Will iWatch Really Change the Tide?

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- iWatch, iWatch, iWatch. That's all that seemed relevant in the conversations surrounding Apple (AAPL) until the recent iPhone refresh. Oh yeah, and hedge fund manager Carl Icahn's recent position.

But by all measures, the iWatch has garnered quite a bit of attention -- especially since it's never been confirmed by Apple. Maybe I'm the only one that has any sort of issue with it. It's not that I don't think the device could be successful, but I'm certainly leery of it.

Maybe it's because I don't think I'll wear an iWatch or a pair of Google (GOOG) Glasses, the latter of which admittedly could be big, especially if they look cool and fashionable. But perhaps the potential iWatch can do something that we're not yet aware of, although it doesn't seem likely.

And the way Samsung rushed into the space with subpar products, just seems amateurish. It makes me feel like this all just a fad. While Apple wasn't the first company to the smartphone, mp3 player or tablet market, it was the first company to get it right. Maybe it'll be same story this time around. Let me be clear: I don't doubt Apple's ability to make incredible products. But I cease to be amazed by an iWatch idea thus far. It just doesn't seem like a game-changer to me. I guess, it doesn't need to be. As Apple has proved in the past, evolutionary products work, but it's the revolutionary ones that make the big bucks and allow for valuation and margin expansion. [Read: Dramatic 48-Hour Shift in Apple Sentiment] I suppose every new product or idea has to start somewhere. Look at the Apple Newton, which ultimately led to the Palm Pilot and then to smartphones and tablets. First generation products generally suck, but in the future they could be great, as long as someone can make them incredible -- which has been Apple's task now for about a decade, although that idea is now being challenged. [Read: This Unlikely Thief Could Steal Your Retirement] We keep hearing, "Apple can't innovate anymore, but an iWatch would change that." But I have to ask, how? This product alone, regardless of how it looks, operates or sells, is the only thing that analysts, investors and the tech world need to see for Apple to 'prove' itself worthy of innovation?

News flash: Apple doesn't give a damn. They know they can innovate and they're going to take their sweet time doing things how they always have: Their way.

Back to the iWatch. Health and wellness are one of the many up and coming trends that are likely here to stay. As a result, we see companies like FitBit and Nike (NKE) coming out with wearable technologies to track movement, distance and even sleep. [Read: Google's Android Tablets: The Achilles Heel]

So an iWatch could contribute significantly to that crowd. I know these chips are powerful, especially for mobile check-ins with merchants, healthcare and improved integration with technology down the road. If it actually looks cool, it could be an accessory or fashion piece, but I just don't see that catching on like wildfire.

Don't get me wrong: I want the iWatch to be successful. Hell, I'm a shareholder, so of course I want it to. But I just don't think it will be out-of-this-world great. If it can contribute to the bottom-line, then sure, let's go with it. But Apple will need something much bigger and much more significant going forward, like in the living room. Even based on optimistic estimates, the iWatch would 'only' add about $10 billion to $15 billion a year to Apple's annual sales figure, according to most estimates. I say "only" because Apple's annual sales are simply massive. For the iWatch to matter, it will have to have colossal sales, even though the optimistic $15 billion per year would be quite amazing for most companies. [Read: Red Hat's Growth Strategies Deserve a Tip of the Cap] So, while I want the iWatch to do well -- trust me, I do -- I'm not convinced it will be anything close to a game-changer, assuming it exists. But if for some reason, the introduction of it somehow convinces the market that this company can all of a sudden innovate, then sure, let's see it. -- Written by Bret Kenwell in Petoskey, Mich. . At the time of publication the author is long AAPL. Follow @BretKenwell This article is commentary by an independent contributor, separate from TheStreet's regular news coverage.

Bret Kenwell currently writes, blogs and also contributes to Robert Weinstein's Weekly Options Newsletter. Focuses on short-to-intermediate-term trading opportunities that can be exposed via options. He prefers to use debit trades on momentum setups and credit trades on support/resistance setups. He also focuses on building long-term wealth by searching for consistent, quality dividend paying companies and long-term growth companies. He considers himself the surfer, not the wave, in relation to the market and himself. He has no allegiance to either the bull side or the bear side.

Top 10 Construction Companies To Watch For 2015

Top 10 Construction Companies To Watch For 2015: Armstrong World Industries Inc (AWI)

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (AWI), incorporated on December 30, 1891, is a global producer of flooring products and ceiling systems for use in the construction and renovation of residential, commercial and institutional buildings. The Company designs, manufactures and sells flooring products (resilient and wood) and ceiling systems (mineral fiber, fiberglass and metal) globally. The Company segments includes: Building Products, Resilient Flooring and Wood Flooring. The Companys Building Products, Resilient Flooring, Wood Flooring and Cabinets segments sell products for use in the home. Its products are used in new home construction and existing home renovation work. Its products, primarily ceilings and Resilient Flooring, are used in commercial and institutional buildings. On September 1, 2012, it sold Patriot Flooring Supply, Inc. to The Belknap White Group. Effective October 31, 2012, the Company sold of its cabinets business to American Industrial Partners.

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Building Products

Building Products produces suspended mineral fiber, soft fiber and metal ceiling systems for use in commercial, institutional and residential settings. In addition, its Building Products segment sources complementary ceiling products. Its products, which are sold globally, are available in colors, performance characteristics and designs, and offer attributes, such as acoustical control, rated fire protection and aesthetic appeal. Commercial ceiling materials and accessories are sold to ceiling systems contractors and to resale distributors. Residential ceiling products are sold in North America to wholesalers and retailers, including home centers. Suspension system (grid) products manufactured by Worthington Armstrong Venture (WAVE) are sold by both the Company and WAVE.

Resilient Flooring

Resilient Flooring produces and sources a range of floor coverings for homes and comme! rcial and institutional buildings. Manufactured products in this segment include vinyl sheet, v! inyl tile and linoleum flooring. In addition, its Resilient Flooring segment sources and sells laminate flooring products, vinyl tile products, vinyl sheet products, adhesives, and installation and maintenance materials and accessories. Resilient Flooring products are offered in a range of types, designs, and colors. It sells these products globally to wholesalers, home centers, retailers, contractors and to the manufactured homes industry.

Wood Flooring

The Companys Wood Flooring segment produces and sources wood flooring products for use in new residential construction and renovation, with commercial applications in stores, restaurants and offices. The product offering includes pre-finished solid and engineered wood floors in various wood species, and related accessories. All of its Wood Flooring sales are in North America. Its Wood Flooring products are sold to independent wholesale flooring distributors and home centers.

The Com pany competes with Saint-Gobain, Chicago Metallic Corporation, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Knauf AMF GmbH & Co. KG, Lafarge SA, Odenwald Faserplattenwerk GmbH, Rockfon A/S, USG Corporation, Amtico International, Inc., Beaulieu International Group, N.V., Boa-Franc, Inc., Congoleum Corporation, Faus, Inc., Forbo Holding AG, Gerflor Group, Interface, Inc., IVC Group, Krono Holding AG, LG Floors, Mannington Mills, Inc., Metroflor Corporation, Mullican Flooring, L.P., Mohawk Industries, Inc., Nora Systems GmbH, Pfleiderer AG, Shaw Industries, Inc., Somerset Hardwood Flooring, Tarkett AG.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-construction-companies-to-watch-for-2015.html

5 Best Chemical Stocks To Watch Right Now

5 Best Chemical Stocks To Watch Right Now: Hybrid Coating Technologies Inc (HCTI)

Hybrid Coating Technologies Inc. (HCT), incorporated on November 2, 2011, is a development-stage company. The Company's business is that of its wholly owned subsidiary, Nanotech Industries International Inc. (Nanotech). This business is the manufacturing and sale of alternative non-toxic (isocyanate-free) polyurethane, Green Polyurethane. The products manufactured and sold by the Company (Nanotech Products) comprise coating products and sealant products. Coatings and raw binder ingredients comprised of Green Polyurethane Monolithic Floor Coating and Green Polyurethane Binder and referred to as Coating Products. Sealants and adhesives comprised of Green Polyurethane and referred to as Sealant Products.

Applications for Green Polyurethane products markets include industrial and commercial buildings; civil applications for tunnels and bridges; private and public garages; chemical and food processing plants; Warehouses; Monolithic floorings for civil, industrial and military engineering; marine and aeronautic applications; industrial equipment for dairy and liquid fertilizer processing plants and delivery systems; military facilities and equipment, and protective coatings inside industrial and commercial pipes. The Company intends to establish full commercial-scale manufacturing for both of its products at Adhpro Adhesives Inc. (Adhpro Adhesives) in Magog, Quebec and Simpson Coatings Group Inc. (Simpson Coatings) in California through non-exclusive toll manufacturing agreements.

The Company competes with BASF, Sherwin Williams, PPG, Benjamin Moore, AKZO Nobel, Rust-Oleum and Sika AG.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

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

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap green stocks Hybrid Coating Technologies, Inc (OTCBB: HCTI), Pan Global Corp (OTCMKTS: PGLO) and Trans Global Group Inc (OTCMKTS: TGGI) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters or alerts with two of these stocks also being the subject of some paid promotions. But will these small cap green stocks actually deliver some green in the form of greenbacks for investors? Lets take off the green eyeshades and take a closer look:

  Hybrid Coating Technologies, Inc (OTCBB: HCTI) Has Expanded Its Green Technology

  Small cap Hybrid Coating Technologies, Inc is a San Francisco-based innovator focused on improving the quality and safety of coatings and paint for industrial and commercial customers around the world and its the exclusive licensee of Green Polyurethane(TM) coatings and paint - the world's first-ever patent protected polyurethane-based coatings and paint products which eliminate toxic isocyanates from the entire production process (licensed by Nanotech Industries, Inc). On Friday, Hybrid Coating Technologies, Inc rose 2.13% to $0.48 for a market cap of $44.27 million plus HCTI is up 20% over the past year and down 96.9% since August 2009 according to Google Finance.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/5-best-chemical-stocks-to-watch-right-now.html

8 Purchases That Can Save You Hundreds of Dollars

AlamyIf you're a coffee lover who buys a $4 latte everyday, an espresso machine or French press could save you more than $1,000 a year. If you're frugal, you might frequently find yourself worrying over purchases, asking yourself, "Is this too expensive?" But that's not the right mindset -- the questions you should be asking yourself are "What value does this have to me once I buy it?" and "Can this save me money?" In fact, there are many purchases -- cheap and expensive alike -- that can save you (or make you) money in the long run. Here are just a few that can save you hundreds or thousands over time. 1. A bike or transit pass. If you live in an area where you can forgo having a vehicle, you can save thousands of dollars a year. Just think, no more car payments or pricey repairs. And that's just the big stuff -- you won't have to pay for car washes or gas either. Don't think you can manage without a car for occasional errands? Many cities now have Zipcar or other car sharing programs, which allow members to rent cars for short time periods and low rates.

5 Reasons Why Media Execs Top CEO Pay Lists

Evan Agostini, Invision/APCBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves ranked No. 2 on a list of highest paid CEOs. LOS ANGELES -- Once again, media company CEOs are among the highest paid executives in the nation, occupying six of the top 10 earning spots, according to an Associated Press/Equilar study. Compensation experts say a variety of factors are at play, including the gain in media stocks, the intangible value of talent in a hit-or-miss business, the control of shareholder power in very few hands, and the decline of the financial sector. Stock Outperformers Outsized stock growth boosts the value of stock and option grants. Media companies' shares have rebounded strongly since the 2008 recession, mainly because advertising spending grows in tandem with a growing economy. That means higher-priced ads and higher-priced execs. Stocks of the six media companies on the list all outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC), which grew 128 percent in the five years through December 2013, according to FactSet. CBS (CBS) shares grew a whopping 699 percent in that period; Discovery Communications (DISCA) went up 539 percent; Viacom (VIA) rose 377 percent; Walt Disney (DIS) rose 250 percent; Time Warner (TWX) climbed 259 percent and Comcast (CMCSA) grew 223 percent. "If shareholders are happy they don't care how much a person makes," said Paul Dorf, managing director of consulting firm Compensation Resources. "When they complain most is when the market doesn't do well and their stock is going down the tubes." Talent Quotient Making it big in media means generating hits. And while top executives may not be hands-on with every decision, they are where the buck stops. Take Disney's animated blockbuster "Frozen," which grossed $1.2 billion at box offices worldwide. While Disney CEO Bob Iger didn't make the movie, he did orchestrate Disney's $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar in 2006, which brought in talented executives to help reform Disney's faltering animation studio. "With movie studios and the media, it's more of a talent business. You have highly paid people at all levels," said Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates, a compensation consultant in New York. "The view is the right CEO can make a big difference." Voting Power Control of voting power by a single shareholder can dilute the impact of "say on pay" advisory votes, experts say. A major shareholder can override other shareholders' concerns. For instance, Sumner Redstone controls 79.7 percent of the vote at CBS and 79.3 percent of the vote at Viacom, possibly contributing to the higher pay of CEOs Les Moonves and Philippe Dauman, who were ranked No. 2 and No. 5. CEO Brian Roberts, ranked No. 10, controls 33.3 percent of the voting power at Comcast. And Discovery CEO David Zaslav, ranked No. 8, answers to one big boss: cable magnate John Malone, who controls 28.9 percent of the vote. "When you have the vote in your back pocket, you do not need to negotiate in the same way," said Nora McCord, managing director at Steven Hall & Partners, an executive compensation consulting firm in New York. Other Industries' Decline Lists in previous decades might have had more financial and banking executives. Since the Great Recession punished those companies with government bailouts, bank collapses, accounting revisions and writedowns, they have dropped in the pay rankings. "If you were to go back in time, a lot of these lists would have had financial executives," Johnson said. "They're not part of it anymore." All Boats Rise When one company boosts pay, others compensate to remain competitive. That's why executive pay within industries tends to "move in lock step," McCord said.

Top 10 Construction Material Companies To Own For 2015

Top 10 Construction Material Companies To Own For 2015: Texas Industries Inc (TXI)

Texas Industries, Inc., incorporated on April 19, 1951, is a supplier of construction materials in the southwestern United States. The Company operates in three segments: cement, aggregates and consumer products. Its cement segment produces gray portland cement and specialty cements. The Company's cement production and distribution facilities are concentrated primarily in Texas and California. Its aggregates segment produces natural aggregates, including sand, gravel and crushed limestone. The Company's consumer products segment produces ready-mix concrete. It is also a supplier of natural aggregates and ready-mix concrete in Texas and northern Louisiana and in Oklahoma and Arkansas. As of May 31, 2013, the Company had 123 manufacturing facilities in five states.

Cement Segment

The Company produces specialty cements, such as masonry and oil well cements. Its cement production facilities are located at Midlothian, Texas, south of Dallas/Fort Wo rth, Hunter, Texas, between Austin and San Antonio, and Oro Grande, California, near Los Angeles. It also operates a cement terminal and packaging facility at its Crestmore plant near Riverside, California, and the Company operates its gray portland cement grinding facility on an as needed basis. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2013 (fiscal 2013), it produced approximately 4.3 million tons of finished cement. The Company shipped approximately 4.4 million tons during fiscal 2013, of which 3.8 million tons were shipped to outside trade customers.

Aggregates Segment

The Company's operations are conducted from facilities primarily serving the Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin areas in Texas; the southern Oklahoma area, and the Alexandria and Monroe areas in Louisiana. The Company produced approximately 14.2 million! tons of natural aggregates during fiscal 2013. It shipped approximately 14.8 million tons of natural aggregates during fiscal 2013, of whi ch 11.3 million tons were shipped to outside trade customers! . The Company shipped approximately 1.0 million cubic yards of lightweight aggregates during fiscal 2013, of which approximately 0.9 million cubic yards were shipped to outside trade customers.

Consumer Products Segment

The Company's ready-mix concrete operations are situated in three areas in Texas (the Dallas/Fort Worth/Denton area of north Texas, the Austin area of central Texas and from Beaumont to Texarkana in east Texas), in north and central Louisiana, and in southwestern Arkansas. It is also a 40% partner in a joint venture that has ready mix concrete operations in the northern part of central Texas area centered around Waco, Texas. It shipped approximately 2.8 million cubic yards of ready-mix concrete during fiscal 2013. The Company manufacture and supply a substantial amount of the cement and aggregates raw materials used by our ready-mix plants. The Company also marketed its Maximizer packaged concrete mixes in southern California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Competitively advantaged holdings continued to demonstrate the value of moats at FedEx (FDX), Melco, and Texas Industries (TXI). These holdings were among our largest contributors to performance, and they exemplify activity prevalent across most of our holdings throughout the year.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Texas Industries (NYSE: TXI) was down, falling 4.36 percent to $65.78 after Longbow Research downgraded the stock from buy to neutral.

  Commodities
  In commodity news, oil traded down 1.37 percent to $97.07, while gold traded up 1.73 percent to $1,223.10. Silver traded up 3.69 percent Thursday to $20.09, while copper fell 0.34 percent to $3.39.

source from Top Stocks Blog:! http://ww! w.topstocksblog.com/top-10-construction-material-companies-to-own-for-2015.html

How To Grow A Venture Capital Ecosystem

I am pleased to publish this column in partnership with my friends at the MENA Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, as part of their efforts to stimulate an emerging VC ecosystem in the Middle East & North Africa region.

Money knows no boundaries, the saying goes.  Apparently, no one bothered to tell venture capital.  Despite the fact that money can theoretically go almost anywhere in the world, venture capital to fuel growing companies is still strongly correlated to geography.  And most regions have little to none.

Why should that be so?  Why are free markets not so free?  And what are the lessons for new regions trying to create their own venture capital?

Governments around the U.S. and the world have invested billions of dollars in attempts to foster their own vibrant, sustainable VC industries.  They have almost all failed.  The geographical imbalance is stark.  According to the recent PWC/NVCA MoneyTree report, about 40% of all VC in the U.S. is concentrated in Silicon Valley.  And according to Ernst & Young, about 2/3 of all VC in the world is concentrated in the U.S.

The uneven distribution of venture capital might seem like an academic question, but its implications are real. I am convinced that thousands of companies with potentially world-changing innovations – whether life-saving drugs, alternative energies, or countless other new ways to solve big problems – fail each year because of their inability to access capital.  If money is just money, then it should flow efficiently, and great entrepreneurs with great companies should always find it. However, in the real world that's not the case. The capital markets may look free, but they don't work freely.

So, where do we look for possible answers?  We know that venture capital is not just a result of writing smaller checks (that is, portfolio allocation).  Lots of people have tried that and failed. And we know it's not just a matter of picking winners and losers in order to buy low and sell high, like one would in a stock market (that is, arbitraging).  That has been tried, too.  So the answer must be something else.  And it must be something unusual, outside of the usual mental model of finance.

I believe we can find answers in the history of Silicon Valley.  There, we can ask the question: what was venture capital before venture capital?  And when we do that, we discover that the answer is simple.  It was people.

The people who helped build the Silicon Valley VC industry were like entrepreneurs themselves. After all, they had to create an industry from scratch.  They had more than a bit of cowboy in them. They had a sense of adventure, they had a passion for the companies they were building, and their community was small enough that they all had to rely on one another to survive. Moreover, they were not bound by traditional structures of finance – they organized money in whatever shape, manner, and structure were needed at the time.

A recent documentary – Something Ventured (2011) – interviews many of the founders of the venture capital industry, letting them tell their stories. I highly recommend this movie.  It captures a critical piece of history that is fading away quickly.  To me, what is most striking is that every single one of the interviewees – including legends like Don Valentine, Tom Perkins, and Arthur Rock, among many others – has an unmistakable, mischievous gleam in their eyes as they talk about their work.  These dudes were not your usual, run-of-the-mill asset managers or financial engineers.  They were taking on the world, and loving it.

Based on the lessons of Silicon Valley, how does one build a venture capital industry from scratch? Here are five rules to start with:

1.      Venture capitalists are not mere asset managers.

A skilled financial manager does not a great venture capitalist make.  I've noticed that many governments or other institutions seeking to build their own venture capital industries often hire bankers or financial analysts to run early-stage funds.  It's seemingly a safe choice on paper; they seem like competent managers of money.  But in reality, they often know little about how to create new enterprise value, nor have the necessary personal qualities to partner with entrepreneurs.  Instead, look for people with some "cowboy" in them, who care deeply about growing companies, who are bold enough to rewrite the rules of finance if they need to, and who know how to navigate companies through the tortuous, serendipitous path that is to come.

Coming soon: Rules 2 through 5, in the next column…

 

5 Best Solar Stocks To Invest In Right Now

5 Best So lar Stocks To Invest In Right Now: First Solar Inc.(FSLR)

First Solar, Inc. manufactures and sells solar modules using a thin-film semiconductor technology. It also designs, constructs, and sells photovoltaic solar power systems. The company?s solar modules employ a thin layer of semiconductor material to convert sunlight into electricity. Its integrated solar power systems activities include the project development; engineering, procurement, and construction services; operating and maintenance services; and project finance. The company sells solar modules to project developers, system integrators, and operators of renewable energy projects; and solar power systems to investor owned utilities, independent power developers and producers, and commercial and industrial companies, as well as other system owners. It operates in the United States, Germany, France, Canada, and internationally. The company was formerly known as First Solar Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to First Solar, Inc. in 2006. First Solar was founded in 1999 a nd is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  While producing solar panels maybe sexy, the firms that own/operate the solar farms are the ones actually producing cash flows — see First Solar's (FSLR) latest earnings as an example. As utilities continue to build and add these things, they’re taking a page right out of the master limited partnership (MLP) and real estate investment trust (REIT) playbook. That is, offering high dividends to investors willing to take the plunge into the renewable energy space via new funding/security type called a YieldCo.

• [By Peter Graham]

  The Q1 2014 earnings report for Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ: CSIQ), sort of a peer of other North America based solar stocks like SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ: SCTY), First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) and! SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR), is scheduled for before the market opens on Friday. Aside from the Canadian Solar's earnings report, it should be said that SunPower Corporation reported Q1 2014 earnings on April 24 (reporting a quarterly profit verses a year ago loss plus they noted "strong demand" for rooftop solar business); First Solar, Inc reported Q1 2014 earnings on May 6 (they beat expectations and gave a higher guidance); and SolarCity Corp reported Q1 2014 earnings on May 7 (included deeper-than-expected losses with even deeper losses to come but they also gave a higher rooftop installation forecast that sent shares upward).

• [By John Divine]

  Stocks rebounded from yesterday's stumble today, advancing on Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen's firm but vague vows to keep interest rates at historical lows. How was she firm, yet vague, simultaneously? She was unwavering in her conviction that rates should remain low, but absolutely noncommittal when pressed on how long those policies should continue. Though she caught some flak for being evasive, monetary policy would cease to be effective if it were precisely choreographed ages in advance. Though Wall Street received Yellen's remarks well, it cringed at the sight of Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM  ) , Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO  ) , and First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR  ) today, and each stock finished near the bottom of the S&P 500 Index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) . The S&P, for its part, added 10 points, or 0.6%, to end at 1,878.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/5-best-solar-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now-2.html

Marvell Technology Group Ltd (MRVL) Earnings Report: Should You Overreact? XSD, SOXX & SOXL

On Thursday after the market closed, mid cap fabless semiconductor stock Marvell Technology Group Ltd (NASDAQ: MRVL) reported earnings and was slipping in after hours trading, meaning its worth taking a closer look at those earnings along with the performance of potential semiconductor benchmarks like the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (NYSEARCA: XSD), iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector (NASDAQ: SOXX) and Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (NYSEARCA: SOXL). In case you aren't familiar with the term fabless semiconductor, it's a business model that involves the outsourcing the manufacturing of silicon wafers. Most semiconductor companies are actually fabless because of the high cost of building a facility and manufacturing fab. Therefore, fabless semiconductor companies can concentrate on the design and marketing of chips while outsourcing the actual production to larger foundry companies.

What is Marvell Technology Group?

Founded in 1995, mid cap Marvell Technology Group is a leading fabless semiconductor company that ships over one billion chips a year and has international design centers located in China, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and the US. Specifically, Marvell Technology Group's expertise in microprocessor architecture and digital signal processing, drives multiple platforms including high volume storage solutions, mobile and wireless, networking, consumer and green products.

As for potential semiconductor performance benchmarks, the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF tracks the S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index through approximately 51 holdings; the iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector tracks the PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index through 31 holdings; and the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares seeks a return that is 300% of the PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index though the use of leverage.

What You Need to Know or Be Warned About Marvell Technology Group

Marvell Technology Group reported a 3% revenue increase to $958 million from $932 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 (ended February 1, 2014) and a 30% increase in revenue of $734 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 (ended May 4, 2013). GAAP net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 was $99 million verses GAAP net income of $97 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 and $53 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 while Non-GAAP net income was $144 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 verses non-GAAP net income of $151 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 and $98 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2014.

However, quarterly gross margin fell to 48.4% verses 54.3% a year earlier as demand for its chips used in third-generation mobile communication outweighed a rise in sales of its more profitable 4G LTE chips as Smartphone sales growth shifts away from North America towards China where buyers prefer handsets priced below $200 over more expensive devices like the Apple iPhone. In the earnings call (the transcript is available on Seeking Alpha here), the CFO commented:

"Our mobile and wireless end market grew strongly in the quarter, increasing approximately 30% sequentially and represented 33% of overall sales. During the quarter we saw a strong growth in China from multiple customers for 4G LTE products. In addition, our connectivity business also performed better than anticipated with only a slight decline in the quarter. Strong mobile platform sales and demand from game consoles were key drivers in the quarter."

The VP of Investor Relations commented:

"So far the uptake of our devices by customers in China has been very solid. We've noticed that subscriber strength in China mobile for LTE has many, many less (indiscernible) so far, but the expectation from what we hear from a lot of our customers for that to pick up as we go throughout the rest of this year."

And:

"I think the market in China is transitioning to LTE, so I think you will probably see a lot more subsidies come to the market starting in the second half of this year. As a result of which I think a lot of our customers are probably going to see a transition over the 4G LTE at a much faster clip."

Later on, the Chairman/CEO said:

"It is very hard for us to be able to predict what is the seasonality and something that just we need to be looking to the market, but one thing about the LTE in China -- one thing that we can make projection is that if our customer overbuild the LTE, what we have over inventory towards the end of the year. That's why when investors are asking us question and when our customer -- when we talk to our customers we always like to temper down the expectation of the ramp of LTE for this year."

And:

"…a year from now, we will have a lot more products portfolios from all the different price points. So there will be higher end devices. There will be lower end devices. So we believe that if LTE becomes successful in China, a lot of parts of the world will take notice that the performance of LTE is going to be -- and the cost of deploying LTEs will be actually lower than deploying the 3G on the pre-user basis."

Otherwise, it should be mentioned that Marvell Technology Group went into earnings with a trailing P/E of 24.75 and a forward P/E of 13.21 along with a forward dividend of $0.24 for a 1.6% dividend yield.

Share Performance: Marvell Technology Group vs. XSD, SOXX vs. SOXL

On Thursday, Marvell Technology Group rose 0.97% to $15.59 (MRVL has a 52 week trading range of $10.57 to $16.65 a share) for a market cap of $7.85 billion plus the stock is up 13.3% since the start of the year, up 36.4% over the past year and up 42.2% over the past five years. Here is a look at Marvell Technology Group's performance verses that of SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF, iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector and Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares:

As you can see from the above chart, Marvell Technology Group has been a bit of a mixed underperformer over the long term, but its recent performance has mirrored that of the benchmarks.

Finally, here are the latest technical chats for Marvell Technology Group, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF, iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector and Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares:

The Bottom Line. Long term investors who believe in Marvell Technology Group might want to bulk up on shares should they go on sale when the market opens latter, but investors should also keep in mind what the technical charts look like for the stock along with SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF, iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector and Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares.

Best Buy Surprises the Street with Lighter Sales, Better Margins

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

They don't sell roller coasters at Best Buy (BBY), but investors probably feel as if they've been riding one lately. The consumer electronics superstore chain was one of last year's biggest winners, with its stock more than tripling. This year Best Buy has been one of the market's biggest losers, shedding nearly a third of its value in 2014 after last year's 237 percent pop. The crazy white-knuckled ride that Best Buy has been on took some new turns on Thursday after reporting its fiscal first quarter results. Sales came in lighter than expected, but improving margins found Best Buy stunning analysts by posting improving profitability. Wall Street was braced for a 38 percent plunge. That turnaround that the market seemed to be cheering on last year hasn't been easy to live up to this year, but its latest quarter shows that Best Buy is excelling in milking more out of its fading business. No one expected that. Turnarounds Turn Around It's been nearly two years since Hubert Joly was brought in as Best Buy's new CEO. The company was a mess at the time. Its former CEO was ousted after having an inappropriate relationship with a fellow employee. Best Buy's co-founder was trying to take the meandering retailer private.

Top Beverage Companies To Watch In Right Now

Best Buy had searched far and wide for a new helmsman. The Frenchman had to secure a foreign work visa just to start the job. Saving a struggling bricks-and-mortar chain was never going to be easy. The "showrooming" trend was -- and is -- going strong, with more and more people checking out products at local stores before turning around and buying them for less online. The irony is rich here: Best Buy sells the smartphones that make showrooming possible. And they sell the tablets, e-readers, and portable media players that have spurred the growth of digitally delivered media, and dried up the markets for CDs, video games and DVDs. In short, Best Buy is selling the products that make Best Buy less necessary. Despite the challenge, Joly's attack plan gained traction. His five-point "Renew Blue" strategy sought to make the chain relevant again by reinvigorating the customer experience, attracting dynamic hires, cutting costs so that it could pass savings on to shoppers, and making other improvements. Investors and employees bought into Joly's vision, but customers weren't so quick to play along. Selling the Future It's easy to wonder why the stock more than tripled last year. By the time the fiscal year was through we saw Best Buy's revenue, comparable store sales, adjusted earnings, and operating margins all decline for the year. Best Buy wasn't in better shape than it was a year earlier. It was doing worse in nearly every facet of the game. Even some trends that were working for other consumer electronics retailers -- like the appliance and furniture sales that helped Conn's (CONN) and hhgregg (HGG) as housing began to boom again -- failed to make much of a difference at Best Buy. Best Buy's report on Thursday paints a mixed portrait. It predicts same-store sales will continue to decline through the next two quarters, and that's not what Wall Street wanted to hear. However, Best Buy's strong profitability during the first quarter suggests that the company may be better positioned to withstand the showrooming trend than critics originally believed. For now, investors don't have much of a choice. Buckle up the seat belt. Bring down the shoulder restraint. The roller coaster ride will continue.

More from Rick Aristotle Munarriz
•Amazon Prime Pulls Out More Exclusive Content to Fight Netflix •Walmart and McDonald's Earnings Prove Price Isn't Everything •Week's Winners and Losers: EBay, HP Mishandle Bad News

Occidental Petroleum Is Poised to Grow

Occidental Petroleum (OXY) is an oil-related stock. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Occidental) conducts its operations through various subsidiaries and affiliates. The company operates in three segments: oil and gas; chemical; and midstream, marketing and other. The oil and gas segment explores for, develops and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and natural gas. The chemical segment (OxyChem) mainly manufactures and markets basic chemicals and vinyls. The midstream, marketing and other segment (midstream and marketing) gathers, processes, transports, stores, purchases and markets oil, condensate, NGLs, natural gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) and power.

Story So Far

OXY is a good dividend-paying stock. Since the beginning of 2013 Occidental is up 23.04% excluding the reinvestment of dividends. OXY has a massive potential in the Permian Basin. So far Occidental has drilled 18 horizontal wells in the Midland Basin portion of the play, with a dozen of those wells being drilled this year. These wells have an average initial production rate of 750 barrels of oil per day, or BOE/d. That was achieved with an average lateral length of 6,000 feet, but piloting wells with lateral lengths of up to 10,000 feet should help increase those production rates, as well as Occidental's economic returns.

Occidental Petroleum is also testing its acreage in the Delaware Basin to the west and its acreage in New Mexico. The company is gradually shifting toward horizontal drilling in the Permian Basin. Because of this it sees this segment producing 13% to16% production growth in 2014, with the potential to deliver 20% annual production growth in the years ahead. This makes it clear the Permian Basin is becoming the cornerstone asset of Occidental's domestic business.

The company has acquired 176,000 net acres in South Texas, along with 335,000 net acres in the Bakken region, but at this point none of those assets are driving meaningful production growth for Occidental.

The goard also has authorized the repurchase of an additional 30 million shares of the company's common stock. The share repurchase authorization remaining at the end of 2013 was 7 million shares. The program does not require purchases to be made within a particular timeframe. Share repurchases will continue to be funded from available cash from operations, excess cash on hand and proceeds from asset sales as part of the previously announced strategic review. Occidental expects to announce additional increases to its share repurchase authorization as the strategic review progresses.

Cost Curtailment The company is set to reduce costs since 2012 to improve operational efficiencies in all categories, including capital. The plan was to reduce operating expenses and drilling costs to 2011 levels. The company plans to achieve a minimum of $300 million of savings in operating costs. Improving efficiencies and outright cutting of less efficient segments helped OXY to lower its capex $10.2 billion to an expected $9.6 billion in 2013 without affecting production growth. Occidental Petroleum managed to reduce its overall costs by a margin of roughly 19% on a year-over-year basis. Its year-over-year cost reduction helped soften the blow that was felt by a decline in both oil and gas prices.

Increased Dividends

The board raised the company's dividend by $0.08 to $0.72 per quarter, or an annual rate of $2.88 per share, from the previous annual rate of $2.56 per share. Occidental has now increased its dividend every year for 12 consecutive years, and a total of 13 times during that period. The total increase in the annual dividend rate from 2002 is 476 percent. The company has paid quarterly dividends continuously since 1975.

The stock is suitable for dividend growth investors. In addition to a realistic expectation of an increasing flow of dividend payments, the investor may look for capital appreciation, fueled by buybacks and operations focused on profitable opportunities after non-core assets have been divested.

Impact of Restructuring

These various initiatives will generate substantial proceeds that can be used to pay down debt and buy back shares. For instance, the sale of a 40% share in Oxy's MENA assets, which are thought to be worth $22 billion, could bring in $8 billion to $10 billion for debt repayment and share buybacks, according to some analysts.

The sale of its MENA assets could also greatly boost the company's market value. According to Bank of America analyst Doug Leggate, Oxy's market value could be some $45 billion higher than its current value of $75 billion in the event of a split that separates its MENA assets.

Last but not least, asset sales will greatly streamline Occidental's portfolio and allow it to focus on its most profitable asset -- West Texas' Permian Basin, where it is one of the largest oil producers, accounting for nearly a fifth of basin-wide production.

Final Thoughts

By restructuring its portfolio, Oxy can now focus on its most profitable and most promising opportunities in the Permian basin, where it has decades of experience and advantages of scale. Meanwhile, asset sales will bring it plenty of cash that can be used to pay down debt and buy back shares.

Occidental Petroleum's strategic initiatives are a good first step in the company's plan to create value for its investors. Oxy, a relatively mature stock with a reasonable valuation, can achieve meaningful growth due to a renewed focus in the Permian Basin, as well as efficiency implementations. Since March 6, 2009, OXY has increased its quarterly dividend a total of five times by an average of $0.064 each time. From an income perspective, the company's forward yield of 2.83% coupled with its continued annual increases could equate into a very viable income option for long-term investors in search of a moderate dividend play.

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Investors Need To Worry About Amazon's Profit Margins

Amazon (AMZN) has been "accused" by The New York Times of raising its prices on some books to improve its anemic margins. The bookseller denies it. If that's true, investors should seriously consider jumping ship.

A Big Business

Amazon is a giant company. While it started out selling just books, it quickly expanded into other areas like merchandise, handling the Internet business of competitors, cloud computing, and video streaming. While its top-line growth has been enviable, advancing from $5 billion to $61 billion over the last decade, the company earned $0.08 a share in fiscal 2003 and lost $0.08 a share last year.

There's clearly a lot of earnings potential at Amazon, which earned over $2.50 a share in fiscal 2012. However, growth spending has taken profit margins from as high as 6% to the low single digits of late. As recently as fiscal 2012 the profit margin was as high as 4%.

Time to Look at Margins

Margins, already low, are clearly moving in the wrong direction. That's not surprising since the company is in some fairly competitive markets. For example, Netflix is the company's main competition in the video streaming space. That company has been growing its top line at an impressive clip, but has made a notable business shift recently.

For example, the streaming giant is spending heavily on upgrading its content. That's included exclusive deals with Disney and DreamWorks, and creating its own content. Overseas expansion has also been a focus. Profit margins collapsed from around 11% to the low single digits on the effort, with earnings going from over $4 a share to just $0.30 or so last year.

Clearly Amazon has to keep up with the competition here if it wants to remain a player. So margins in this aspect of the book sellers business will remain under pressure. In fact, Netflix investors should monitor this trend, too, since its shares are trading with a price to earnings ratio of over 500. If margins don't improve notably, its shares are heading for a big drop.

Money Losers

Another area with intense competition is cloud computing. For example, Oracle and Microsoftare both looking to get bigger in the area at the same time that upstarts like Salesforce.com and Workday are building their names in the space.

The problem for the larger players, including Amazon, is that it's acceptable for an upstart to lose money. So, Salesforce.com, which had previously been profitable, has dipped into the red and nobody seems to care all that much. The shares aren't at all time highs, but they aren't all that far away, either.

That said, the company's sales have gone from just about $100 million ten years ago to over $3 billion last year. It's been growth spending that's pushed earning lower. And it recently announced plans to buy competitor ExactTarget for $2.5 billion, its largest acquisition yet. Clearly Salesforce.com is a growth story and investors are willing to give it the benefit of the doubt on earnings.

With competition like that, Amazon has no choice but to be aggressive. Note, too, that Microsoft recently lowered its cloud pricing to compete better with Amazon. So, the competition isn't just from upstarts. That said, while the potential at Salesforce.com is exciting, the opportunity is most appropriate for more aggressive growth investors.

Less Competition

The one place where Amazon faces the least competition, interestingly enough, is in books. It's pretty much nailed that market. So, working to raise prices in that segment would seem like a good decision. However, The Times says that company representatives deny any such effort, despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary.

In fact, Amazon spokeswoman Sarah Gelman told the paper, "We are actually lowering prices." With razor thin margins and tough competition in all of its businesses, that's a problem. Investors should be watching margins closely, realizing that raising prices or cutting spending are the two easiest avenues to improvement.

Watch From the Side

If the company keeps cutting prices and increasing growth spending, all of the potential in the world won't help push earnings up. The shares are near all-time highs despite increasingly thin margins, if Amazon doesn't work to improve profitability in the industry it dominates, the downside risk is too high for all but the most aggressive to bother with.

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AMZN STOCK PRICE CHART 297.7 (1y: +11%) $(function(){var seriesOptions=[],yAxisOptions=[],name='AMZN',display='';Highcharts.setOptions({global:{useUTC:true}});var d=new Date();$current_day=d.getDay();if($current_day==5||$current_day==0||$current_day==6){day=4;}else{day=7;} seriesOptions[0]={id:name,animation:false,color:'#4572A7',lineWidth:1,name:name.toUpperCase()+' stock price',threshold:null,data:[[1369026000000,267.63],[1369112400000,268.86],[1369198800000,262.96],[1369285200000,261.8],[1369371600000,261.74],[1369717200000,267.29],[1369803600000,265.53],[1369890000000,266.83],[1369976400000,269.2],[1370235600000,266.88],[1370322000000,265.7],[1370408400000,267.17],[1370494800000,267.83],[1370581200000,276.87],[1370840400000,281.07],[1370926800000,274.78],[1371013200000,271.67],[1371099600000,275.79],[1371186000000,273.99],[1371445200000,278.06],[1371531600000,281.76],[1371618000000,278.16],[1371704400000,273.44],[1371790800000,273.36],[1372050000000,270.61],[1372136400000,272.088],[1372222800000,277.57],[1372309200000,277.55],[1372395600000,277.69],[1372654800000,282.1],[1372741200000,283.73],[1372827600000,284.03],[1373000400000,285.88],[1373259600000,290.59],[1373346000000,291.53],[1373432400000,292.33],[1373518800000,299.66],[1373605200000,307.55],[1373864400000,306.57],[1373950800000,306.87],[1374037200000,308.69],[1374123600000,304.11],[1374210000000,305.23],[1374469200000,303.48],[1374555600000,301.06],[1374642000000,298.94],[1374728400000,303.4],[1374814800000,312.01],[1375074000000,306.1],[1375160400000,302.41],[1375246800000,301.22],[1375333200000,305.57],[1375419600000,304.21],[1375678800000,300.99],[1375765200000,300.75],[1375851600000,296.91],[1375938000000,295.74],[1376024400000,297.26],[1376283600000,296.69],[1376370000000,293.97],[1376456400000,291.34],[1376542800000,286.47],[1376629200000,284.82],[1376888400000,285.57],[1376974800000,287.09],[1377061200000,284.57],[1377147600000,289.73],[1377234000000,290.01],[1377493200000,286.21],[1377579600000,280.93],[1377666000000,281.58],[1377752400000,283.98],[1377838800000,280.98],[1378184400000,288.8],[1378270800000,293.64],[1378357200000,294.1],[1378443600000,295.86],[1378702800000,299.71],[1378789200000,300.36],[1378875600000,299.64],[1378962000000,298.86],[1379048400000,297.92],[1379307600000,296.06],[137939! 4000000,304.17],[1379480400000,312.034],[1379566800000,312.06],[1379653200000,316.34],[1379912400000,311.49],[1379998800000,314.13],[1380085200000,312.65],[1380171600000,318.12],[1380258000000,316.01],[1380517200000,312.64],[1380603600000,320.95],[1380690000000,320.51],[1380776400000,314.76],[1380862800000,319.04],[1381122000000,310.03],[1381208400000,303.23],[1381294800000,298.23],[1381381200000,305.174],[1381467600000,310.889],[1381726800000,310.7],[1381813200000,306.4],[1381899600000,310.49],[1381986000000,310.77],[1382072400000,328.931],[1382331600000,326.44],[1382418000000,332.54],[1382504400000,326.756],[1382590800000,332.21],[1382677200000,363.39],[1382936400000,358.16],[1383022800000,362.7],[1383109200000,361.08],[1383195600000,364.03],[1383282000000,359.002],[1383544800000,358.74],[1383631200000,358.892],[1383717600000,356.18],[1383804000000,343.56],[1383890400000,350.31],[1384149600000,354.378],[1384236000000,349.53],[1384322400000,356.22],[1384408800000,367.396],[1384495200000,369.17],[1384754400000,366.18],[1384840800000,364.94],[1384927200000,362.57],[1385013600000,368.92],[1385100000000,372.31],[1385359200000,376.64],[1385445600000,381.37],[1385532000000,386.71],[1385704800000,393.62],[1385964000000,392.3],[1386050400000,384.66],[1386136800000,385.96],[1386223200000,384.49],[13863096

The Bon-Ton Stores (BONT) Earnings Report: Bullish or Bearish? JCP, KSS & SHLD

The Q1 2014 earnings report for the Bon-Ton Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: BONT), a peer of other department store stocks like J.C. Penney Company, Inc (NYSE: JCP), Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) and Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SHLD), is due out before the market opens on Thursday. Aside from the Bon-Ton Stores' earnings report, it should be said that troubled Sears Holdings Corp is also scheduled to report earnings before the market opens on Thursday while J.C. Penney Company, Inc and Kohl's Corporation both reported Q1 2014 earnings last Thursday. However, the Bon-Ton Stores is heading into earnings with rather high short interest of 35.05% according to HighShortInterest.com.

What Should You Watch Out for With the Bon-Ton Stores, Inc Earnings Report?

Best Recreation Companies To Own In Right Now

First, here is a quick recap of Bon-Ton Stores' recent earnings history from Yahoo! Finance:

Earnings HistoryApr 13Jul 13Oct 13Jan 14

EPS Est	-1.48	-1.38	-0.29	2.74
EPS Actual	-1.39	-1.74	-0.03	3.33
Difference	0.09	-0.36	0.26	0.59
Surprise %	6.10%	-26.10%	89.70%	21.50%

 

Back in March, the Bon-Ton Stores reported Q4 2013 EPS of $3.04 and revenue of $914.9M verses expectations of $2.74 and $980.95M while comparable store sales sank 7.3%. Results were blamed on snowstorms and the polar vortex. The company also forecasted FY14 EPS of $0.40 to $0.70, below expectations of $0.99, and same-store sales in the 1% to 3% range. The CEO did comment:

"We have made great strides in executing our strategic initiatives and will continue to focus on enhancing our merchandise assortments, driving our eCommerce business, refining our marketing strategy and moving forward with our localization initiative, all with an eye on improving our productivity. We are excited about our new eCommerce fulfillment center, which will permit significant expansion of our shipping capacity with improved operational efficiency. We will continue strengthening our foundation to deliver profitable sales growth in the coming years."

This time around and according to the Yahoo! Finance analyst estimates page, the consensus expects revenue of $642.16 million and EPS of -$1.23 - worst than the EPS of -$0.87 expected ninety days ago.

On the news front, it was reported last Thursday that Gabelli had raised its stake in Bon-Ton Stores to 14.19% from 13.12% while CEO Brendan Hoffman, the one-time CEO at Lord & Taylor, will step down next February. His resignation for "personal reasons" was announced at the same time earnings came out the last time around, but at least the company has time to plan a transition.

What do the Bon-Ton Stores, Inc Charts Say?

The latest technical chart for Bon-Ton Stores looks like a Great America roller-coaster ride for investors:

What's even more scary is that over the longer term, the Bon-Ton Stores have been a better albeit more volatile performer than other department store stocks like J.C. Penney Company, Inc, Kohl's Corporation and Sears Holdings Corp:

The technical charts also show that J.C. Penney Company and even Sears Holdings Corp is starting to look more bullish while Kohl's Corporation has been bouncing around between the $49 and $58 range for some time now and

What Should Be Your Next Move?

The Bon-Ton Stores earnings report will be worth waiting for given the amount of short interest that's out on the stock. If there is any sign that spring has arrived, the bears could quickly be forced into hiding. However, investors who aren't speculators willing to bet on a turnaround can probably find a much better retail stock to invest in.

Another Wacky Day in the Stock Market

Top Bank Stocks To Watch Right Now

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The stock indexes on Monday all closed higher on the day with the Russell 2000 leading the way, up 1.04% to close at 1114.43.

The Russell 2000 was followed by the Nasdaq, up 0.86% to close at 4125.81. The DJIA closed up 20.55 points at 16511.86 and the S&P 500 finished higher by 7.22 points at 1885.08.

It was no surprise the Russell 2000 and the Nasdaq finished stronger on the day since both of those indexes had been oversold according to my internal algorithm indicators. Both indexes, however, are still well into Trend Bearish territory.

What was interesting on this trading day was that the momentum stocks continued to move higher off of their move higher last week.

Apple (AAPL) gained 7 points. This was the fifth consecutive Monday that AAPL has finished higher. Netflix (NFLX)gained 14.62 points and Facebook (FB) was higher by $1.19. The most fascinating fact of the day was the S&P 500 Trust Series ETF (SPY) had its second-lowest volume day of 2014, barely eclipsing the Jan. 22, 2014 volume by 800 million shares. What does this all mean? Please do not get to excited by the movement on Monday in the indexes or the momentum stocks. Except for AAPL, the stocks that were mentioned are all in Trend Bearish formation, a three-month or longer time frame. Thus, an upward bias with a bearish trend. This entire trading week may prove to be a very slow. With the Memorial Day weekend quickly approaching, the markets can be whipped around easily on low volume. So, buy the dips and sell the rips. This is a traders market in 2014 and overextending your stay may prove costly. A risk management process that works is critical. You must know when to buy and sell within this volatile market in 2014. Chasing momentum stocks has been the wrong philosophy in 2014. Momentum stocks have not been the best performing sector in 2014. The "Growth Slowing" sectors, as I have mentioned, are the best performers in 2014. I am speaking of utilities and real estate investment trusts. Do not forget about the inflation accelerating scenario. The S&P Goldman Sachs Crude Oil Trust Index ETF (OIL) is up 6% for the year to date, along with other inflationary sectors such as coffee, wheat and corn. Be careful out there in your trading. This market is not what it appears to be in 2014 for growth. Fade the Federal Reserve and do not listen to what it says. On Monday I added to my Female Health Company  (FHCO) long position when it was red. I sold that added position for a 2% gain and retain my original position. I also purchased First Solar Inc. (FSLR) with an extreme oversold algo number. I currently am long the position. All positions are time stamped at www.strategicstocktrades.com. At the time of publication the author had a position in FHCO and FSLR.
This article represents the opinion of a contributor and not necessarily that of TheStreet or its editorial staff. >>Read more: An Apple Acquisition That Could Squash Netflix

Stock quotes in this article: AAPL, NFLX, FB, SPY, OIL, FHCO, FSLR 

More companies hiring new MBAs

People who just earned their MBA have another reason to celebrate: 86% of U.S. companies with business school recruiters plan to hire MBA graduates in 2014, up from 81% in 2013 and 51% in 2009 during the economic downturn.

That's according to a global survey of business school recruiters for 565 employers, including 36 Fortune 100 companies.

The projected median U.S. base salary for MBAs in 2014 is $95,000, similar to last year. That compares with a median annual salary of $50,000 for bachelor's degree recipients, says the survey, conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council, which administers the GMAT exam.

Globally, U.S. firms have the strongest demand for MBA hires, says Michelle Sparkman Renz, director of research communications at the council. The demand for all job candidates has increased in the U.S. from last year, with about 78% of these employers planning to hire bachelor's degree graduates, up from 77% in 2013, she says.

The latest findings confirm a recent CareerBuilder survey that showed more employers plan to hire college graduates this year than last year.

STORY: More employers plan to hire college graduates

There was an uptick in MBA hires at firms in the West and Midwest, Renz says. "This reflects a growth in the need for MBAs at tech and manufacturing firms, which aren't traditionally the leading sectors in recruiting at business schools, but they are key sectors for the overall economic climate of the U.S. in general."

Other findings for the U.S.:

• 40% of employers plan to hire master of accounting graduates, up from 35% in 2013.

• 46% plan to hire other specialized business master's graduates, up from 41% in 2013.

• 81% plan to hire people already in the workforce, up from 80% in 2013.

• 73% of U.S. companies plan to improve performance/productivity, 55%, to expand their customer base, 48% to launch new products and services, 48% to reduce costs, 41% to improve customer service, 32% to expand geogr! aphically, and 23% to overcome economic challenges.

Companies are less worried about reducing costs and overcoming economic challenges and more focused on launching new products and services and expanding customer base, Renz says.

Fidelity Magellan Shows Signs of Life

Fidelity Magellan (FMAGX), once the largest mutual fund in the land, is trying for what seems like the umpteenth time to right the ship. It may have finally found the right skipper in Jeff Feingold, who assumed the managerial reins in September 2011 and guided Magellan to market-beating gains in his first two calendar years at the helm.

See Also: When to Sell a Mutual Fund

So is it time to invest in Magellan, which, with $16 billion in assets, should be far easier to run than it was in 2000, when assets peaked at $110 billion? Our answer: No, mainly because we think other large-company funds are more attractive, starting with Fidelity New Millennium (FMILX), which we recently added to the Kiplinger 25.

Magellan today is far from the fund of yore. From 1977 to 1990, under Peter Lynch, it drew investors like bees to honey with an annualized return of 29.1%. That crushed Standard & Poor's 500-stock index by a stunning 13.5 percentage points per year, on average. After Lynch retired, the fund performed well for a time, but results sagged dramatically with the arrival of a new century. In the 12 years from 2000 through 2011, Magellan trailed the S&P 500 eight times.

Data through April 30, 2014

Maybe that's why Feingold wasted little time putting his stamp on the fund when he took over what was then a $15 billion portfolio. In less than four months, Feingold says, he trimmed the number of stocks Magellan held from roughly 250 to about 225. And he steered the fund from one that held mostly fast-growing firms to one holding a more diversified mix of rapid growers (Google and Priceline, for instance). Plus, Feingold added what he calls quality growers, such as T.J. Maxx, and cheaply priced firms with improving results, such as airlines (American Airlines) and financial stocks (Bank of America). "I'm a diversified growth manager," says Feingold. "I don't make big sector bets."

Given Feingold's approach, investors shouldn't bet on Magellan crushing the market. Feingold admits as much: "I want to outpace the S&P 500 by 1.5 to 2 percentage points per year." In 2012 and 2013, the fund beat the index by 2.0 and 2.9 percentage points. In the first four months of 2014, the fund gained 0.9%, lagging the S&P by 1.7 points.

Photo by Margaret Lampert

Jeff Feingold

Feingold, 43, is a longtime Fidelity man. Since he joined the Boston-based behemoth in 1997, he has been a stock analyst, headed the firm's research department, and managed five sector funds and four diversified funds, including Trend and Large Cap Growth. He's no slouch: At every fund but one (the exception being Select Financial Services, which he ran from 2001 to 2004), Feingold outpaced the funds' respective peer groups during his tenure.

Volatility concerns

The newsletter Fidelity Monitor & Insight rates Magellan "OK to Buy," one notch below an outright "buy" rating. Editor John Bonnanzio says he wants to give Feingold a chance, but adds that he's "a little uncomfortable" that Magellan has been about 20% more volatile than the S&P 500 over the past three years (a time frame that admittedly includes several months during which Feingold was not in charge).

One plus for Magellan is that it charges just 0.51% a year in fees. That's among the lowest expense ratios for actively managed stock funds. The bargain price stems mainly from Fidelity's philosophy (rare among sponsors) of basing some funds' management fees on performance. Fees aside, we'd like to see another year or two of winning results before we would recommend Magellan.

Red Lobster lesson: Millennials needed

In 1968, when the first Red Lobster opened in Lakeland, Fla., it was a pretty big deal for a restaurant to offer so much fresh seafood. While the interior was a bit on the dark side – and the wait for a table sometimes long – guests lined-up for a then-unique addition to the casual dining world.

Fast forward to 2014, and not a heck of a lot has changed at Red Lobster – except the lines. They're mostly gone. Sure, the menu has expanded and the interiors lightened up a bit, but Red Lobster is still very much Red Lobster.

That's part of the problem that led to its decline and ultimately, to troubled parent Darden Restaurants' decision to unload it on Friday for $2.1 billion to the investment firm Golden Gate Capital. In Darden's fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 23, Red Lobster's same-store sales dropped a huge 8.8% and visits nearly 12%.

While Red Lobster's troubles have been exacerbated by its mostly seafood menu, its problems reflect larger trends in the casual dining industry. There's a general lack of innovation and a lack of perceived value.

For Millennials in particular, there also is an "uncool" factor not just at Red Lobster, but for almost all casual dining chains. "Most Millennials would rather starve than be caught in any of those places," says Bob Goldin, executive vice president at Technomic, a restaurant industry research firm.

Industry numbers confirm that. Sales last yea at the 500 largest "fast casual" chains (such as Chipotle and Panera) grew at roughly twice the rate of the 500 largest casual dining chains (such as Applebee's and T.G.I. Friday's), reports Technomic,

Here's what experts say casual dining chains must immediately do to attract customers, particularly Millennials:

• Think healthier. Millennials are less focused on eating a lot of food on the cheap. They're more interested in quality food that's healthier. And forget those high-calorie, high-sodium appetizers. "They need to at least change perception and make people thi! nk that they have healthier menu options," says Gary Stibel, CEO at New England Consulting Group. With Millennials, he says, "perception is reality."

• Offer customized products. This is what Millennials, in particular, love about Chipotle and Panera. They point to what they want and they get it, notes Lynne Collier, senior restaurant analyst at investment firm Sterne Agree

• Speed up the service. Few things drive Millennials crazier than slow service, One way to speed things is to let folks place orders and pay via table-top tablets, says Collier. Chili's and several others are testing this, she says. The tablets also help entertain guests with games to play while they wait.

• Fix the look. Casual dining was very trendy 25 years, ago, says Goldin, but mostly "hasn't changed its look since then."

• Embrace change. Millennials grew up with their Boomer parents lugging them to Olive Gardens and T.G.I. Fridays, and won't go back unless they offer something new, Stibel says. "Millennials eat to be seen. And they don't want to be seen in family restaurant."

• Cut the prices. Menu items at fast-casual alternatives like Chipotle and Panera can cost one-third to one-half the price of some casual dining chains. Though some are addressing the pricing issues, such as Applebee's with its two entrees for $20 menu (plus an appetizer), most are still ignoring it, Stibel says.

• Innovate. About 50 years ago, the casual dining sector changed everything by giving families new places – and new ways – to eat lunch and dinner. But that innovation hit a wall, Stibel says. "Now it's known for its absence of innovation."

Hot International Companies To Buy For 2015

Valero Energy and Talisman Energy, two hedge fund favorites, have moved in opposite directions over the past few months.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Investors in oil stocks haven't had much to brag about as of late. Just don't tell that to Wall Street's big money players.

The top 50 hedge funds increased their exposure to the energy industry more than any other sector in the fourth quarter of last year, according to research from FactSet.

Energy bet may not have paid off: The funds plowed over two billion dollars into Whiting Petroleum (WLL), Valero Energy Corporation (VLO, Fortune 500), Talisman Energy (TLM), and Cameron International (CAM, Fortune 500).

While it's unclear when exactly the funds bought the stocks -- or whether they still even own them -- the performance of these companies has been a mixed bag.

Hot International Companies To Buy For 2015: QLogic Corporation(QLGC)

QLogic Corporation engages in the design and supply of storage networking, high performance computing networking, and converged networking infrastructure solutions. It offers various host products, including fiber channel and Internet small computer systems interface (iSCSI) host bus adapters; fiber channel over Ethernet (FCoE) converged network adapters; and intelligent Ethernet adapters. The company also provides network products, which consist of fiber channel switches, including stackable edge switches, bladed switches, virtualized pass-through modules, and high-port count modular-chassis switches; Ethernet pass-through modules; and storage routers for bridging fiber Channel, FCoE, and iSCSI networks, as well as for migrating data between storage devices. In addition, it offers silicon products comprising fiber channel, iSCSI, converged network, and Ethernet controllers. Further, the company involves in the design and development of application-specific integrated circ uits, adapters, and switches based on fiber channel, iSCSI, FCoE, and Ethernet technologies. Its products are used in server, workstation, and storage subsystem solutions that are used by small, medium, and large enterprises with various business data requirements. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers and distributors worldwide. QLogic Corporation was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Shareholders in networking equipment maker QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC  ) certainly have a reason to rejoice, as it will be added to the S&P Small Cap 600 as of the close of business on Friday. Being added to the S&P Small Cap 600 index will mean that mutual funds that track the index will be required to purchase shares of QLogic. With more than $5 in cash per share on its balance sheet, the downside risk in QLogic is quickly abating.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Benck, who will also occupy a seat on the board, had been Emulex's COO since joining the company in 2008. He was appointed its president in 2010. Before Emulex, Benck had served in both capacities at QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC  ) . Earlier, he worked for 18 years at IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) , where he helped establish the storied tech giant's blade server line.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Also in the news ...
  Let's not sugarcoat this one iota: It was a really busy week for earnings news, with network equipment maker QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC  ) , printing and IT specialist Xerox (NYSE: XRX  ) , and telecommunication services provider Orange (NYSE: ORAN  ) all reporting results.

Hot International Companies To Buy For 2015: Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd (SVNDY)

Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. is a Japan-based holding company. The Company operates in six business segments. The Convenience Store segment operates convenience stores under the name 7-Eleven through direct operation and franchising. The Super Store segment operates general supermarkets, food supermarkets and specialty stores. The Department Store segment operates department stores with a focus on Seibu. The Food Service segment is engaged in the restaurant business, the contract food business and the fast food business. The Financial-related segment is engaged in the banking service, credit card and electronic money services. The Others segment is engaged in the information technology (IT) business. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Jubak]

  If you're a trader, you try to catch these ups and downs. If you're a longer term trader, you sort of go with Japanese equities. The one that I've got in Jubak's Picks is Toyota Motor, (TM), which trades in New York as an ADR. You can also go with something like Torre Industries (TRYIF), which trades as an ADR in New York as well as on the Tokyo exchange. They're the world's largest maker of carbon fiber, good play on exports to the aircraft and car industries. Or you can do something like Seven & I (SVNDY), the Japanese company that owns 7-Elevens around the world. So, those would be my ways to play a weak yen if you want to use Japanese equities for the week and the year ahead.

Top 5 Recreation Stocks To Watch Right Now: Ellie Mae Inc (ELLI)

Ellie Mae, Inc., incorporated October 14, 2007, is a provider of on-demand automation solutions for the mortgage industry. The Company offers an end-to-end solution, delivered using a Software-as-a-Service model that serves as the core operating system for mortgage originators and spans customer relationship management, loan origination and business management. It also hosts the Ellie Mae Network that allows Encompass users to electronically conduct business transactions with the lenders and settlement service providers they work with to process and fund loans. The Company's offerings include range of Encompass services and the DataTrac mortgage management software system. On August 15, 2011, it completed the acquisition of Del Mar Datatrac,Inc. (DMD).

Using the Company�� network technology, it has helped connect a fragmented world of mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers, community banks, credit unions, lenders, investors and service providers, all of which are integral to the origination and funding of residential mortgages. Its Encompass360 solutions include Encompass Product & Pricing Service; Ellie Mae Total Quality Loan Program; Encompass Compliance Service; Encompass Appraisal Service; Encompass CenterWise; Encompass Commissions; Encompass TPO WebCenter and Encompass Docs Solution.

Ellie Mae�� Total Quality Loan program helps in identifying compliance, income and fraud issues early in the origination process; help protect business from loan buy-backs, and fortify workflow and uncover and correct possible issues before you close the loan.Encompass Appraisal Service, integrated inside Encompass360, is that solution helps in completing order right from the loan file in Encompass360; import complete appraisal reports directly into eFolder, and customize appraisal workflow by type of loan and control, which its users can order appraisals. Its Encompass CenterWise wraps two essential Web and electronic document solutions into one unified package. Encompass Commissions is a ! commission management solution integrated inside Encompass360 that automates the calculation, reconciliation and communication of variable pay across your organization. Hosted Encompass360 Banker Edition users can connect directly with third-party originators (TPOs) without leaving Encompass360, and have them connect back in a secure, synchronized, and easy-to-use Web-based environment. Encompass Docs Solution provides a single, integrated application incorporating both initial disclosures and closing documents.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Ellie Mae (ELLI), an electronic mortgage origination network in the U.S, closed up 16% at $28 in Friday's trading session.

  Friday's Volume: 2.17 million
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 468,756
  
  Volume % Change: 372%

  Shares of ELLI skyrocketed higher on Friday after the company reported a profit and met Wall Street's expectations and beat the revenue expectation.

  From a technical perspective, ELLI soared higher here right above both its 50-day moving average of $23.64 and its 200-day moving average of $23.71 with heavy upside volume. This move sent shares of ELLI into breakout territory, since the stock took out some key overhead resistance levels at $25.39 to $25.75 and then above more resistance at $26.34. This move also pushed shares of ELLI into new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Shares of ELLI are now starting to move within range of triggering another major breakout trade. That trade will hit if ELLI manages to take out Friday's high of $28.100 and then once it clears its three-year high at $30.59 with high volume.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ELLI as long as it's trending above those breakout levels of $26.34 to $25.75 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 468,756 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ELLI will set up to enter new 52-week- and three-year-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $35 to $40.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Ellie Mae (NYSE: ELLI  ) reported earnings on April 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Ellie Mae beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

• [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 Ellie Mae (NYSE: ELLI  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Charley Blaine]

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Ellie Mae (NYSE: ELLI), which operates an electronic mortgage origination network, were down 18.27 percent to $23.62, after the company reported a weaker-than-expected Q3 profit. Ellie Mae also signed a definitive agreement to buy MortgageCEO.

Hot International Companies To Buy For 2015: Burberry Group PLC (BURBY)

Burberry Group plc (Burberry) is a holding company. The Company designs and sources luxury apparel and accessories, selling through a diversified network of retail (including digital), wholesale and licensing channels worldwide. The Company�� Retail/wholesale channel is engaged in the sale of luxury goods through Burberry mainline stores, concessions, outlets and digital commerce, as well as Burberry franchisees, prestige department stores globally and multi-brand specialty accounts. The Company�� retail channel includes approximately 206 mainline stores, 214 concessions within department stores, digital commerce and 49 outlets. The Company�� wholesale channel includes sales to department stores, multi-brand specialty accounts, Travel Retail and franchisees who operates approximately 65 Burberry stores. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Reuters]

  Peter Foley/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBurberry Group CEO Angela Ahrendts. LONDON -- Christopher Bailey, the designer credited with restoring the cachet to fashion brand Burberry, is to become chief executive next year when long-standing boss Angela Ahrendts will move to Apple. The 157-year-old British fashion house, famous for its camel, red and black check pattern, said Tuesday that Ahrendts would step down by mid-2014 after which Bailey would combine his role as chief creative officer with chief executive. News the 42-year-old Yorkshireman would hold both positions sparked concern among some analysts that he might be taking on too much, and sent shares in the group down 6 percent in early trading, valuing the business at 6.6 billion pounds. "There will undoubtedly be relief that Mr. Bailey, the driving force behind the brand for the last 12 years, is staying," Morgan Stanley (MS) said in a note to clients. "But we anticipate some investor concern about combining the chief creative officer and CEO roles, which are both time consuming and require very different skill sets." Ahrendts, who has been Burberry (BURBY) boss for eight years, during which time its share price has soared about 250 percent, will take up a newly created position at Apple as a senior vice president with oversight of retail and online stores. She will report directly to CEO Tim Cook. Ahrendts will be looking to do better than the last chief executive of a British company who left London to join Apple (AAPL) -- John Browett who quit Dixons to lead the iPad and iPhone maker's global retail expansion in 2012. He left six months later. Bailey joined Burberry in 2001 and has held the major creative role for six years, helping to rebuild the group after it became a victim of its own success in the 1990s when its trademark pattern was embraced by the mass market, losing its appeal to its core wealthy clientele. Under Ahrendts and Bailey, the group has refocused on the luxury market, inc

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Rambourg’s favored luxury stocks include Burberry (BURBY), Richemont, Coach (COH)…and Tiffany, whose “higher-end repositioning, along with lower raw material prices, should continue to support the stock,” he says.

Hot International Companies To Buy For 2015: Accuray Incorporated(ARAY)

Accuray Incorporated designs, develops, and sells medical radiation systems for the treatment of tumors anywhere in the body. The company offers the CyberKnife system, an image-guided robotic radiosurgery system used for the treatment of solid tumors. The system tracks, detects, and corrects for tumor and patient movement in real-time during the procedure, enabling delivery of precise, high dose radiation typically with sub-millimeter accuracy. The company also offers the TomoTherapy system, which consists of an integrated and versatile radiation therapy system used for the treatment of a range of cancer types. Accuray Incorporated markets its product through a direct sales force and distributors worldwide. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell]

  Accuray Inc.(ARAY) shares jumped after the company posted a narrower loss than expected in its fiscal second quarter and raised its revenue estimate for the year. Shares rose 9.1% to $10.08 premarket.

Hot International Companies To Buy For 2015: Arctic Gold Publ AB (ARCT)

Arctic Gold Publ AB, formerly known as Alcaston Exploration AB, is a Sweden-based exploration and mine development company. Its main focus is on the Bidjovagge gold and copper ore field in northern Norway. The project is located in the municipality of Kautokenio. Apart from that, the Company�� portfolio comprises gold and base metal projects in the Norrbotten and Vasterbotten in northern Sweden. As of December 31, 2011, the Company held 78 exploration permits in Norway, comprising a total of 23.1 square kilometers. In Sweden the Company has 12 exploration permits comprising 17.4 square kilometers. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had one wholly owned subsidiary, namely Arctic Gold Operations AB. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� largest shareholder was M.Elsasser & CIE AG (12.06%). Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brad Thomas]

  He has undeniably delivered for his investors. In the space of 18 months, Mr. Schorsch has executed three transactions. He helped with the roadshow for Healthcare Trust of America (HTA), a non-traded REIT for which he served as broker-dealer and raised nearly $1 billion. He also listed American Realty Capital Trust (ARCT) for public trading and merged ARCT III with his own American Realty Capital Properties (ARCP). The three deals netted investors internal rates of return of 11%, 14% and 33%, respectively, according to company data. In the meantime, publicly traded shares of ARCP have increased 60% - to $16, from $10 - since last July.

Hot International Companies To Buy For 2015: Latteno Food Corp (LATF)

Latteno Food Corp. (Latteno), incorporated on August 24, 1994, is engaged in acquiring, organizing, developing and upgrading companies in the international food and beverage market. Latteno is specializing in the dairy industry and coffee industry. The Company operates through its subsidiary in Brazil. On February 10, 2010 Latteno acquired Global Milk Businesses and Administration of Private Properties Ltda. (Global Milk). Global Milk holds the rights of certain intellectual property of the brand name products manufactured and sold under the brand name Teixeira. In March 2013, the Company acquired Green Cannabis Collective Inc.

Latteno is leasing an instant and roasted coffee factory located in Cruzeiro, Sao-Paulo, which was property the Company previously owned under its BDFC Brasil Alimentos Ltda (BDFC) subsidiary. In addition to the lease, the Company has maintained ownership of four brand names, Samba Cafe, Vivenda, Torino and Brazilian Best, used in the past by Latteno to sell its instant and roasted coffee across the world. The Company engaged the service companies to assist with its operations, such as Log-Frio Ltda, SigaSolutions Ltda, Microsiga Ltda and Varistao Transportes Ltda.

The Company competes with Nestle, Companhia Cacique de Cafe Soluvel, Cafe Soluvel Brasilia and Companhia lguacu de Cafe Soluvel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  What do you get when you cross a Coffee Holding Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:JVA) with a Medical Marijuana Inc. (OTCMKTS:MJNA) and a Kraft Foods Group Inc. (NASDAQ:KRFT)? No, it's not a setup for a punch line - there's a legitimate answer. And that answer is, Latteno Food Corp. (OTCMKTS:LATF).

• [By James E. Brumley]

  A week and a half ago when I suggested Latteno Food Corp. (OTCMKTS:LATF) was an effective way of getting into the medical marijuana craze for anyone who missed the big runups (the first or the second time) from names like Medical Marijuana Inc. (OTCMKTS:MJNA) or Hemp, Inc. (OTCMKTS:HEMP), not many people agreed with my assessment. That's the nice way of saying I received some "colorful counter-opinions" to my bullishness on LATF. Indeed, some readers were downright enraged I would dare compare the company to stocks like MJNA or HEMP, citing reasons ranging from the possibility that it's a complete scam to the possibility that the capital structure as amazingly unfair to current shareholders.

Hot International Companies To Buy For 2015: ANADIGICS Inc.(ANAD)

ANADIGICS, Inc. provides semiconductor solutions to the broadband wireless and wireline communications markets. Its products include radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers (PAs), tuner integrated circuits, active splitters, line amplifiers, and other components. The company?s RF power amplifier products enable mobile handsets, datacards, and other devices to access third generation (3G) wireless networks utilizing international standards, including wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high speed packet access (HSPA), code division multiple access (CDMA), and evolution data optimized (EVDO). In addition, the company provides RF power amplifiers for the fourth generation (4G) wireless services, including long term evolution (LTE) and worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX). ANADIGICS?s WiFi products enable connectivity for wireless mobile devices and other computing devices and its cable television (CATV) products enable fixed-point, wireline broa dband communications over cable modem and set-top box products, CATV infrastructure, and fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP). The company sells its products through direct sales, as well as through independent manufacturers? representatives and distributors. ANADIGICS, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Warren, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  CTL stock has lagged the overall market for the past year — down 9% vs. 20% gains for the S&P 500 — and it seems that those running the show do not expect that to change anytime soon.

  Stocks to Sell: Anadigics (ANAD)

  Anadigics (ANAD) is another company that has not kept up with the market and is seeing selling near the lows. Five insiders, including the chairman, the CEO and the CFO, have been selling stock this month. All together, they have combined to sell more than 72,000 shares of the company at very low prices.

Hot International Companies To Buy For 2015: Pearson Plc(PSO)

Pearson plc engages in education, business information, and consumer publishing businesses worldwide. The company?s North American Education segment provides higher education services, such as higher education publishing; MyLab digital learning, homework, and assessment programs; and LearningStudio, a suite of learning management technologies, including eCollege and Fronter. This segment also offers assessment and information services; school curriculum services consisting of school publishing; enVisionMATH, a digital math curriculum; America's Choice school reform services; online learning platform for teachers and students; Poptropica video game; digital programs, such as digits, a digital middle school math?s program; Writing Coach, a blended print and online program; and Online Learning Exchange, a personalized digital learning program. Its International Education segment provides educational content, assessment, technologies, and related services to educational inst itutions. This segment offers spoken English training for adults, as well as provides eCollege and Fronter learning management systems. It also offers MyLab digital learning, homework, and assessment programs. The company?s Professional segment focuses on publishing, training, testing, and certification for professionals. Its Financial Times group segment provides business and financial news, data, comment, and analysis in print and online formats to the international business community. Its products include Financial Times newspaper; FT.com Website; financial magazines and online services; and Mergermarket, which provides forward-looking insights and intelligence to businesses and financial institutions. The company?s Penguin Group segment engages in book publishing business, under the Hamish Hamilton, Putnam, Berkley, Viking, Dorling Kindersley, Puffin, and Ladybird imprints. It also offers ebooks. The company was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in London, the Unite d Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mike Arnold]

  Collectively, Glacier generated $21.2 million EBITDA in the first-half of 2013, of which 56% represents $11.9 million, or $23.8 million annualized. Comparables such as Daily Journal Corp. and to a lesser extent, Pearson plc (PSO) trade at EV/EBITDA multiples of 12x and 11.5x, respectively. If we assume 10x for the Glacier's business information services is a better proxy of value, we arrive at $238 million valuation for the segment.

• [By Mark Rogers]

  LONDON -- The shares of�Pearson� (LSE: PSON  ) (NYSE: PSO  ) were flat at 1,146p early this afternoon after the�Financial Times�publisher reported first-quarter sales rising 3%, to 拢1.2bn.

Hot International Companies To Buy For 2015: Western Refining Logistics LP (WNRL)

Western Refining Logistics, LP, incorporated on July 17, 2013, owns, operates, develops, and acquires terminals, storage tanks, pipelines, and other logistics assets. As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� assets includes pipeline and gathering assets and terminalling, transportation, and storage assets in the Southwestern portion of the United States, which included approximately 300 miles of pipelines and approximately 7.9 million barrels of active storage capacity, as well as other assets. The Company's assets are integral to the operations of Western�� refineries located in El Paso, Texas, and near Gallup, New Mexico.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company owns and operates two refineries, in El Paso, Texas and Gallup, New Mexico, with a total crude oil throughput capacity of 153,000 barrels per day (bpd). The Company does not take ownership of the hydrocarbons or products (other than certain additives) that it handles or engages in the trading of any commodities.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  It;s been a very robust year for master limited partnership IPOs to say the least. On Thursday, Western Refining (NYSE: WNR  ) successfully spun off its midstream logistics MLP, Western Refining Logistics (NYSE: WNRL  ) . The partnership became the 14th MLP to make its debut this year.

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Western Refining Logistics (NYSE: WNRL) debuted on Oct. 10. The partnership was formed by Western Refining (NYSE: WNR) to own, operate, develop and acquire terminals, storage tanks, pipelines, and other logistics assets. WNRL’s assets include 300 miles of crude oil pipelines, gathering systems, and 566,000 barrels of crude oil storage located primarily in the Permian Basin. Most of its revenue is expected to be derived from two 10-year, fee-based agreements with Western Refining.