TCP), and a third query on Access Midstream Partners (NYSE: ACMP), Crestwood Midstream Partners (NYSE: CMLP) and Mid-Con Energy Partners (Nasdaq: MCEP).

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Buy For 2014: Tencent Holdings Ltd (TCEHY)

Tencent Holdings Limited is an investment holding company. The Company and its subsidiaries are principally engaged in the provision of Internet value-added services, mobile and telecommunications value-added services and online advertising services to users in the People�� Republic of China. The Company operates in four segments: Internet value-added services, Mobile and telecommunications value-added services, Online advertising, and Others. As of December 31, 2011, its subsidiaries included Tencent Cyber (Tianjin) Company Limited, Tencent Asset Management Limited, Tencent Technology (Beijing) Company Limited, Tencent Cyber (Shenzhen) Company Limited, Tencent Technology (Shanghai) Company Limited and others. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Damian Illia]

    The company has a current ratio of 11.8% which is higher than the one registered by Facebook (FB), InterXion Holding N.V. (INXN) and AOL Inc. (AOL). But for investors looking for a higher ROE, Tencent Holdings Ltd. (TCEHY) could be the option.

  • [By Victoria Zhang]

    Not all social networks are created equally
    Renren,�which operates one of the most popular�social networks in the second-largest economy, has lost more than 80% of its market capitalization�since it went public. To put this in perspective, in the same period, competitor Tencent Holdings� (NASDAQOTH: TCEHY  ) �experienced massive share appreciation, as its messaging apps�Tencent QQ and WeChat�gained international users, and therefore more advertisers. The company has become the third-largest Internet company in the world, only behind Google and Facebook.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Buy For 2014: Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY)

Akzo Nobel N.V. (AkzoNobel) is a global paints and coatings company and a producer of specialty chemicals. The Company operates in three segments: Decorative Paints, Performance Coatings and Specialty Chemicals. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company two distributors in Continental Europe. During 2009, it also acquired SABA, Kronospan and Dow Powder Coatings assets. During 2009, it also divested Chemcraft Brazil and the non-stick businesses. In January 2009, the Company completed the acquisition of LII Europe. In June 2010, the Company completed the acquisition of the Dow Chemical company's powder coatings activities. In June 2010, the Company announced the sale of its National Starch business to Corn Products International. In June 2010, the Company announced the sale of its National Starch business to Corn Products International. In September 2010, the Company acquired Changzhou Prime Automotive Paint Co. In October 2010, Corn Products International, Inc. acquired National Starch, the specialty starches business of the Company.

Decorative Paints

The Decorative Paints segment supplies a range of interior and exterior decoration and protection products for both the professional and do-it-yourself markets. Its products include paints, lacquers and varnishes, as well as products for surface preparation (pre-deco products). Its architectural coatings include interior and exterior wall paints and trim paints (lacquers) for consumers and professionals. The wood care and specialty products include lacquers and varnishes for wood protection and decoration, and specialty coatings for metal, concrete and other critical building materials. Its pre-deco products include fillers, wall treatments, sealants and putties for consumers and professionals. Its building adhesives include tile and floor adhesives and floor leveling compounds used in the building and renovation industry; supplied for professional workers, such as tile, floor and parquet, layers, interior decorators ! and painters, and direct to medium-sized enterprises, wholesalers, specialized retailers.

Performance Coatings

The Company�� Performance Coatings segment serves a range of customers, including ship and yacht builders and architects, consumer electronics and appliance companies, steel manufacturers, the construction industry, furniture makers, aircraft, bus and truck producers, body shops and can makers. The Company offers metal and plastic coatings for a range of applications from huge industrial equipment to the mobile phones and music players, computers, espresso machines and sporting goods. It also offers corrosion and fire protection across a range of industries, including upstream and downstream oil and gas facilities, chemical and petrochemical installations, high value infrastructure, such as airports and stadia and power generation stations. The Company provides coatings for small and large aircraft. It also offers coatings for marine vessels, including commercial tankers, ferries and leisure craft, and act as a salt water barrier and to minimize the build-up of organic material.

Specialty Chemicals

The Company�� Specialty Chemicals products are used in a range of everyday products, such as ice cream, soups, disinfectants, plastics, soaps, detergents, cosmetics, paper and asphalt. Its Industrial Chemicals business mines salt through vacuum extraction. It�� used as a raw material for its own activities, as well as being an end product found in grocery stores under brand names, such as Jozo and Nezo. The Company offers products, such as chlorine (Industrial Chemicals) or chlorate (Pulp and Paper Chemicals). Its major products include cellulosic additives, chelates, additives, ethylene amines, salt specialties and sulfur derivatives.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Victor Selva]

    The company has a current ratio of 17.8% which is higher than the industry mean of 6.55%. Also, it's higher than the one registered by Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY), Cabot Corporation (CBT) and Olin Corporation (OLN). For investors looking for a higher ROE, PPG Industries Inc. (PPG) could be the option.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Top 10 US Companies To Invest In Right Now

The future, as they say, is now. Equipped with a Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) smartphone in your pocket and a MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) enabled cash register at your favorite store, you can purchase your weekly groceries without opening your wallet.

Of course, it won't work if you, like me, use an Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) iPhone. Or if your grocery store hasn't upgraded its point-of-sales system to accept these payments via near field communication, or NFC.�

According to Brandon Workman, a mobile industry expert and writer, this is exactly the reason that NFC is dead on arrival. In the video below, I interview Brandon to get his assessment of the market's reception to NFC, and also to find out exactly what it will take for this tech to make it into the mainstream.

The fight for your wallet is quietly waging in your living room, too
Television, like payments, is on the verge of a transformation. The companies that prevail in this epic disruption could go on to earn their shareholders untold sums of money. And the companies that lose could very well end up in bankruptcy court within a matter of years. With this in mind, our top technology analysts created a groundbreaking free report that sorts out the likely winners from the losers. In doing so, they reveal the handful of companies that are best positioned to make their shareholders exceptionally rich over the next few decades. To download this invaluable free report before the rest of the market catches on, simply click here now.

Top Dividend Companies To Own For 2015: Navigant Consulting Inc (NCI)

Navigant Consulting, Inc., incorporated in 1996, is an independent specialty consulting firm. Professional services include dispute, investigative, economic, operational, risk management technology, financial and regulatory advisory solutions. The Company provides companies, legal counsel and governmental agencies facing the challenges of uncertainty, risk, distress and significant change. It provides a range of offerings to its client base. It operates in four segments: Business Consulting Services, Dispute and Investigative Services, Economic Consulting and International Consulting. On July 15, 2011, the Company acquired assets of Ignited Solutions, LLC. In October 2011, the Company acquired Paragon Health, a national physician practice management and consulting firm specializing in Cardiovascular practices. Effective July 9, 2013, the Company acquired The Anson Group LLC.

The Business Consulting Services reporting segment provides strategic, operational, financial, regulatory and technical management consulting services to clients, principally C suite and corporate management, governmental entities and law firms. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the reporting segment consisted of three operating segments, Energy, Healthcare and Other Business Consulting. The Energy and Healthcare business units are defined as operating segments due to their size, importance and organizational reporting relationships. The Energy and Healthcare operating segments provide services to clients in those respective markets and the Other Business Consulting operating segment provides operations advisory, valuation and restructuring services to clients in the financial services and other industries..

The Dispute and Investigative Services reporting segment provides a range of services to clients facing the challenges of disputes, litigation, forensic investigation, discovery and regulatory compliance. The clients of this segment are principally law firms, corporate general counsel and cor! porate boards and government agencies.

The Economic Consulting reporting segment provides economic and financial analyses of legal and business issues principally for law firms, corporations and governmental agencies. Expertise includes areas, such as antitrust, corporate finance and governance, bankruptcy, intellectual property, investment banking, labor market discrimination and compensation, corporate valuation and securities litigation.

The International Consulting reporting segment provides a mix of dispute and business consulting services to clients predominately outside North America. The clients are principally C suite and corporate management, governmental entities and law firms. The clients are principally C suite executives and corporate management, governmental agencies and law firms.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By MONEYMORNING]

    In fact, of the 10 companies examined, Navigant Consulting Inc. (NYSE: NCI) is the only one that has received no new contract awards since the GAO's March 31 study cutoff date. (The firm is tasked with data collection and customer outreach.)

    In late October, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified under oath to Congress to address the Obamacare website launch disaster. She began with a prepared statement, with comments like "You deserve better," "I apologize," and "I'm accountable to you."

  • [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 Navigant Consulting (NYSE: NCI  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

  • [By Grant Zeng]

    The tolerability of ADXS-HPV continues to compare favorably with single agent and combination chemotherapies active in this disease setting. 41% (45/110) of patients experienced 104 mild-moderate Grade 1-2 adverse events and 2% (2/110) of patients experienced a Grade 3 serious adverse event. This compares to published treatment-related serious adverse event rates of 100%-400% in studies evaluating a range of chemotherapy regimens for cervical cancer, including the Moore study and studies conducted by the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Top 10 US Companies To Invest In Right Now: Google Inc.(GOOG)

Google Inc. maintains an index of Web sites and other online content for users, advertisers, and Google network members and other content providers. It offers AdWords, an auction-based advertising program; AdSense program, which enables Web sites that are part of the Google Network to deliver ads from its AdWords advertisers; Google Display, a display advertising network that comprises the videos, text, images, and other interactive ads; DoubleClick Ad Exchange, a real-time auction marketplace for the trading of display ad space; and YouTube that provides video, interactive, and other ad formats for advertisers. The company also provides Google Mobile that optimizes Google?s applications for mobile devices in browser and downloadable form; and enables advertisers to run search ad campaigns on mobile devices, as well as Google Local that provides local information on the Web; and Google Boost for small businesses to participate in the ads auction. In addition, it offers And roid, an open source mobile software platform; Google Chrome OS, an open source operating system; Google Chrome, a Web browser; Google TV, a platform for the consumers to use the television and the Internet on a single screen; and Google Books platform to discover, search, and consume content from printed books online. Further, the company provides Google Apps, a cloud computing suite of message and collaboration tools, which includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Google Sites; Google Search Appliance that offers real-time search of business and intranet applications, and public Web sites; Google Site Search, a custom search engine; Google Commerce Search for online retail enterprises; Google Checkout to make online shopping and payments streamlined and secure; Google Maps Application Programming Interface; and Google Earth Enterprise, a firewall software solution for imagery and data visualization. Google Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Evan Niu, CFA]

    Including Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) iOS and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) Android, there are now effectively four platforms. Mead notes, "Three to four operating systems is good for the industry and good for us." Since the iPhone carries the priciest subsidies, Mead also points out that reducing subsidy costs is an "active area" for the No. 1 wireless carrier.

  • [By Doug Ehrman]

    Wearable technology and enhanced user interfaces have become the new frontier for the technology industry's biggest names. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) is beta testing Glass, a wearable glasses-based interface that allows for hands-free browsing; Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) changed the way we interact with video games with its Xbox Kinect; and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) is rumored to be including gesture-based control into a new iTV -- and don't forget the iWatch whispers. Overall, the tech sector is looking at how we interact with our devices and raising the bar.

  • [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

    YouTube, Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) huge video site, known at the place you can “broadcast yourself”, held its spot as the largest video website in the U.S. in December, and did so by a staggering margin. While its competitors would like to match it in popularity, it is highly unlikely that will happen anytime soon.� However, some have models which may make them money despite trailing the Google property by a mile

Top 10 US Companies To Invest In Right Now: Unisys Corporation (UIS)

Unisys Corporation provides information technology (IT) services, software, and technology that solve mission-critical problems for clients worldwide. It operates in two segments, Services and Technology. The Services segment provides outsourcing services, including management of customers� data centers, computer servers, and end-user computing environments, as well as specific business processes; systems integration and consulting services, such as assessing the security and cost effectiveness of clients� IT systems and enabling them to design, integrate, and modernize mission-critical applications; infrastructure services consisting of design, warranty, and support services for its customers� IT infrastructure, such as networks, desktops, servers, and mobile and wireless devices; and maintenance services. The Technology segment designs and develops servers and related products consisting of enterprise-class servers, which comprise the ClearPath family of servers and t he ES7000 family of Intel-based servers, as well as operating system software and middleware; and provides data center, infrastructure management, and cloud computing offerings for clients to virtualize and automate their data-center environments. The company serves public sector; financial services; and other commercial markets comprising communications and transportation. Unisys Corporation markets its products and services primarily through direct sales force, as well as through distributors and alliance partners. Unisys Corporation was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

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

    Unisys (NYSE: UIS) shares tumbled 12.12 percent to $25.42 on Q1 results. Unisys reported a quarterly loss of $0.74 per share on revenue of $762.0 million.

Top 10 US Companies To Invest In Right Now: Penske Automotive Group Inc.(PAG)

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. operates as an automotive retailer. It sells new and used vehicles of approximately 40 vehicle brands; offers vehicle maintenance and repair services; and engages in the sale and placement of third-party finance and insurance products, third-party extended service contracts, and replacement and aftermarket automotive products. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated 320 retail automotive franchises, of which 166 franchises were located in the United States and 154 franchises are located outside of the United States primarily in the United Kingdom. It also has operations in Puerto Rico and Germany. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    But just because Parker sees underperformance for consumer stocks, doesn’t mean that some can outperform (just don’t look for consumer staples). They screened for stocks that appear set to outperform over three months and 24 months based on their quantitative models, yet are also favorites of Morgan Stanley’s fundamental analysts. Stocks that meet the criteria include Delphi Automotive, Macy’s and Penske Automotive (PAG), while stocks that fail on all criteria include J.C. Penney and VF Corp. (VFC).

  • [By Marc Bastow]

    Automotive retailer Penske Automotive (PAG) raised its quarterly dividend 5.9% to 18 cents per share, payable on Mar. 3 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 10.
    PAG Dividend Yield: 1.69%

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG  ) .

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    New- and user-car dealer�Penske Auto Group (NYSE: PAG  ) announced today its second-quarter dividend of $0.16 per share, a 7% increase over the payout it made to investors last quarter of $0.15 per share.

Top 10 US Companies To Invest In Right Now: iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEI)

iShares Lehman 3-7 Year Treasury Bond Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the intermediate-term sector of the United States Treasury market as defined by the Lehman Brothers 3-7 Year U.S. Treasury Index (the Index). The Index includes all publicly issued the United States Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity of greater than or equal to three years and less than seven years, and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. In addition, the securities must be denominated in United States dollars, and must be fixed-rate and non-convertible securities. Excluded from the Index are certain special issues, such as flower bonds, targeted investor notes, and state and local government series bonds, and coupon issues that have been stripped from assets that are already included in the Index.

The Index is a market capitalization-weighted index. The Fund invests in a representative sample of the securities in the Index, which has a similar investment profile as the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisor.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Donald van Deventer]

    Shorter-duration Treasury Exchange-Traded Funds: (SHY), (SHV), (IEI), (BIL), (TUZ), (FIVZ), (DTUL), (VGSH), (DTUS), (DFVS), (DFVL), (SST), (ISTB), (TBZ).

Top 10 US Companies To Invest In Right Now: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Matt Thalman]

    The big losers
    Earth-moving company Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) lost 0.42% of its value over the past few trading days, as precious metals and other natural resources had a terrible Friday. On the last day of the week alone, gold lost 3.13%, sliver declined by 4.89%, and platinum and copper slid 1.51% and 3.45% respectively. Caterpillar is a big player in mining equipment sales, and when the commodity prices of the resources which are mined fall, demand for heavy machinery usually will follow suit. �

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Monday marked the end of the second quarter, and the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) failed to rise to the occasion, falling 25 points. The Dow has had a fairly flat performance so far in 2014, gaining just over 1% and making many investors question whether the bull market has the staying power it would need to provide the sixth-straight year of positive returns for the Dow. Yet even amid the lackluster gains for the Dow overall, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) have helped the Dow avoid losses for the year, with each of the Dow components gaining more than 20% in the first half. Let's take a closer look at how they did it.

Top 10 US Companies To Invest In Right Now: WESCO International Inc. (WCC)

WESCO International, Inc. engages in the distribution of electrical, industrial, and communications maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products; and original equipment manufacturers products and construction materials. It also provides supply chain management and logistics services. The company offers general and industrial supplies, such as wiring devices, fuses, terminals, connectors, boxes, enclosures, fittings, lugs, terminations, tapes, splicing and marking equipment, tools and testers, safety and security, personal protection, abrasives, cutting tools, consumables, fasteners, janitorial, and other MRO supplies. It also provides wires, cables, raceway, and metallic and non-metallic conduits; and communications products, such as structured cabling systems, broadband products, low voltage specialty systems, specialty wire and cable products, equipment racks and cabinets, access controls, alarms, cameras, and paging and voice solutions. In addition, the company off ers power distribution equipment, such as circuit breakers, transformers, switchboards, panel boards, metering products, and busway products; lighting and controls, including lamps, fixtures, ballasts, and lighting control products; and motor control devices, drives, surge and power protection, relays, timers, pushbuttons, operator interfaces, switches, sensors, and interconnects. Further, it provides value added services in the areas of construction, e-business, energy, engineering services, green and sustainability, production support, safety and security, supply chain optimization, training, and working capital. The company serves industrial and commercial businesses, contractors, governmental agencies, institutions, telecommunications providers, and utilities. It operates in North America and internationally. WESCO International, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Smith]

    Instead, the winners who will compete among themselves to fulfill the $45 million firm-fixed-price, multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract include privately held Bluewater Communications Group LLC, small-cap Globecomm Systems (NASDAQ: GCOM  ) , and TVC Communications LLC, of Annville, Penn., a small subsidiary of larger electronics distributor WESCO International (NYSE: WCC  ) . All three will now be competing against each other to win the Pentagon's business on individual task orders for the Cisco and other HD equipment on order.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Top 5 Quality Stocks To Invest In Right Now

When Caleb Brown graduated from the Texas Tech financial planning program in 2002, it took him a while to get an advisor to “take a risk” and hire him. After that, he saw a lot of qualified students “who were built to be great financial planners” leave the industry entirely because they couldn’t find a job or the jobs they did get weren’t right.

“I said to myself ever since that point, ‘We can’t continue as a profession if we continue to lose these quality people, so I’m going to try to do everything I can for this not to happen,’” Brown said in an April interview.

Since then, Brown has served on the board of directors for FPA Dallas-Fort Worth, where he implemented a career day program that has been adopted by several other chapters.

“Up until that time, career development meant, ‘We’re going to provide a program for the 55-year-old CFP, business owner, bald-headed guy,’” Brown said. “And I said, ‘We’re not going to do that anymore.’”

Top Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: Pioneer Floating Rate Trust(PHD)

Pioneer Floating Rate Trust is closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Pioneer Investment Management, Inc. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund primarily invests in senior secured floating-rate loans. It invests in fixed income securities with average credit quality of B. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan Index. Pioneer Floating Rate Trust was formed on October 6, 2004 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Dowdee]

    The following 10 funds satisfied all of these conditions:

    BlackRock Float Rate Strategies (FRA). This CEF sells at a discount of 3%, which is low compared to an average premium of 2% over the past year. The distribution has been managed at 6.1% and a small amount (less than 10%) has been return of capital (ROC). However, this has not negatively affected net asset value (NAV) so has not been destructive. The fund holds 447 securities, with 90% in floating rate loans. FRA utilizes 27% leverage and has an expense ratio of 1.7%, including interest payments. Eaton Vance Floating Rate (EFR). This CEF sells at a 1% premium, which is low compared to an average premium of 5% over the past year. The distribution is 6.2%, none of which was ROC. The fund holds 800 securities, with 90% in floating rate loans. About 85% of the securities are from U.S. companies. EFR utilizes 35% leverage and has an expense ratio of 1.8% including interest payments. ING Prime Rate Trust (PPR). This CEF sells for a premium of 2%, which is below the average premium of 5%. It has a distribution of 6.8%, none of which was ROC. The fund has 350 holdings, virtually all in senior loans and from US companies. PPR utilizes 29% leverage and has a high expense ratio of 2.1%, including interest payments. Invesco VK Dynamic Credit Opportunities (VTA). This CEF sells for a discount of 5%, which is below the average discount of 1%. It has a distribution of 7.1%, none of which was ROC. The fund has 495 holdings, with 76% in floating rate loans. About 25% of the loans are from non-US companies. VTA utilizes a relatively low 20% leverage but still has a high expense ratio of 2.1%, including interest payments. Invesco VK Senior Income (VVR). This CEF sells for a discount of 1%, which is below the average premium of 3%. It has a distribution of 7.1%, none of which was ROC. The fund has over 500 holdings, with 89% in floating rate loans. Almost all (95%) securities are from US companies. VVR ut

Top 5 Quality Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Chart Industries Inc (GTLS)

Chart Industries, Inc., incorporated on June 25, 1992, is an independent global manufacturer of engineered equipment used in the production, storage and end-use of hydrocarbon and industrial gases. The Company supplies engineered equipment used throughout the global liquid gas supply chain. It operates in three segments: energy and chemicals (E&C), distribution and storage or (D&S), and biomedical. The E&C and D&S segments manufacture products used primarily in energy-related and general industrial applications, such as the separation, liquefaction, distribution and storage of hydrocarbon and industrial gases. Through its BioMedical segment, it supplies cryogenic and other equipment used in the storage and distribution of biological materials and oxygen, used primarily in the medical, biological research and animal breeding industries.

The Company�� products, including vacuum insulated containment vessels, heat exchangers, cold boxes and other cryogenic components, are used throughout the liquid gas supply chain for the purification, liquefaction, distribution, storage and end-use of hydrocarbon and industrial gases. It is a manufacturer of standard and engineered equipment primarily used for low-temperature and cryogenic applications. The Company�� primary customers are multinational producers and distributors of hydrocarbon and industrial gases and their suppliers. The Company sells its products and services to more than 2,000 customers worldwide.

Energy and Chemicals Segment

The Company is a designer and manufacturer of cryogenic brazed aluminum and air cooled heat exchangers. The Company�� brazed aluminum heat exchangers are incorporated into assemblies and cold boxes to facilitate the progressive cooling and liquefaction of air or hydrocarbon mixtures for the subsequent recovery or purification of component gases. In hydrocarbon processing industries, its brazed aluminum heat exchangers allow producers to obtain purified hydrocarbon by-products, such ! as methane, ethane, propane and ethylene, which are commercially marketable for various industrial or residential uses. In the industrial gas market, its brazed aluminum heat exchangers are used to produce high purity atmospheric gases, such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, which have diverse industrial applications. The Company�� air cooled heat exchangers are used in multiple markets to cool fluids to allow for further processing or to provide condensing of fluids, including hydrocarbon, petrochemical, natural gas processing, and power generation. Its compact Core-in-Kettle heat exchangers are designed to replace shell-and-tube exchangers, offering significantly more heat transfer surface per unit volume and improving the efficiency of chillers, vaporizers, reboilers and condensers in hydrocarbon applications including ethylene, propylene and LNG.

The Company is a designer and fabricator of cold boxes. Cold boxes are engineered systems used to reduce the temperature of gas mixtures to the point where component gases liquefy and can be separated and purified for further use in multiple industrial, scientific and commercial applications. In the hydrocarbon processing industry, its cold box systems are used in natural gas processing and in the petrochemical industry. In the industrial gas industry, cold box systems are used to separate air into its atmospheric components, including nitrogen, oxygen and argon, where the gases are used in a diverse range of applications, such as metal production and heat treating, enhanced oil and gas production, coal gasification, chemical and oil refining, the quick-freezing of food, wastewater treatment and industrial welding. The construction of a cold box system generally consists of one or more brazed aluminum heat exchangers and other equipment packaged in a box consisting of a structural metal frame encasing a complex system of piping, valves and instrumentation.

The Company designs and manufactures of engineered hydrocarbon process syst! ems speci! fically for those markets requiring cryogenic processing technology. These Concept-to-Reality process systems incorporate many of Chart�� core products, including brazed aluminum heat exchangers, Core-in-Kettles, cold boxes, vessels, pipe work and air cooled heat exchangers. These systems are used for global LNG projects, including projects in the United States and China for both domestic LNG production for diesel displacement and in the conversion of LNG import terminals to export terminals, and also for use in global nitrogen rejection units (NRU) and propane dehydrogenation (PDH).

Distribution and Storage Segment

The Company is a supplier of cryogenic equipment to the global bulk and packaged industrial gas industry as well as for energy-related applications. Its products span the entire spectrum of industrial gas demand from small customers requiring cryogenic packaged gases to large users requiring custom engineered cryogenic storage systems. Its products in the D&S segment include Cryogenic Bulk Storage Systems, Cryogenic Packaged Gas Systems, Cryogenic Systems and Components, LNG Applications, Beverage Liquid CO2 Systems, and Cryogenic Services. The Company is a supplier of cryogenic bulk storage systems (stationary tanks, trailers, and ISO tanks) of various sizes ranging from 500 gallons to 250,000 gallons. End use customers for its cryogenic storage equipment include industrial gas producers and distributors, chemical producers, manufacturers of electrical components, health care organizations, food processors and businesses in the oil and natural gas industries.

The Company is supplier of cryogenic packaged gas systems of various sizes ranging from 160 liters to 3,000 liters. Cryogenic liquid cylinders are used extensively in the packaged gas industry to allow smaller quantities of liquid to be easily delivered to the customers of industrial gas distributors on a full-for-empty or fill-on-site basis. Principal customers for its liquid cylinders are th! e same gl! obal industrial gas producers and the North American industrial gas distributors who purchase its cryogenic bulk storage systems. It has developed two technologies in the packaged gas product area: ORCA Micro-Bulk systems and Tri-fecta Laser Gas assist systems. ORCA Micro-Bulk systems bring the ease of use and distribution economics of bulk gas supply to customers formerly supplied by high pressure or cryogenic liquid cylinders. The Tri-fecta Laser Gas assist system was developed to meet the assist gas performance requirements for new high powered lasers being used in the metal fabrication industry. The Company�� line of cryogenic components, including VIP, engineered bulk gas installations, specialty liquid nitrogen (LN2), end-use equipment and cryogenic flow meters are recognized in the market for their reliability, quality and performance. These products are sold to industrial gas producers, as well as to a diverse group of distributors, resellers and end users.

The Company supplies cryogenic solutions for the storage, distribution, vaporization, and application of LNG. LNG may be utilized as a primary source of heat or power at industrial or residential complexes located away from a natural gas pipeline. LNG may also be used for peak shaving or as a backup supply at remote locations. It refers to its LNG distribution products as a Virtual Pipeline as the natural gas pipeline is replaced with cryogenic distribution to deliver the gas to the end user. It supplies cryogenic trailers, bulk storage tanks, tap-off facilities, and vaporization equipment specially configured for LNG into Virtual Pipeline applications. LNG may also be used as a fuel to power vehicles or ships. The Beverage Liquid CO2 Systems product line consists primarily of vacuum insulated, bulk liquid CO2 containers used for beverage carbonation in restaurants, convenience stores and cinemas, in sizes ranging from 100 pounds to 750 pounds of liquid CO2 storage. It also manufactures and market non-insulated, bulk fountain ! syrup con! tainers for side-by-side installation with its CO2 systems. Its beverage systems are sold to national restaurant chains, soft drink companies and CO2 distributors. Its primary competitors for bulk liquid CO2 beverage delivery systems are Taylor-Wharton and other producers of high-pressure gaseous CO2 cylinders. The Company operates locations in the United States and Europe providing installation, service, repair and maintenance of cryogenic products, including storage tanks, liquid cylinders, cryogenic trailers, cryogenic railcars, cryogenic pumps, cryogenic flow meters and VIP.

BioMedical Segment

The Company�� BioMedical segment consists of various product lines built around its core competencies in cryogenics and pressure swing adsorption, but with a focus on the respiratory and biological users of the liquids and gases instead of the large producers and distributors of cryogenic liquids. Its products in the BioMedical segment include Respiratory Products, Cold Storage Systems, and Commercial Oxygen Generation Systems. Its respiratory oxygen product line consists of a range of medical respiratory products, including liquid oxygen systems and ambulatory oxygen systems, both of which are used primarily for the in-home supplemental oxygen treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, such as bronchitis, emphysema and asthma.

The Cold Storage Systems product line consists of vacuum insulated containment vessels for the storage of biological materials. The primary applications for this product line include medical laboratories, biotech/pharmaceutical, research facilities, blood and tissue banks, veterinary laboratories, large-scale repositories and artificial insemination, particularly in the beef and dairy industry.

The Company competes with Linde, Sumitomo, Kobe, Fives, Linde, Air Products, Praxair, Air Liquide, Taylor-Wharton International or Taylor-Wharton and CVA/INOX, Taylor-Wharton and Beijing Tenhai Industrial Cylinders, Acme Cr! yogenics,! Vacuum Barrier Corporation, and Ind-Burma Petroleum Company.

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

    Top losers in the sector included Chart Industries (NASDAQ: GTLS), Jacobs Engineering Group (NYSE: JEC), and ABB (NYSE: ABB).

    Top Headline
    Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) reported a 7% rise in its first-quarter profit. Merck's quarterly profit surged to $1.71 billion, or $0.57 per share, compared to a year-ago profit of $1.59 billion, or $0.52 per share. Excluding certain items, Merck earned $0.88 per share, up from $0.85 per share Its revenue dropped 4% to $10.26 billion versus $10.67 billion. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $0.79 per share on revenue of $10.43 billion. Merck reiterated its full-year earnings forecast of $2.15 to $2.47 per share.

Top 5 Quality Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Varian Medical Systems Inc.(VAR)

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and services equipment and software products for treating cancer with radiotherapy, stereotactic radiotherapy, stereotactic body radiotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, and brachytherapy worldwide. Its Oncology Systems segment offers products, such as linear accelerators, brachytherapy afterloaders, treatment simulation and verification equipment, and accessories; and information management, treatment planning, and image processing software. This segment serves university research and community hospitals, private and governmental institutions, healthcare agencies, doctors? offices, and cancer care clinics. The company?s X-ray Products segment provides x-ray tubes for use in a range of applications, including computed tomography scanning, radiographic or fluoroscopic imaging, mammography, special procedures, and industrial applications; and flat panel digital image detectors for filmless x-ray imaging. It sells t hese products to imaging systems original equipment manufacturers that incorporate them into their medical diagnostic, dental, veterinary, and industrial imaging systems; independent service companies; and directly to end-users. The company also designs, manufactures, sells, and services Linatron x-ray accelerators, imaging processing software, and image detection products for security and inspection purposes, such as cargo screening at ports and borders, and nondestructive examination in various applications. In addition, it develops products and systems for delivering proton therapy; and technologies in the areas of digital X-ray imaging technology, volumetric and functional imaging, improved X-ray sources, and technology for security and cargo screening applications. The company was formerly known as Varian Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Varian Medical Systems, Inc. in April 1999. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Palo Alto , California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $1.12 per share on revenue of $779.02 million.

    Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $1.28 per share on revenue of $3.18 billion.

Top 5 Quality Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Giant Interactive Group Inc (GA)

Giant Interactive Group Inc. (Giant Interactive), incorporated on July 26, 2006, is an online game developer and operator in China. The Company focuses on massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG) that are played through networked game servers, in which a number of players are able to simultaneously connect and interact. The Company operates 11 online games, among which nine are self-developed, including the five games in the Zheng Tu (ZT) Online Series. As of December 31, 2010, its game development team consisted of 934 members, which includes product development and enhancement teams for each of its MMORPG and multiplayer online (MMO) games.

In January 2010, the Company acquired China operation licenses for Elsword and Allods Online, two three dimensional (3D) MMORPGs. In November 2010, the Company acquired Julun Network. On December 6, 2010, Zhengtu Information, Giant Network and Shanghai Juyan Network Technology jointly established Beijing Huayi Juren Information Technology Co., Ltd with 51%, 34% and 15% interest, respectively. On December 31, 2010, Zhengtu Information sold its 51% interest in Huayi Juren Information to Huayi Brothers Media Corporation. In May 2010, the Company acquired Snow Wolf.

The Company has built nationwide distribution and marketing networks to sell and market its prepaid game cards and game points. As of December 31, 2010, its distribution network consisted of more than 130 non-exclusive regional distributors and reached over 96,000 retail outlets, including Internet cafes, software stores, supermarkets, bookstores, newspaper stands and convenience stores located throughout China. The Company also sells game points through its official game Website. The Company generates its revenues from licensing of its games to third party operators in other territories, including Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Russia and other Russian speaking territories. In addition, it has also licensed its ZT Online Green Edition to! Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems Company Limited (Tencent), on a non-exclusive basis for operation of such game on Tencent�� QQ game platform in China.

ZT Online

ZT Online is a two-dimensional, online role-playing game set in ancient China, and was the first game that was wholly developed by its internal product development team. ZT Online players assume one of five different roles, including soldiers and magicians, in 10 different kingdoms. In order to play ZT Online, players must log into one of multiple shards, or independent copies of the game world. Players can only interact with other players in his or her respective shard at any given time, and its technology enables players to travel among the different shards. The Company has developed technology for use in ZT Online that allows up to 40,000 players to play together in a single shard at any given time. ZT Online is free of charge to play. Players may purchase physical or virtual prepaid game cards and game points on its game Website or from Internet cafes and other distribution points, which allow their characters to obtain gold coins, one of the currencies used in the ZT Online game. Players may also earn silver coins for their characters when they fulfill tasks or adventures in the game world.

The game has gold coin vouchers, which are offered both as a salary to players who meet certain requirements and as a reward in connection with certain of its promotions. Players may trade silver coins for gold coins, and vice-versa, inside the game. Neither gold coins, gold coin vouchers, nor silver coins may be used by players to purchase any items or services outside of the ZT Online game. ZT Online allows players to purchase a range of virtual items and services for their characters using their gold and/or silver coins. These include weapons, clothing, pets, ceremonies and rites, and others. Weapons may be repaired or replaced by purchases of certain in-game raw materials or by payment of additional gold or! silver c! oins. ZT Online offers a play experience, where players can choose to enter the game 24 hours a day, seven days a week. ZT Online can be accessed from any location with an Internet connection. It has licensed ZT Online to Lager Network for operation in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore, licensed ZT Online to VinaGame for operation in Vietnam, and licensed ZT Online to Atrum Nival for operation in the Russia and other Russian speaking territories.

ZT Online PTP

ZT Online PTP is pay-to-play MMORPG game developed by the Company, and is based on the ZT Online free-to-play game. As in ZT Online, players assume one of five different roles in 10 different kingdoms. ZT Online PTP also requires players to log into one of multiple shards, while enabling players to travel between different shards. ZT Online PTP requires players to pay to play the game by purchasing physical or virtual prepaid game cards on its game Website or from Internet cafes and other distribution points. ZT Online PTP shares the same graphics and system requirements as ZT Online.

Giant Online

Giant Online is a military-themed MMORPG. Giant Online players may assume one of 14 different roles, such as detectives and spies. As with ZT Online, the game world in Giant Online is divided into a number of regions. Each player must guide his or her character to develop skills and cooperate with other players to fight against players from other regions. Players can equip their characters with a range of modern weaponry. Apart from waging war, characters can also engage in forms of in-game social interaction, such as friendship and even romance. Giant Online enables players, and groups of players, to purchase a range of virtual items and services. These virtual items and services include weapons, vehicles and pets. Giant Online is a 2.5 dimensional game, the background and items in the game are depicted three dimensionally, while the characters are depicted two dimensionally.

King of! Kings III

K III is a three-dimensional online role-playing experience set in a European-style magical world. Players assume the roles of K III heroes as they explore across a virtual world of forests and medieval cities and castles. K III is the third episode of the King of Kings series of MMORPGs.

My Sweetie

My Sweetie is a 2.5D free-to-play casual MMO game, which allows players to create virtual characters, raise virtual pets on their personal computer desktops and go online to interact with other virtual pet-owners. My Sweetie is the game developed pursuant to its Win@Giant program.

XT Online is a 2.5D ancient Chinese martial arts MMORPG that was developed by Snow Wolf, a game development studio. XT Online enables users to practice different schools or styles of martial arts with the goal of becoming a master, while focusing on brotherhood and trust-building with other martial artists. The Golden Land is a free-to-play medieval strategy browser game, which was developed by Juhe Network, one of its 51% owned game development studios. ZT Online II is an internally-developed free-to-play 2D sequel to its game ZT Online. ZT Online II was developed by an internal studio that it is reorganizing into Jujia Network, one of its 51% owned game development studios.

Dragon Soul is an internally developed 3D ancient Chinese MMORPG developed by Chengdu Jufan Network Technology Co. Ltd. (Jufan Network) one of its 51% owned game development studios. Spirits of the Warriors is a free-to-play 3D MMORPG based on the Three Kingdoms period of ancient Chinese history.

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

    Equities Trading UP
    Giant Interactive Group (NYSE: GA) shot up 12.29 percent to $11.36 after the company received a non-binding proposal to acquire the company for $11.75 per share.

  • [By Rich Smith]

    With their stock trading near a 52-week high, and up 61% from a year ago, a Giant Interactive Group (NYSE: GA  ) insider is cashing out at the top.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Equities Trading UP
    Giant Interactive Group (NYSE: GA) shot up 11.97 percent to $11.34 after the company received a non-binding proposal to acquire the company for $11.75 per share.