Top 5 Healthcare Technology Stocks To Buy For 2015

Top 5 Healthcare Technology Stocks To Buy For 2015: Proofpoint Inc (PFPT)

Proofpoint, Inc. (Proofpoint), incorporated in 2002, is a security-as-a-service vendor that delivers data protection solutions, which helps medium- and large-sized organizations worldwide. Proofpoints security-as-a-service platform consists of an integrated suite of on-demand data protection solutions, including threat protection, regulatory compliance, archiving and governance, and secures communication. It provides a multi-tiered security-as-a-service platform consisting of solutions, platform technologies and infrastructure. The Companys security-as-a-service platform includes four solutions bundled for the convenience of its customers: Proofpoint Enterprise Protection, Proofpoint Enterprise Privacy, Proofpoint Enterprise Archive and Proofpoint Enterprise Governance. Its platform services consist of content inspection, reputation, encryption and key management, notification and workflow, and analytics and search. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Compan y acquired NextPage, Inc. In September 2013, Proofpoint Inc completed its acquisition of Armorize Technologies Inc. In October 2013, the Company acquired Silicon Valley based Sendmail, Inc.

The Companys solutions are used by approximately 2,400 customers worldwide, including 26 of the Fortune 100, protecting tens of millions of end-users. It markets and sells its solutions worldwide both directly through the sales teams and indirectly through a hybrid model. It also distributes its solutions through International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), Microsoft Corporation and VMware, Inc.

Proofpoint Enterprise Protection

Proofpoint Enterprise Protection is the Companys communications and collaboration security suite designed to protect customers' mission-critical messaging infrastructure from outside threats including spam, phishing, unpredictable e-mail volumes, malware and other forms of objectionable or dangerous conte! nt before they reach the enterprise. Key capabilities within proofpoint en! terprise protection include threat detection, virus protection, zero-hour threat detection and smart search.

Proofpoint Enterprise Privacy

The Companys data loss prevention, encryption and compliance solution defends against leaks of confidential information, and helps ensure compliance with common United States, international and industry-specific data protection regulations, including HIPAA, GLBA, PIPEDA and PCI-DSS. Key capabilities within Proofpoint Enterprise Privacy include Advanced data loss prevention, Flexible remediation and supervision, Policy-based encryption and Secure file transfer.

Proofpoint Enterprise Archive

Proofpoint Enterprise Archive is designed to ensure accurate enforcement of data governance, data retention and supervision policies and mandates; cost effective litigation support through discovery, and active legal hold management. Proofpoint Enterprise Archive can store, govern and discover a r ange of data, including e-mail, instant message conversations, social media interactions, and other files throughout the enterprise. The key capabilities within Proofpoint Enterprise Archive include Secure cloud storage, Search performance, Flexible policy enforcement, Active legal-hold management and End-user supervision.

Proofpoint Enterprise Governance

Proofpoint Enterprise Governance provides organizations the ability to track, classify, monitor, and apply governance policies to unstructured information across the enterprise. The key capabilities within Proofpoint Enterprise Governance include Document Tracking-Digital Thread, Cloud-based Search and Analytics, and Flexible policy enforcement.

The Company competes with Cisco Systems, Inc., EMC Corporation, Google Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, Intel and Microsoft.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell]

  Security services provider Proofpoin! t Inc.(PF! PT) shares popped after the company posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and issued optimistic revenue guidance. Shares jumped 10% to $40.24 premarket.

• [By Sean Williams]

  One company in particular I'd suggest putting back on the sales rack is Proofpoint (NASDAQ: PFPT  ) , a threat and regulatory security-as-a-service provider. The profit potential is certainly there. Proofpoint's SaaS model is built around getting the client hooked on its products and making it inconvenient and cost-inefficient for them to switch to a competitor. In other words, it's setting up its own razor-and-blades model that should fuel recurring revenue for years to come.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-5-healthcare-technology-stocks-to-buy-for-2015-4.html

Hot Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now

NEW YORK ��A top Ford executive hinted today of a new infotainment system that eventually will replace the much criticized and sometimes confusing MyFord Touch screen that has dragged down the company's performance in quality surveys.

"There are software limitations with the current system that we want to break through so we can offer more capability," Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of the Americas, said at the NADA/J.D. Power Automotive Forum, prelude to the New York Auto Show. "Like anything with technology, there is a lot of evolution in capability, speed, memory, all kinds of things."

Ford's customer satisfaction scores have been taking big hits since MyFord Touch was introduced four years ago.

In February, Ford ended a partnership with Microsoft that created the smartphone-like system and agreed to work with unit to refine software underlying Ford's Sync infotainment system. Sync's next generation is expected to enable people to control their smartphones and other devices by voice command.

Best Stocks To Buy For 2015: Sabre Corp (SABR)

Sabre Corporation, incorporated on December 11, 2006, is a technology solutions provider to the global travel and tourism industry.The Company provides software and services to a range of travel suppliers and travel buyers. The Company through its Travel Network business, processes hundreds of millions of transactions annually, connecting travel suppliers, including airlines, hotels, car rental brands, rail carriers, cruise lines and tour operators, with travel buyers in a comprehensive travel marketplace. The Company operates through three business segments: Travel Network, Airline and Hospitality Solutions and Travelocity. The Company offers global distribution of travel content from approximately 125,000 travel suppliers to approximately 400,000 online and offline travel agents. To those agents, it offers a platform to shop, price, book and ticket comprehensive travel content in a transparent workflow.

The Company through its airline solutions business (Airline Solutions) and hospitality solutions business (Hospitality Solutions and, together with Airline Solutions, Airline and Hospitality Solutions) offer travel suppliers a suite of software solutions, ranging from airline and hotel reservations systems to high-value marketing and operations solutions, such as planning airline crew schedules, re-accommodating passengers during irregular flight operations and managing day-to-day hotel operations. These solutions allow its customers to market, distribute and sell their products more efficiently, manage their core operations, and deliver an enhanced travel experience. Through its complementary Travel Network and Airline and Hospitality Solutions businesses, it offers the broadest, end-to-end portfolio of technology solutions to the travel industry.

The Company�� portfolio of technology solutions has enabled them to become the technology provider in the travel industry. The Company is the global distribution systems (GDSs) provider in North America and also in higher growt! h markets such as Latin America and Asia Pacific (APAC). The Company has a portfolio of airline marketing and operations products across the solutions that it provides. In addition, the Company operates Travelocity, one of the recognizable brands in the online consumer travel e-commerce industry, which provides them with business insights into its broader customer base. Through its solutions, which span the breadth of the travel ecosystem, the Company has developed deep domain expertise. Its investment in Airline and Hospitality Solutions offerings has allowed to create a broad portfolio of value-added products for its travel supplier customers, ranging from reservations platforms to operations solutions typically delivered via scalable and flexible software-as-a-service (SaaS) and hosted platforms.

The Company enabled airlines to sell ancillary products like premium seats through the GDS, the first third-party provider to automate passenger reaccommodation during operational disruptions and the first GDS to launch a business-to-business (B2B) app marketplace for its travel agency customers that allows them to customize and augment its Travel Network platform. The Company�� SaaS and hosted technology platforms allows them to serve its customers primarily through a recurring, transaction-based revenue model based primarily on travel events such as air segments booked, passengers boarded (PBs) or other relevant metrics.

Travel Network

Travel Network is a global B2B travel marketplace and consists primarily of its GDS and integrates with its GDS to add value for travel suppliers and travel buyers. The Company�� GDS offers content from a broad array of travel suppliers, including approximately 400 airlines, 125,000 hotel properties, 30 car rental brands, 50 rail carriers, 16 cruise lines and 200 tour operators, to tens of thousands of travel buyers, including online and offline travel agencies, TMCs and corporate travel departments.

Airline and Hospi! tality So! lutions

The Company�� Airline and Hospitality Solutions business offers a broad portfolio of software technology products and solutions, primarily through SaaS and hosted models, to approximately 225 airlines, 17,500 hotel properties and 700 other travel suppliers. Its software and systems applications help automate and optimize its customers��business processes, including reservations systems, marketing tools, commercial planning solutions and enterprise operations tools.

Travelocity

Travelocity is the Company�� family of online consumer travel e-commerce businesses through which it provides travel content and booking functionality primarily for leisure travelers. In August 2013, Travelocity entered into an long-term strategic marketing agreement with Expedia which was recently amended and restated in March 2014 to reflect changed commercial terms (the Expedia SMA). Under the Expedia SMA, Expedia will power the technology platforms of Travelocity�� existing U.S. and Canadian Websites, as well as provide access to Expedia�� supply and customer service platforms. Additionally, Travelocity recently sold its Travelocity Partner Network (TPN) business, a B2B loyalty and private label Website offering, to Orbitz.

The Company competes with Amadeus, Hewlett-Packard, Unisys, Navitaire, Jeppesen , Lufthansa Systems, SITA, PROS, ITA Software, Datalex, Travelport, MICROS, TravelClick, Pegasus and Trust.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephen Grocer]

  High-profile offerings from boutique investment bank Moelis(MC) & Co. and travel-technology firm Sabre Corp.(SABR) sold fewer shares at a lower price than both expected lat week. On the day they debuted, shares of the two companies rose 4.6% and 3%, respectively.

Hot Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now: Special Opportunities Fund Inc.(SPE)

Special Opportunities Fund, Inc. is a close-ended fund of funds launched and managed by Brooklyn Capital Management LLC. It invests in close-ended funds investing in public equity and fixed income markets. The fund employs a combination of value, opportunistic and special situations strategies to make its investments. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P 500 Index. The fund was previously known as Insured Municipal Income Fund, Inc. Special Opportunities Fund, Inc. was formed on February 18, 1993 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Whopper Investments]

  For example, his Special Opportunity Fund (SPE) needed more capital to effectively implement its activist strategy after he took over. Unfortunately, most of the ways to raise capital are expensive and seriously dilute shareholder value. For example, a common stock offering, the most common way a closed end fund would raise capital, has to be priced at a discount and an investment bank needs to be paid to organize and sell it. Obviously, paying to issue shares at a discount is a disaster for long term shareholder value, so he instead pursued a rights offering for convertible preferred stock, which allowed the company to raise money without the expense of an investment bank while allowing shareholders the opportunity to increase their holdings in the fund without paying a commission. From the prospectus,

Hot Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now: Avalon Rare Metals Inc (AVL)

Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (Avalon) is a Canada-based mineral exploration and development company. The Company�� primary focus is on rare metals and minerals, including tin, lithium, tantalum, niobium, cesium, indium, gallium, zirconium and calcium feldspar. It is in the process of exploring or developing three of its six mineral resource properties. The Company�� active projects (Thor Lake Rare Metals Project (Thor Lake), Separation Rapids and East Kemptville) are rare minerals or rare metals properties that are at an advanced stage with identified mineral resources. Thor Lake is the Company�� leading project. The Thor Lake is located in the Mackenzie Mining District of the Northwest Territories, approximately five kilometers north of the Hearne Channel of Great Slave Lake and approximately 100 kilometers southeast of the city of Yellowknife. It comprises five contiguous mining leases totalling 10,449 acres (4,249 hectares) and three claims totalling 4,597 acres (1,869 hectares). Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Rare Element Resources Ltd (NYSEMKT:REE) has been getting more than its fair share of attention of late.... bullish attention, to be precise. The stock's benefited from the attention too, with REE shares up 58% in the past two and a half weeks. As compelling as that move is, however, it's not the best rare earth bet at this point. If you like Rare Element Resources, you'll love Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (NYSEMKT:AVL). Unlike REE, AVL isn't already overbought. Indeed, it's just getting started.
  
  First and foremost, it's worth noting that the undertow pushing Avalon Rare Metals and Rare Element Resources Ltd shares upward is doing the same for most rare earth metal miners. That undertow is simply a broad price improvement for rare earth elements. Since July's low, neodymium ("the biggie) prices have advanced from $75/kg to the current price of $103/kg, and are still going strong. Some observers have already suggested the proverbial bottom has been made, and their arguments actually hold up pretty well. That's why REE and AVL have been such - no pun intended - hot commodities of late... this rebound in rare element prices seems to be the real deal.
  
  So what's wrong with Rare Element Resources Ltd that isn't wrong with Avalon Rare Metals? In simplest terms, AVL isn't overbought right now, while REE is.
  
  With just a quick glance at the chart of Rare Element Resources Ltd we can see that shares had already been hot, gapping higher back on the 16th, yet never looking back. Now it's up huge, and on huge volume. In fact, today's big 11% pop will be the highest volume day we've seen in months.
  
  On the surface it seems bullish, but this is one of those "too much of anything is still too much" situations. REE may be hot, but it's well overextended already, and today's extreme bullishness may be actually be a blowoff top.
  
  AVL, on the flipside, isn't nearly as overextended right now. In fact, it appears to just be getting started. Though it to

• [By Doug Ehrman]

  The broader comments are a boon for the industry, explaining why competitors like Avalon Rare Metals (NYSEMKT: AVL  ) traded up nearly 10% and Rare Earth Elements (NYSEMKT: REE  ) surged over 12% on the news. If industrial demand for rare-earth elements is stabilizing and beginning to build, then all three of these companies will benefit. High inventories in the hands of customers have been a major drag on prices for an extended period, and If this trend is reversing, Molycorp should see continuing strength in the later part of the year.

Hot Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now: Wizard World Inc (WIZD)

Wizard World, Inc., incorporated on May 2, 2001, produces pop culture and live multimedia conventions (Comic Cons) across North America that provide a social networking and entertainment venue for fiction enthusiasts of movies, television shows, video games, technology, toys, social networking/gaming platforms, comic books and graphic novels. The Company has two lines of business: live multimedia events, which involves ticket sales and exhibitor booth space, and sponsorships and advertising. On December 7, 2010, the Company acquired Conventions (which collectively refers to Kick The Can Corp. and its predecessors Wizard Conventions, Inc. and Kicking The Can, L.L.C) pursuant to a Share Purchase and Share Exchange Agreement (the Exchange Agreement). As the result of the Share Exchange, Conventions became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. The Company, through, Conventions, is a producer of pop culture and live multimedia conventions. On November 13, 2010, the Company acquired the production rights to the Mid-Ohio Comic Con from GCX Holdings.

These Comic Cons provide entertainment companies, toy companies, gaming companies, publishing companies and retailers venues for their sales, marketing, promotions, public relations, advertising and sponsorships efforts. On March 18, 2011, the Company formed a wholly owned subsidiary, Wizard World Digital, Inc. (Digital). Among other things, Digital monitors and sends emails to its fan database; manages its Website www.wizardworld.com and its online accounts, and produces the Company�� online newsletter, Wizard World Digital. The Company also produces Wizard World Digital, an online publication covering new and upcoming products and talents in the pop culture world, which is distributed on a weekly basis to online and iPad users worldwide. Kick The Can Corp. was incorporated in Nevada on September 20, 2010. As of November 17, 2011, the Conventions held the production rights to 11 conventions: Atlanta Comic Con (Atlanta, GA); Big Apple Comic Co! n (New York, NY); Cincinnati Comic Con (Cincinnati, OH); Connecticut Comic Con (Hartford, CT); Nashville Comic Con (Nashville, TN); New England Comic Con (Boston, MA); North Coast Comic Con (Akron, OH); Toronto Comic Con (Toronto, Ontario); Nola Comic Con (New Orleans, LA); Central Canada Comic Con (Winnipeg, Manitoba), and Mid-Ohio Comic Con (Columbus, OH). The Company developed the Comic Cons in Miami, FL, Anaheim, CA, Austin, TX, Philadelphia, PA and Chicago, IL.

The Company competes with Reed Exhibitions Limited and Hobby Star Marketing Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, WIZD remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $.520 thus far (ref. google finance June 20, 2013).

  Wizard World, Inc. previously reported record financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 today.

  Convention revenue was $1,793,476 for the three months ended March 31, 2013, as compared to $520,155 for the comparable period ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $1,273,321. The Company produced two events during the period ended March 31, 2013, as compared to one event during the comparable period ended March 31, 2012. Average revenue generated per event in 2013 was $896,737 as compared to $520,155 during 2012.

Hot Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now: Arabian American Development Co (ARSD)

Arabian American Development Company, incorporated in 1967, is engaged in manufacturing various specialty petrochemical products. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned a 37% interest in Al Masane Al Kobra Mining Company and a 55% interest in Pioche Ely Valley Mines, Inc (PEVM). The Company�� United States activities are primarily conducted through a wholly owned subsidiary, Texas Oil and Chemical Co. II, Inc. (TOCCO). TOCCO owns of South Hampton Resources Inc. (South Hampton), and South Hampton owns of Gulf State Pipe Line Company, Inc. (Gulf State).

South Hampton owns and operates a specialty petrochemical facility near Silsbee, Texas, which produces petrochemical solvents and other petroleum based products, including isopentane, normal pentane, isohexane and hexane, which is used in the production of polyethylene, packaging, polypropylene, expandable polystyrene, poly-iso/urethane foams, and in the catalyst support industry. Gulf State owns and operates three pipelines that connect the South Hampton facility to a natural gas line, to South Hampton�� truck and rail loading terminal and to a petroleum products pipeline owned by an unaffiliated third party.

South Hampton owns and operates a specialty petrochemical facility near Silsbee, Texas which is approximately 30 miles north of Beaumont, Texas, and 90 miles east of Houston. The facility consists of seven operating units which, while interconnected, make distinct products through differing processes: a Penhex Unit; a Reformer; a Cyclo-pentane Unit; an Aromax Unit; an Aromatics Hydrogenation Unit; a White Oil Fractionation Unit, and a Hydrocarbon Processing Demonstration Unit.

Gulf State owns and operates three 8-inch diameter pipelines aggregating approximately 50 miles in length connecting South Hampton�� facility to: a natural gas line, South Hampton�� truck and rail loading terminal and a petroleum products pipeline system owned by an unaffiliated third party. The Penhex Unit has the capacity! to process approximately 6,700 barrels per day, with the Reforming Unit, the Aromax Unit, and the Cyclo-Pentane Unit further processing streams produced by the Penhex Unit. The Aromatics Hydrogenation Unit has a capacity of approximately 400 barrels per day, and the White Oils Fractionation Unit has a capacity of approximately 3,000 barrels per day. The Hydrocarbon Processing Demonstration Unit has a capacity of approximately 300 gallons per day. The facility generally consists of equipment commonly found in petrochemical facilities, such as fractionation towers and hydrogen treaters except the facility is adapted to produce specialized products. South Hampton produces eight distinct product streams and markets several combinations of blends as needed in various customers��applications.

The Reformer and Aromax units are operated as needed to support the Penhex and Cyclo-pentane Units. The other two operating units at the plant site, an Aromatics Hydrogenation Unit and a White Oils Fractionation Unit, are operated as two, independent and completely segregated processes. These units are dedicated to the needs of two different toll processing customers. Products may be sold directly from South Hampton�� storage tanks or transported to the customers��location for storage and marketing. South Hampton, in support of the petrochemical operation, owns approximately 75 storage tanks with total capacity approaching 225,000 barrels, and 95 acres of land at the plant site, 55 acres of which are developed. South Hampton also owns a truck and railroad loading terminal consisting of storage tanks, four rail spurs, and truck and tank car loading facilities on approximately 53 acres of which 13 acres are developed.

The Company�� mineral interest in the United States is its 55% ownership interest in an inactive corporation, PEVM. PEVM�� properties include 48 patented and 5 unpatented claims totaling approximately 1,500 acres. All of the claims are located in Lincoln County, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Arabian American Development (NYSE: ARSD  ) reported earnings on June 26. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Arabian American Development beat expectations 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 Arabian American Development (NYSE: ARSD  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Hot Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now: Westinghouse Solar Inc.(WEST)

Westinghouse Solar, Inc. engages in the design, manufacture, integration, and installation of solar power systems under the Westinghouse name. It offers its solar power systems for residential and commercial customers. The company also designs and distributes solar panels with integrated micro inverters (called as AC solar panels). The company sells its AC solar panels to solar installers, trade workers, and do-it-yourself customers through distribution partnerships, dealer network, and retail outlets. It has a strategic partnership with Real Goods Solar, whereby Real Goods Solar operates as an authorized dealer for westinghouse solar power systems for sale to its customers in California and Colorado markets. The company was formerly known as Akeena Solar, Inc. and changed its name to Westinghouse Solar, Inc. on Apr 14, 2011. Westinghouse Solar, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Campbell, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  My enthusiasm regarding Real Goods Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:RSOL) and Westinghouse Solar Inc. (OTCMKTS:WEST) hasn't exactly been a veiled secret. Though I've favored one over the other at various times since the entire solar panel industry went back into high gear in the middle of the second quarter, I've been a fan of both RSOL as well as WEST for a while. The trick has been finding the right entry spot for both of these volatile stocks.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Invest In Right Now

I'd hate to be short Pall (NYSE:PLL), as large companies in the filtration space often seem as close to bulletproof as you can find in the market. So even though sell-side analysts chronically overestimate Pall's free cash flow, investors remain happy with a company that admittedly enjoys strong share and a very lucrative channel of repeat business. While I think Pall's shares remain overvalued, I don't have any particular reason to believe that the shares will sell off dramatically, as the life sciences business should be stable and the industrial business should start improving next year.

On Target In Fiscal Q4
There are always plenty of moving parts within Pall's results, as the company sells into so many different end markets, but the end result performance was pretty much on target.

Revenue fell almost 1% as reported to close the fiscal year, but revenue in local currency terms rose half a point. Life sciences was up 6% for the quarter, as strength in biopharma offset weaker conditions in the Chinese and European food and beverage sector. Customer utilization levels in industrial markets remain a real issue, though, and the company saw a 5% decline (local currency) in industrial sales, with particular weakness in microelectronics and municipal water.

Best Japanese Stocks To Invest In 2015: W.R. Berkley Corporation(WRB)

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as commercial lines writers in the property casualty insurance business primarily in the United States. The company operates in five segments: Specialty, Regional, Alternative Markets, Reinsurance, and International. The Specialty segment underwrites third-party liability risks, primarily excess, and surplus lines, including premises operations, professional liability, commercial automobile, products liability, and property lines. The Regional segments provide commercial insurance products to small-to-mid-sized businesses, and state and local governmental entities primarily in the 45 states of the United States. The Alternative Markets segment develops, insures, reinsures, and administers self-insurance programs and other alternative risk transfer mechanisms. This segment offers its services to employers, employer groups, insurers, and alternative market funds, as well as provides a range of fee-based servic es, including consulting and administrative services. The Reinsurance segment engages in the underwriting property casualty reinsurance on a treaty and a facultative basis, including individual certificates and program facultative business; and specialty and standard reinsurance lines, and property and casualty reinsurance. The International segment offers personal and commercial property casualty insurance in South America; commercial property casualty insurance in the United Kingdom and continental Europe; and reinsurance in Australia, Southeast Asia, and Canada. The company was founded in 1967 and is based in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Earnings reports expected on Monday include:

  Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.48 on revenue of $1.10 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.13 on revenue of $905.09 million. Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is expected to report third quarter EPS of $1.19 on revenue of $2.07 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $1.21. W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.71 on revenue of $1.57 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.61 on revenue of $1.42 billion. Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.44 on revenue of $1.27 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.56 on revenue of $1.31 billion.

  Economics

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  For the past several years, Berkshire has contrasted its own cost-free float provided by profitable underwriting against the industry�� (unimpressive) tendency to lose money on underwriting while generating net returns from investment income. So far, so good. Less edifying, though, is the repeated contrast of Berkshire�� track record of profitability to State Farm��…even though, as a mutual company, State Farm�� profitability goals are inherently different from for-profit insurers like Berkshire. It�� true that through year-end 2013, Berkshire�� underwriters have ��ow operated at an underwriting profit for eleven consecutive years,��but so have ACE (ACE), American Financial (AFG),� AmTrust Financial (AFSI), Arch Capital (ACGL), Chubb (CB), HCC (HCC), Progressive (PGR), RLI (RLI), and W.R. Berkley (WRB), any or all of whom provide a more meaningful comparison than contrasting Berkshire�� results to a company that�� not out to produce a profit in the first place.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Insurance holding company�W.R. Berkley� (NYSE: WRB  ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.10 per share, an 11% increase over the $0.09 per share it paid last quarter.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  W.R. Berkley (NYSE: WRB)is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.74 per share on revenue of $1.57 billion.

  V.F. Corp (NYSE: VFC) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $3.78 per share on revenue of $3.34 billion.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Invest In Right Now: PetSmart Inc(PETM)

PetSmart, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of products, services, and solutions for pets in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The company offers consumables, such as pet food, treats, and litter; and hardgoods, which include pet supplies and other goods comprising collars, leashes, health care supplies, grooming and beauty aids, toys, apparel, and pet beds and carriers, as well as aquariums and habitats, accessories, d�or, and filters for fish, birds, reptiles, and small pets. It also provides fresh-water fish, small birds, reptiles, and small pets; and pet services, such as grooming, including precision cuts, baths, nail trimming and grinding, and teeth brushing, as well as training, boarding, and day camp services. In addition, the company operates PetsHotels that offer boarding for dogs and cats; provides personalized pet care, an on-call veterinarian, temperature controlled rooms and suites, daily specialty treats and p lay time, and day camp services for dogs; and operates veterinary hospitals, which offer services comprising routine examinations and vaccinations, dental care, a pharmacy, and surgical procedures. As of January 29, 2012, it operated 1,232 retail stores; 192 PetsHotels; 791 veterinary hospitals under the trade name of Banfield, The Pet Hospital; and 8 hospitals operated through other third parties in Canada. The company also offers its products through an e-commerce and community site, PetSmart.com. PetSmart, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  The most logical choice to invest in a burgeoning and ongoing domestication of our pets is by looking into pet superstores like PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM  ) . While online companies like PetMed Express (NASDAQ: PETS  ) offer the convenience of ordering medications from the comfort of your home, pets -- like humans -- need personalized care that you usually just can't get from the click of a mouse. This means that PetSmart is bound to stay busy with physical store visits from consumers who want only the best for Fido or their feline. And the proof is certainly in the pudding --PetSmart hasn't delivered an annual revenue decline once over the past decade with total sales up 125% since 2004.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Stew Milne/AP Considering that it's largely a brick-and-mortar retailer in a world that's buying more goods online, PetSmart (PETM) has posted some very good fundamentals recently. Given that, it might be a tempting stock for an investor to own. But it's not going to be on the market much longer. Under pressure from some of the private equity firms that own big chunks of it, the company has solicited bids for a sale, which will end its time as a stand-alone, publicly traded entity. Its venture into private waters is the latest in a series of such deals so far this year. Here's a look at several other companies that took (or are taking) themselves off the market in 2014. CEC Entertainment Even during its time on the high-visibility New York Stock Exchange, CEC Entertainment was not a familiar name. But the company's key property, the Chuck E. Cheese chain of hyperactive-themed restaurants aimed at kids, has been a well-known brand for years. That might be why CEC Entertainment and financial adviser Goldman Sachs (GS) were able to find a wealthy buyer so quickly after announcing their intention to go private this past January. A mere week after that came to light, investment management firm Apollo Global Management (APO) offered $950 million plus roughly $370 million in debt assumption for the company. As that offer represented an amount 25 percent or so higher than the stock's most recent closing price, CEC Entertainment readily accepted, and the deal closed in February. The company is probably better off in Apollo's arms. Chuck E. Cheese's one-stop dining and entertainment model is looking a bit creaky next to the many options for fun available to 21st-century kids. At the time of the deal's announcement, the company's results were sagging, with sales and net profit both declining in recent periods. Going private -- well, semi-private, as Apollo is a publicly traded entity -- reduces the pressure for the company to return to growth right away, and give

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Jana Partners wrote a letter to PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM) blasting the company's decision to skip a review of potential acquirers and explore a recapitalization plan instead. Shares lost 0.33 percent, closing at $70.23.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Invest In Right Now: Credit Suisse Group(CS)

Credit Suisse Group AG, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial services company. The company operates in three segments: Private Banking, Investment Banking, and Asset Management. The Private Banking segment offers advisory services and a range of wealth management solutions, including pension planning, life insurance products, tax planning, and wealth and inheritance advice for the high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. This segment also supplies banking products and services to affluent, high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, and corporates and institutions. The Investment Banking segment provides investment banking and securities products and services to corporations, governments, pension funds, and institutions. Its products and services include debt and equity underwriting, sales and trading, mergers and acquisitions advice, divestitures, corporate sales, restructuring, and investment research. The Asset Management segment offe rs integrated investment solutions and services to institutions, governments, foundations and endowments, corporations, and individuals. It provides access to a range of investment classes across alternative investment, asset allocation, and traditional investment strategies. The company operates in Switzerland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. Credit Suisse Group AG was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  The bookrunners of the issue are Goldman Sachs, Bank of America's Merrill Lynch, and the Securities units of Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS  ) . The offering is expected to close "on or about" June 26.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Invest In Right Now: IXYS Corporation(IXYS)

IXYS Corporation, an integrated semiconductor company, engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of power semiconductors, advanced mixed signal integrated circuits (ICs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), microcontrollers, and systems and radio frequency semiconductors. It offers power metal oxide silicon field effect transistors; insulated gate bipolar transistors; and thyristors and rectifiers, including fast recovery epitaxial diodes. The company?s power semiconductors are used primarily in controlling energy in motor drives; power conversion systems, including switch-mode and uninterruptible power supplies; medical electronics; and renewable energy sources. It also provides ICs, such as solid state relays for telecommunications applications; power management and control ICs comprising current regulators, motion controllers, digital power modulators, and drivers; microcontrollers, including embedded flash microcontrollers, core 8-bit microc ontrollers, and microprocessors; and line card access switch and data access arrangement integrated products. The company?s mixed signal ICs are used in telecommunications products, central office switching equipment, customer premises equipment, set top boxes, remote meter reading equipment, security systems, flat displays, medical electronics, and defense aerospace systems. In addition, it manufactures and sells laser diode drivers, high voltage pulse generators and modulators, high power subsystems/modules/stacks, and direct copper bond substrates. Its radio frequency power devices are used in wireless infrastructure, industrial radio frequency applications, medical systems, and defense and space electronics. It sells its products principally in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific through direct sales personnel, independent representatives, and distributors. IXYS Corporation was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Milpitas, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  IXYS (NASDAQ: IXYS) surged 5.70% to $14.66. The volume of IXYS shares traded was 1097% higher than normal. IXYS' PEG ratio is 0.55.

  Posted-In: volume moversNews Intraday Update Markets Movers

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Invest In Right Now: YRC Worldwide Inc.(YRCW)

YRC Worldwide Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various transportation services worldwide. The company?s YRC National Transportation unit offers a range of services for the transportation of industrial, commercial, and retail goods, such as apparel, appliances, automotive parts, chemicals, food, furniture, glass, machinery, metal, metal products, non-bulk petroleum products, rubber, textiles, wood, and other manufactured products. It serves manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and government customers. As of December 31, 2009, it had 11704 owned tractors, 1239 leased tractors, 50083 owned trailers, and 3244 leased trailers. Its YRC Regional Transportation unit?s service portfolio includes regional delivery, which comprises next-day local area delivery and second-day services, consolidation/distribution services, protect-from-freezing and hazardous materials handling, and various specialized offerings; expedited delivery, that comprises day-definite, hour-definite, and time definite capabilities; inter-regional delivery; cross-border delivery; and operation of my.yrcregional.com and NewPenn.com, which are e-commerce Websites offering online resources to manage transportation activity. The company?s YRC Logistics units? service portfolio consists of distribution services that include flow through and pool distribution, dedicated warehousing, and value-added services; global services, which comprise international freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and value-added services; and transportation services, such as truckload brokerage, domestic freight forwarding, and transportation management. Its YRC Truckload unit provides customized truckload services on regional and national level through the use of company and team-based drivers. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Raise the yellow caution flag
  In spite of trucking company YRC Worldwide's (NASDAQ: YRCW  ) share price doubling last week following the company's first quarterly profit in six years (that's right...�six years), shares are still down a mind-boggling 99.9928% over the past decade. Somehow avoiding bankruptcy a few years back by diluting existing shareholders into oblivion, YRC has investors now thinking the company may be on the mend. However, its history makes me�believe otherwise.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Friday’s session are Alcoa Inc.(AA), Sears Holdings Corp.(SHLD) and YRC Worldwide Inc.(YRCW)

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One under-$10 trucking player that's starting to trend within range of triggering a big breakout trade is YRC Worldwide (YRCW), which, through its subsidiaries, provides various transportation services primarily in North America.. This stock has been hit hard by the bears over the last three months, with shares off sharply by 50%.

  If you take a look at the chart for YRC Worldwide, you'll notice that this stock has been downtrending badly for the last five months, with shares plunging lower from its high of $33.89 to its recent low of $7.06 a share. During that downtrend, shares of YRCW have been making mostly lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of YRCW have now started to stabilize and the stock has formed a triple bottom chart pattern over the last month, at $7.06, $7.20 and $7.44 a share. Shares of YRCW have now reversed its downtrend and started to uptrend, with the stock moving higher from $7.06 to its recent high of $10.50 a share. That move has now pushed shares of YRCW within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in YRCW if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $10.63 a share to its 50-day moving average of $10.87 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 826,789 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then YRCW will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels $12.38 to $15 a share. Any high-volume move above $15 will then give YRCW a chance to tag $16 to $18 a share.

  Traders can look to buy YRCW off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right around some key near-term support levels at $9.20 or at $8.35 a share. One can also buy YRCW off strength once it starts to clear those breakout levels with volume and then simply us

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Invest In Right Now: SGOCO Group Ltd(SGOC)

SGOCO Group, Ltd. designs, manufactures, and distributes liquid crystal display (LCD) consumer products in the People?s Republic of China and internationally. Its products include LCD personal computer monitors, LCD televisions, light emitting diode back-light modules, and application-specific LCD systems. The company also provides custom manufacturing services for application-specific LCD monitors, such as rotating screens, CCTV monitors for security systems, billboard monitors for advertising and public notice systems, and touch screens for non-keyed entries. SGOCO Group, Ltd. sells its products under the SGOCO, Edge 10, POVIZON, and No. 10 brands through a network of independent retail outlets operating under the ?SGOCO Image? name. The company offers its products to industry clients, such as medical centers, educational institutions, government complexes, public emergency response systems, and corporate offices, as well as to retail customers. As of December 31, 201 0, it had 603 retail stores covering 14 provinces and municipalities in the People?s Republic of China. The company, formerly known as SGOCO Technology, Ltd., was founded in 2006 and is based in Beijing, China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  On Tuesday, large cap�LCD glass maker�Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) began surging some 20% in after hours trading after announcing that it will take over an existing joint venture (Samsung Corning Precision Materials) with Samsung���meaning it might be worth taking a closer look at some small cap peers like Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ: OLED), Daktronics, Inc (NASDAQ: DAKT) and SGOCO Group Ltd (NASDAQ: SGOC) who also have a piece of the LCD glass or related flat panel display action. Specifically, the deal involves a series of transactions to�give Corning Incorporated full ownership of Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. (SCP), which manufactures LCD glass in Korea and it should be noted that Corning already relies on sales of LCD-TV glass for the bulk of its profit. In addition, Corning Incorporated���board of directors has authorized an additional $2 billion of share repurchases through Dec. 31, 2015, dependent upon the transaction closing. Wendell P. Weeks, the chairman, CEO and president of Corning Incorporated was quoted in the press release announcing the deal as saying:

• [By John Udovich]

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

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap display stock SGOCO Group Ltd (NASDAQ: SGOC) just sank 27.89% after reporting earnings, meaning its worth taking a closer look at it along with some other innovative display stocks like�Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) and Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ: OLED). After all, just about every new consumer gadget along with cars and even appliances are incorporating display technology. I should also mention that we have had Corning Incorporated in our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio since early December (we are up around 29.20%) as we believe the company is in the sweet spot for next generation flexible screens and mobile wearables.

5 Stocks Set to Soar on Bullish Earnings

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Short-sellers hate being caught short a stock that reports a blowout quarter. When this happens, we often see a tradable short squeeze develop as the bears rush to cover their positions to avoid big losses. Even the best short-sellers know that it's never a great idea to stay short once a bullish earnings report sparks a big short-covering rally.

>>5 Stocks Ready to Break Out This Month

This is why I scan the market for heavily shorted stocks that are about to report earnings. You only need to find a few of these stocks in a year to help enhance your portfolio returns -- the gains become so outsized in such a short time frame that your profits add up quickly.

That said, let's not forget that stocks are heavily shorted for a reason, so you have to use trading discipline and sound money management when playing earnings short-squeeze candidates. It's important that you don't go betting the farm on these plays and that you manage your risk accordingly. Sometimes the best play is to wait for the stock to break out following the report before you jump in to profit off a short squeeze. This way, you're letting the trend emerge after the market has digested all of the news.

Of course, sometimes the stock is going to be in such high demand that you risk missing a lot of the move by waiting. That's why it can be worth betting prior to the report -- but only if the stock is acting technically very bullish and you have a very strong conviction that it is going to rip higher. Just remember that even when you have that conviction and have done your due diligence, the stock can still get hammered if The Street doesn't like the numbers or guidance.

>>5 Dividend Boosters That Could Really Take Off

If you do decide to bet ahead of a quarter, then you might want to use options to limit your capital exposure. Heavily shorted stocks are usually the names that make the biggest post-earnings moves and have the most volatility. I personally prefer to wait until all the earnings-related news is out for a heavily shorted stock and then jump in and trade the prevailing trend.

With that in mind, here's a look at several stocks that could experience big short squeezes when they report earnings this week.

Tesla Motors

My first earnings short-squeeze trade idea is electric car maker Tesla Motors (TSLA), which is set to release numbers on Tuesday after the market close. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Tesla Motors to report revenue of $534.54 million on earnings of 11 cents per share.

>>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy in November

Just recently, Craig Irwin of Wedbush Securities upgraded shares of Tesla to outperform from neutral and raised his price target to $240 from $180 per share. "Tesla's not positioned to disappoint anytime soon. These guys are going to keep executing, keep making expectations for the foreseeable future," he said on CNBC's "Fast Money."

The current short interest as a percentage of the float Tesla Motors is extremely high at 26.1%. That means that out of the 77.88 million shares in the tradable float, 20.81 million shares are sold short by the bears. If the bulls get the earnings news they're looking for, then shares of TSLA could easily explode to the upside post-earnings as the bears rush to cover some of their bets.

From a technical perspective, TSLA is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending for the last few weeks, with shares moving higher from its low of $153 to its intraday high of $181.43 a share. During that move, shares of TSLA have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action.

If you're bullish on TSLA, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to take out Tuesday's high of $181.43 to some more key overhead resistance at $185 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 10.73 million shares. If we get that move, then TSLA will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $188.79 to its all-time high at $194.50 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give TSLA a chance to trend north of $200 a share.

I would simply avoid TSLA or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout and then drops back below its 50-day moving average at $173.53 (or below Tuesday's intraday low if lower) with high volume. If we get that move, then TSLA will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major support areas at $160 to $153 a share. Any high-volume move below $153 will then give TSLA a chance to trend well below $150 a share.

Radian Group

Another potential earnings short-squeeze play is residential mortgage insurance player Radian Group (RDN), which is set to release its numbers on Thursday before the market open. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Radian Group to report revenue of $211 million on a loss of 10 cents per share.

>>3 Stocks in Breakout Territory With Big Volume

This company recently reported that mortgage insurance delinquencies for September fell to 65,239 loans at the end of the month from 65,427 beginning primary delinquent inventory of loans. The company also reported $3.83 billion of primary new insurance was written in September.

The current short interest as a percentage of the float for Radian Group is extremely high at 25.8%. That means that out of the 160.34 million shares in the tradable float, 44.26 million shares are sold short by the bears. If the bulls get the earnings news they're looking for, then shares of RDN could easily rip sharply higher post-earnings as the shorts jump to cover some of their bets.

From a technical perspective, RDN is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending for the last two months, with shares moving higher from its low of $12.42 to its recent high of $15.15 a share. During that uptrend, shares of RDN have been mostly making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of RDN within range of triggering a major breakout trade post-earnings.

If you're in the bull camp on RDN, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above its 52-week high at $15.15 a share (or Wednesday's intraday high if higher) on high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 4.15 million shares. If that breakout hits, then RDN will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $18 to $20, or even $22 a share.

I would simply avoid RDN or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout, and then drops below some key near-term support levels at $14.23 a share to its 50-day moving average of $13.91 a share with high volume. If we get that move, then RDN will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major support levels at $12.95 to $12.50 a share, or even its 200-day moving average of $11.91 a share.

Ubiquiti Networks

Another potential earnings short-squeeze candidate is broadband wireless solutions provider Ubiquiti Networks (UBNT), which is set to release numbers on Thursday after the market close. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Ubiquiti Networks to report revenue of $119.30 million on earnings of 40 cents per share.

>>4 Stocks Spiking on Unusual Volume

The current short interest as a percentage of the float for Ubiquiti Networks is pretty high at 10.7%. That means that out of the 24.78 million shares in the tradable float, 2.09 million shares are sold short by the bears. The bears have also been increasing their bets from the last reporting period by 70.1%, or by about 859,000 shares. If the bears get caught pressing their bets into a bullish quarter, then shares of UBNT could experience a big short squeeze post-earnings as the shorts rush to cover some of their bets.

From a technical perspective, UBNT is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last three months, with shares moving higher from its low of $27.50 to its recent high of $43.99 a share. During that uptrend, shares of UBNT have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of UBNT within range of triggering a big breakout trade post-earnings.

If you're bullish on UBNT, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $39.82 to its all-time high at $43.99 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 782,837 shares. If that breakout hits, then UBNT will set up to enter new all-time high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $50 to $60 a share.

I would avoid UBNT or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout, and then drops back below some key near-term support levels at $36.74 a share to its 50-day moving average at $35.71 a share with high volume. If we get that move, then UBNT will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major support levels at $33 to $30 a share.

Annie's

Another earnings short-squeeze prospect is natural and organic food player Annie's (BNNY), which is set to release numbers on Thursday after the market close. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Annie's to report revenue of $57.12 million on earnings of 29 cents per share.

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

The current short interest as a percentage of the float for Annie's is extremely high at 27.3%. That means that out of the 14.35 million shares in the tradable float, 3.73 million shares are sold short by the bears. The bears have also been increasing their bets from the last reporting period by 5.6%, or by about 198,000 shares. If the bears get caught pressing their bets into a strong quarter, then shares of BNNY could rip sharply higher post-earnings as the bears rush to cover some of their short positions.

From a technical perspective, BNNY is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $46.27 to $46.74 a share. Following that bottom, shares of BNNY have started to trend back above its 50-day moving average, and it's quickly pushing within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

If you're bullish on BNNY, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $49.89 a share to its all-time high at $52.38 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 211,715 shares. If that breakout hits, then BNNY will set up to enter new all-time high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $60 to $70 a share.

I would simply avoid BNNY or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout, and then drops back below its 50-day moving average at $48.03 a share to more support at $46.74 to $46.27 a share with high volume. If we get that move, then BNNY will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major support levels at $42 to $40 a share.

U.S. Silica

My final earnings short-squeeze play is silica sand supplier U.S. Silica (SLCA), which is set to release numbers on Wednesday after the market close. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect U.S. Silica to report revenue of $141.28 million on earnings of 41 cents per share.

The current short interest as a percentage of the float for U.S. Silica is extremely high at 37.4%. That means that out of the 35.45 million shares in the tradable float, 13.25 million shares are sold short by the bears. If this company can deliver the earnings news the bulls are looking for, then shares of SLCA could experience a large short-squeeze post-earnings.

From a technical perspective, SLCA is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last five months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $19.16 to its recent high of $37.14 a share. During that uptrend, shares of SLCA have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of SLCA within range of triggering a big breakout trade post-earnings.

If you're in the bull camp on SLCA, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above its all-time high at $37.14 a share (or Wednesday's intraday high if higher) with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 1.28 million shares. If that breakout hits, then SLCA will set up to enter new all-time high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $50 to $55 a share.

I would avoid SLCA or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout, and then drops back below some key near-term support levels at $34 to $33 a share with high volume. If we get that move, then SLCA will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major support levels at $31.66 to $30.63 a share, or even its 50-day moving average of $28.28 a share.

To see more potential earnings short squeeze plays, check out the Earnings Short Squeeze Plays portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

>>5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love

>>4 Hot Stocks to Trade (or Not)

>>Hack Earnings Season With These Serial Surprisers

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Top Electric Utility Companies To Buy For 2015

Top Electric Utility Companies To Buy For 2015: Insteel Industries Inc.(IIIN)

Insteel Industries, Inc. manufactures and markets steel wire reinforcing products for concrete construction applications. The company offers pre-stressed concrete strand (PC strand) and welded wire reinforcement (WWR) products. Its PC strand is a high strength seven-wire strand that is used to impart compression forces into precast concrete elements and structures, which may be either pre-tensioned or post-tensioned, providing reinforcement for bridges, parking decks, buildings, and other concrete structures. The company?s WWR is produced as either a standard or a specially engineered reinforcing product for use in nonresidential and residential construction. Its products comprise concrete pipe reinforcement, an engineered made-to-order product that is used as the primary reinforcement in concrete pipe, box culverts, and precast manholes for drainage and sewage systems, water treatment facilities, and other related applications; engineered structural mesh, an engineered m ade-to-order product, which is used as the primary reinforcement for concrete elements or structures; and standard welded wire reinforcement, a secondary reinforcing product for crack control applications in residential and light nonresidential construction, including driveways, sidewalks, and various slab-on-grade applications. Insteel Industries sells its products through sales representatives to the manufacturers of concrete products, distributors, and rebar fabricators in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central and South America. The company was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Mount Airy, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Insteel Industries (Nasdaq: IIIN  ) reported earnings on April 18. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the qu! arter ended March 30 (Q2), Insteel Industries missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  With steely reserve, Insteel Industries  (NASDAQ: IIIN  )  declared it will pay a quarterly cash dividend of $0.03 per share on June 28 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 14.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Insteel Industries (Nasdaq: IIIN  ) reported earnings on July 18. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended June 29 (Q3), Insteel Industries met expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-electric-utility-companies-to-buy-for-2015-5.html

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Buy For 2015

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Buy For 2015: iShares MSCI Mexico Investable Market Index Fund (EWW)

iShares MSCI Mexico Index Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the Mexican market, as measured by the MSCI Mexico Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the Mexican equity market. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Component companies are adjusted for available float and must meet objective criteria for inclusion in the Index. The Index is reviewed quarterly.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund's investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Powell]

  Some developing countries are poor bets right now, but others are very attractive. Shorter-term, The Mexico Fund (EWW) is my number one choice as the most promising country ETF for this year.

• [By Jim Powell]

  Jim Powell: I like the exchange-traded funds. I really think the iShares Mexico Fund (EWW)—EWW is a way for most Americans to go. If you have specialized knowledge of Mexico, and you know companies that you wish to invest in, you certainly can. There are plenty of them, but I recommend a fund.

• [By Daniel Cross]

  A broad-based investment into the Mexican economy either through the iShares MSCI Mexico Investable Market Index (NYSE: EWW) or the Mexico Fund (NYSE: MXF) -- a favorite of StreetAuthority analyst Amy Calistri -- are good ways to establish a position. These funds not only have exposure to the manufacturing sector, but also to energy, health care ! and media -- sectors that are benefiting from political reforms and a growing Mexican middle class. The Mexico Fund has a powerful incentive for investors as well in the form of a hefty 10% dividend.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-building-product-stocks-to-buy-for-2015-2.html

Don't Get Too Worked Up Over OSI Systems's Earnings

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.

Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.

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 OSI Systems (Nasdaq: OSIS  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, OSI Systems burned $72.1 million cash while it booked net income of $48.2 million. That means it burned through all its revenue and more. That doesn't sound so great. FCF is less than net income. Ideally, we'd like to see the opposite.

All cash is not equal
Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn't immune from nonsense, either. That's why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and replicable in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don't appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).

For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it's ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.

So how does the cash flow at OSI Systems look? Take a peek at the chart below, which flags questionable cash flow sources with a red bar.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. TTM = trailing 12 months.

When I say "questionable cash flow sources," I mean items such as changes in taxes payable, tax benefits from stock options, and asset sales, among others. That's not to say that companies booking these as sources of cash flow are weak, or are engaging in any sort of wrongdoing, or that everything that comes up questionable in my graph is automatically bad news. But whenever a company is getting more than, say, 10% of its cash from operations from these dubious sources, investors ought to make sure to refer to the filings and dig in.

With 22.0% of operating cash flow coming from questionable sources, OSI Systems investors should take a closer look at the underlying numbers. Within the questionable cash flow figure plotted in the TTM period above, stock-based compensation and related tax benefits provided the biggest boost, at 19.5% of cash flow from operations. Overall, the biggest drag on FCF came from capital expenditures.

Hot Prefered Stocks To Own For 2015

A Foolish final thought
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' cash flow. I think that's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home-run stocks that provide the market's best returns.

Looking for alternatives to OSI Systems? It takes more than great companies to build a fortune for the future. Learn the basic financial habits of millionaires next door and get focused stock ideas in our free report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." Click here for instant access to this free report.

We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service.

Add OSI Systems to My Watchlist.

Top 10 High Tech Companies To Invest In Right Now

Top 10 High Tech Companies To Invest In Right Now: Atwood Oceanics Inc. (ATW)

Atwood Oceanics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in offshore drilling, and the completion of exploratory and developmental oil and gas wells. The company owns semisubmersible rigs, semisubmersible tender assist rigs, jack-up drilling rigs, and submersible drilling rigs. As of November 22, 2010, it operated nine mobile offshore drilling units located in offshore southeast Asia, offshore Africa, offshore Australia, offshore South America, and the Mediterranean Sea. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Charles Mizrahi]

  Companies rely on third party contractors, such as Atwood Oceanics (ATW) to provide rigs in these deep-water environments. High utilization rates have resulted in rig shortages, creating upward pressure on prices. Atwood's largest customers include Chevron (Australia), Noble, and Kosmos Energy Ghana.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The beatings that Seadrill (SDRL),Transocean(RIG),Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO),Atwood Oceanics (ATW) and Rowan (RDC) have taken this year has left them looking attractive to some value investors. Barclays, however, doesn’t think the stocks are as cheap as they look.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-high-tech-companies-to-invest-in-right-now-3.html

Top 10 Paper Companies To Buy For 2015

Top 10 Paper Companies To Buy For 2015: Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund(CFP)

Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund is a closed-ended equity fund of fund launched and managed by Cornerstone Advisors, Inc. The fund invests funds investing in the public equity markets of the United States. It invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund was formed on April 26, 2007 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  But you can see in several places the consequences of the stampede toward high yield. Here are just a few:

  Closed-end funds Cornerstone Progressive (NYSEMKT: CFP  ) and Pimco High Income (NYSE: PHK  ) both make fixed payments back to fund shareholders on a monthly basis, and their distribution yields are truly extraordinary, at about 17% and 12%, respectively. Those dividends have enticed shareholders to pay $1.30 to $1.40 or more for each $1 of assets in the funds. Yet during most months, a substantial portion of those distribution payments has simply been a return of investor capital rather than true income from the funds' investments. A recent study discussed in The Wall Street Journal found that returns on a portfolio with a combined value and dividend-income strategy outperformed a strategy focused more exclusively on maximizing dividends by an average of 1.7 percentage points per year, a huge edge in long-run returns. In the dividend ETF arena, most funds tend to focus on maximizing yield. Although the popular Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (NYSEMKT: VIG  ) ETF bucks the trend by screening first for consistent dividend growth and only then looking at yield as a factor, many rival ETFs start with high-yielding stocks as their baseline and only then consider other desirable traits. Others focus solely on high-dividend niches of the market, such as iShares FTSE NAREIT Mortgage-Plus (NYSEMKT: REM  ) and its c! oncentration on high-yield mortgage REITs.

  When dividend stocks get too popular, their prices get out of line with both their dividend income and the fundamentals of the businesses that underlie those stocks. In simpler terms, when dividend stocks become bad values, it's time to consider looking elsewhere for a margin of safety.

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

Top Undervalued Companies To Own In Right Now

Google (GOOG) finally reported a quarter that surpassed Wall Street estimates and satisfied investors. The stock had worked higher over the last few years despite never quite satisfying Wall Street. A bull market and solid core growth search carried the stock but it lacked the momentum of other high flyers with which it is often compared. LinkedIn (LNKD), Netflix (NFLX), and Facebook (FB) all produced stock gains well ahead of GOOG.

I continually stuck with GOOG for our clients because I found the consistent 20% growth in the core online advertising business to be undervalued by investors. The stock was stuck between $850 and $900 from May until this month's earnings report. Facebook, LinkedIn, Netflix, and Priceline (PCLN) rose between 30% and 100% over the same time frame. Despite what I thought was steady progress for GOOG on the earnings and business development front, it had become clear that the company needed to beat the street to free the stock to realize the potential I thought existed.

Best Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By reports.droy]

  The heavy machinery honcho, Caterpillar (CAT), posted its third quarter results on October 23. The company was able to post much better earnings than was predicted, and the report card was completely in the green for the company. The stock market also reacted positively to the news and sent the Caterpillar stock soaring higher with the share price opening 3.3% higher at $97.69 on Thursday morning. Let�� find out the details of the third quarter earnings.�

Top Undervalued Companies To Own In Right Now: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By reports.droy]

  As the competitive ground in dollar-stores intensifies in the U.S., the No. 3 dollar-store, Dollar Tree�(DLTR), first placed a bid to acquire Family Dollar for $8.5 billion. This created some tension among the top brass of Dollar General who placed a counter-bid of $9 billion (excluding debt) for Family Dollar ��knowing well that if Family Dollar accepted the bid, then it would become a giant with over 13,000 stores in North America with the revenue swelling to over $18 billion.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  As a convenience store, it doesn’t have direct competition from�Dollar Tree (DLTR) or Family Dollar (FDO) because these dollar stores aren�� exclusively focused on food (and they have no gasoline or cigarette sales), and they��e targeted at the folks who are trying to save money over convenience, not vice versa. The convenience angle is another reason why�Walmart (WMT) and Costco (COST)�aren’t competitors, since those behemoths are about a total shopping experience.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Deutsche Bank is making a change in its coverage of dollar store themes on Monday: Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was raised to Buy from Hold and Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO)�was downgraded to Hold from Buy, but the price target was raised to $74 from $70.

Top Undervalued Companies To Own In Right Now: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Tupperware Brands (NYSE: TUP  ) is reaching into its corporate bowl for a fresh payout to shareholders. The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share. This will be paid on July 8 to stockholders of record as of June 19. That amount matches the firm's previous distribution, which was paid in early April. Prior to that, Tupperware Brands was rather less generous, handing out $0.36 per share.

• [By John Udovich]

  Everyone is familiar with�the Tupperware brand from�consumer products stock Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) and you are probably familiar with the brands�of mid cap stock Jarden Corp (NYSE: JAH) along with small cap stocks Libbey Inc (NYSEMKT: LBY) and Lifetime Brands Inc (NASDAQ: LCUT); but what about the stocks themselves? Chances are, their brands or products are right under your nose at home and you probably don�� know anything about the mid cap or small cap stock behind them.

Top Undervalued Companies To Own In Right Now: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Smith]

  Similarly, the company's forward dividend yield could stand some boosting, another possibility made more feasible by an acquisitions slowdown. Currently, however, with a forward yield of 0.80%, Varco falls short of such other big oilfield services providers as Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) , with its 1.80% forward yield, or Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI  ) , at 1.40%. On that basis, it would constitute a distinct positive to see National Oilwell Varco's own anticipated yield raised to at least 1.00%, a level that would hardly result in an arduous payout for the company.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.20 per share on revenue of $11.49 billion.

  Danaher (NYSE: DHR) is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $0.96 per share.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Schlumberger (SLB) was a top performer during the quarter, continuing its strong performance since the summer of 2012. Since late June 2012 (6/22) through mid-颅��April 2014, the stock (a holding since late September 2011) is up approximately 60% -颅��nearly double the S&P 500 Index's gain of 36%. Schlumberger continues to do what it does best ��dominate their respective industry and generate industry-颅��leading growth and cash flow generation. The Company is a leading global provider of oil services. At the risk of repeating an oil service industry clich茅, "the easy oil has been found." The technological development being brought to bear to the extremes and complexities in the exploration and development of hydrocarbon energy is relentless. The Company's depth and breadth of their integrated products and services has been at the forefront of the unceasing progress of energy services for decades. Indeed, according to the Company, over the past decade, total E&P capital expenditures have increased by 400%, yet global oil production is up only a scant 15%. Furthermore, in just the last three years, the upstream E&P industry has spent on average $600 billion per year yielding only a net increase in global oil production coming from the shale deposits in North American. Due to the significant advancements in horizontal drilling and multistage fracking natural gas prices are generally one-颅��hird of what they are in Europe or Asia. This differential has had 2 profound implications, for instance in the U.S. chemical industry. Chevron Phillips just this month broke ground on a $6 billion ethane cracker plant in Texas ��the first petrochemical refinery built in the U.S. in twenty-颅��ive years. Circa-颅��014 finds the Company at the cutting edge in the continued search for unconventional oil and gas, plus in the environmentally challenging area in offshore and deepwater. The Company continues to enhance their capabilities, scale and integra

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) will release its quarterly report on Friday, capping an up-and-down quarter for the stock. With U.S. natural gas prices having risen somewhat from their lows last year and with oil prices remaining above $100 per barrel, Schlumberger earnings have the fundamental support in place to drive higher.

Hot Tech Stocks To Invest In 2015

Hot Tech Stocks To Invest In 2015: YuMe Inc (YUME)

YuMe, Inc. incorporated on December 16, 2004 is engaged in providing digital video brand advertising solutions. Its technologies serve the specific needs of brand advertisers and enable them to find and target large, brand-receptive audiences across a range of Internet-connected devices and digital media properties. Its software is used by global digital media properties to monetize professionally-produced content and applications. It facilitates digital video advertising by dynamically matching relevant audiences available through its digital media property partners with appropriate advertising campaigns from its advertising customers. The Company generates revenuesby delivering digital video advertisements on Internet-connected devices.

The Company solutions are built for brand advertisers and professional digital media property owners that produce content and applications. It delivers television-like advertisements, the majority of which are primarily displ ayed before the chosen video content is displayed. It delivers these ads to audiences across Internet-connected devices and platforms. The Company solutions are developed on three pillars: embed, learn and deliver. The Company embeds its YuMe SDKs as part of online and mobile websites and applications residing on millions of personal computers, smartphones, tablets, Internet-connected TVs and other devices; learn include learning from that data to build its audience, and deliver include delivering ads to audiences.

Through its embedded YuMe SDKs, the Company aggregates millions of digital video viewers on over 1,500 digital media properties, across personal computers, smartphones, tablets, Internet-connected TVs and other devices. Its Audience Amplifier tool applies machine-learning technology to first party data it collects from the YuMe SDKs, in order to identify viewers within its aggregated audience.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Ge! rson]

  YuMe (NYSE: YUME) is estimated to post a Q1 loss at $0.15 per share on revenue of $35.36 million.

  Vertex Energy (NASDAQ: VTNR) is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.03 per share on revenue of $42.48 million.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  YuMe (NYSE: YUME) shares fell 22.98% to reach a new 52-week low of $6.00. YuMe's trailing-twelve-month profit margin is 2.42%.

  Mack-Cali Realty (NYSE: CLI) shares reached a new 52-week low of $19.12. Mack-Cali's PEG ratio is -2.63.

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of YuMe Inc. (YUME) fell 6.2% to $6.06 on moderate volume after the video-ad company announced that Chief Financial Officer Timothy Laehy will step down May 23 and be succeeded by vice president of finance Tony Carvalho on an interim basis. YuMe also reported a first-quarter loss of 16 cents a share on revenue of $37.3 million, while analysts were looking for a 16-cent loss on revenue of $35.4 million.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  YuMe Inc. (NYSE: YUME) is supposed to be in a hot space for digital video brand advertising solutions, but its initial public offering (IPO) is coming with some mixed fanfare. YuMe sold some 5,125,000 shares of common stock at $9.00 per share, and the company is selling all the shares itself rather than insiders and VC-backers cashing out as we have seen in so many other offerings.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/hot-tech-stocks-to-invest-in-2015-2.html

Top 10 Japanese Companies To Invest In 2014

When current Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) CEO Kazuo “Kaz” Hirai took over as head of the huge Japanese consumer electronics company, he promised to turn the company around. It had been ruined by his predecessor Sir Howard Stringer, who missed every opportunity to make Sony what is once was — the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) of the 1980s and 1990s. Hirai either took the job too late to matter, or his efforts have failed. The latest evidence came as Moody’s cut Sony’s rating to junk.

The ratings firm announced:

Moody’s Japan K.K. has downgraded the Issuer Rating and the long-term senior unsecured bond rating of Sony Corporation to Ba1 from Baa3. The ratings outlook is stable.

And added:

Of primary concern are the challenges facing the company’s TV and PC businesses, both of which face intense global competition, rapid changes in technology, and product obsolescence.

Sony’s profitability is likely to remain weak and volatile, as we expect the majority of its core consumer electronics businesses — such as TVs, mobile, digital cameras and personal computers — to continue to face significant downward earnings pressure. The primary reason is intense competition and the shrinkage in demand, the result in turn of cannibalization caused by the rapid penetration of smartphones.

Top 10 US Companies To Buy Right Now: Medley Capital Corporation (MCC)

Medley Capital Corporation is a business development company. The fund seeks to invest in privately negotiated debt and equity securities of small and middle market companies. It targets private debt transactions ranging in size from $10 million to $50 million to borrowers principally located in North America. It structures its investments as first lien senior secured loans, second lien senior secured loans, senior secured notes, senior subordinated notes, unitranche loans, and seeks warrants or other equity participation. The fund may take a board seat on its investee companies and exits its investments between three years and seven years.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Nathan Slaughter]

  All of this is to say that while I strive to hunt down and recommend attractive securities with double-digit yields -- and own a few, like Medley Capital Corp. (NYSE: MCC) -- they are the exception in this environment, not the rule.

Top 10 Japanese Companies To Invest In 2014: Assurant Inc (AIZ)

Assurant, Inc. (Assurant) is a provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and select worldwide markets. The Company operates in four segments: Assurant Solutions, Assurant Specialty Property, Assurant Health, and Assurant Employee Benefits. The products offered by the segments include warranties and service contracts, pre-funded funeral insurance, lender-placed homeowners insurance, manufactured housing homeowners insurance, individual health and small employer group health insurance, group dental, disability, and life insurance and employee-funded voluntary benefits. On June 21, 2011, the Company acquired the SureDeposit business, the provider of security deposit alternatives to the multifamily housing industry. In October 2013, FirstService Corporation completed the sale of its Field Asset Services business to Assurant, Inc. In October 2013, Assurant Inc acquired Lifestyle Services Group Ltd.

Assurant Solutions

Assurant Solutions targets three product areas: domestic and international extended service contracts (ESC) and warranties, preneed life insurance, and international credit insurance. Through partnerships with retailers and original equipment manufacturers, the Company underwrites and provides administrative services for ESC and warranties. These contracts provide consumers with coverage on cellular phones, personal computers, consumer electronics, appliances, automobiles and recreational vehicles, protecting them from certain covered losses. It pays the cost of repairing or replacing customers��property in the event of mechanical breakdown, accidental damage, and casualty losses such as theft, fire, and water damage. The Company provides administration, claims handling and customer service. Preneed life insurance allows individuals to prepay for a funeral in a single payment or in multiple payments over a fixed number of years. The insurance policy proceeds are used to address funeral costs at death. These products are only so! ld in the United States and Canada and are generally structured as whole life insurance policies in the United States and annuity products in Canada.

The Company�� credit insurance products offer protection from life events and uncertainties that arise in purchasing and borrowing transactions. Credit insurance programs offer consumers the option to protect a credit card balance or installment loan in the event of death, involuntary unemployment or disability, and are generally available to all consumers without the underwriting restrictions that apply to term life insurance. In addition to the domestic market, the Company operates in Canada, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Chile, Germany, Spain, Italy, Mexico and China. In these markets, it primarily sells ESC and credit insurance products through agreements with financial institutions, retailers and wireless service providers.

Assurant Specialty Property

The product line within Assurant Specialty Property is homeowners insurance, consisting principally of fire and dwelling hazard insurance offered through its lender-placed programs. The lender-placed program provides collateral protection to lenders, mortgage servicers and investors in mortgaged properties in the event that a homeowner does not maintain insurance on a mortgaged dwelling. Lender-placed insurance coverage is not limited to the outstanding loan balance; it provides structural coverage, similar to that of a standard homeowners policy. The policy is based on the replacement cost of the property and ensures that a home can be repaired or rebuilt completely in the event of damage. The Company also provides insurance to some of its clients on properties that have been foreclosed and are being managed by its clients. This type of insurance is called Real Estate Owned (REO) insurance. Lender-placed and voluntary manufactured housing insurance: Manufactured housing insurance is offered on a lender-placed and voluntary basis. Lender-plac! ed insura! nce is issued after an insurance tracking process similar to that described above. The tracking is performed by Assurant Specialty Property using an insurance tracking administration system, or by the lenders themselves.

The Company has developed products in adjacent and emerging markets, such as the lender-placed flood and mandatory insurance rental markets. It also acts as an administrator for the United States Government under the voluntary National Flood Insurance Program, for which it earns a fee for collecting premiums and processing claims. This business is 100% reinsured to the Federal Government. The Company offers its manufactured housing insurance programs primarily through manufactured housing lenders and retailers, along with independent specialty agents. The independent specialty agents distribute flood products and miscellaneous specialty property products. Multi-family housing products are distributed primarily through property management companies and affinity marketing partners. Its lender-placed homeowners insurance program and certain of its manufactured home products are not underwritten on an individual policy basis.

Assurant Health

Assurant Health offers medical insurance and short-term medical insurance to individuals and families in the medical insurance market. Its products are offered with different plan options. Assurant Health also offers medical insurance to small employer groups. The Company�� medical insurance products are sold to individuals, primarily between the ages of 18 and 64, and their families, who do not have employer-sponsored coverage. It offers a variety of benefit plans at different price points. The Company�� group medical insurance is primarily sold to small companies with 2 to 50 employees, although larger employer coverage is available. The Company�� health insurance products are principally marketed through a network of independent agents. It also markets through a variety of national account relationships ! and direc! t distribution channels. In addition, the Company markets its products through North Star Marketing, a wholly owned affiliate.

Assurant Employee Benefits

The Company offers group disability, dental, vision, life and supplemental worksite products, as well as individual dental products. The group products are offered with funding options ranging from fully employer-paid to fully employee-paid (voluntary). In addition, it reinsures disability and life products through its wholly owned subsidiary, Disability Reinsurance Management Services, Inc. (DRMS). Group disability insurance provides partial replacement of lost earnings for insured employees who become disabled, as defined by their plan provisions. The Company�� products include both short- and long-term disability coverage options. It also reinsures disability policies written by other carriers through its DRMS subsidiary.

Dental benefit plans provide funding for necessary or elective dental care. Customers may select a traditional indemnity arrangement, a preferred provider organization (PPO) arrangement, or a prepaid or managed care arrangement. Coverage is subject to deductibles, coinsurance and annual or lifetime maximums. In a prepaid plan, members must use participating dentists in order to receive benefits. Assurant Employee Benefits owns and operates Dental Health Alliance, L.L.C., a dental PPO network. The Company also has an agreement with Aetna that allows it to use Aetna�� Dental Access network. Fully insured vision coverage is offered through its agreement with Vision Service Plan, Inc., a supplier of vision insurance. The Company�� plans cover eye exams, glasses and contact lenses, and are sold in combination with one or more of its other products.

Group term life insurance provided through the workplace provides benefits in the event of death. The Company also provides accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance. Insurance consists primarily of renewable term life insu! rance wit! h the amount of coverage provided being either a flat amount, a multiple of the employee�� earnings, or a combination of the two. It also reinsures life policies written by other carriers through DRMS. In addition, the Company provides group critical illness, cancer, accident, and gap insurance. These products are paid for by the employee through payroll deduction, and the employee is enrolled in the coverage(s) at the worksite. Its products and services are distributed through a group sales force located in 34 offices near metropolitan areas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Specialized insurance products provider�Assurant (NYSE: AIZ  ) announced yesterday its third-quarter dividend of $0.25 per share, the same rate it paid last quarter after raising the payout 19%, from $0.21 per share.

Top 10 Japanese Companies To Invest In 2014: Covance Inc. (CVD)

Covance Inc., a drug development services company, provides various early-stage and late-stage product development services primarily to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries worldwide. Its early development services include preclinical services, such as toxicology, pharmaceutical and nutritional chemistry, polyclonal and monoclonal antibody, immunology and antibody, metabolism studies and pharmacokinetic screening, and bioanalytical testing services; and clinical pharmacology services comprising first-in-human trials of new pharmaceuticals. The company�s late-stage development services include central laboratory services to biotechnology and pharmaceutical customers; and clinical development services, such as the full management of Phase II through IV clinical studies, study design and modeling, co-ordination of study activities, trial logistics, monitoring of study site performance, clinical data management and biostatistical analysis, medical writing and regulatory services, and periapproval services. It also offers market access services, including reimbursement and healthcare economics consulting services, which comprise outcomes and pharmacoeconomic studies, reimbursement planning, reimbursement advocacy programs, risk evaluation and mitigation strategy services, registry services, and specialty pharmacy services; and clinical trial support services, such as cardiac safety services, and interactive voice and Web response services. In addition, Covance Inc. offers laboratory testing services to the chemical, agrochemical, and food industries. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  LabCorp jumped 3.3% to $111.46 a share after analyst Nicholas Jansen upgraded the stock to Outperform from Underperform, with a $130 price target, citing cost cutting effort and accretion from the acquisition of drug testing company Covance (CVD) in November.

Top 10 Japanese Companies To Invest In 2014: KBB Resources Bhd (KBB)

KBB Resources Berhad is an investment holding company. The Company is engaged in manufacturing and marketing of all types of rice and sago sticks (vermicelli), sago starch and related products. The Company�� product includes Rice Vermicelli, Instant Noodle, Instant Bihun, Laksa and Sago. The Company�� subsidiaries include Kilang Bihun Bersatu Sdn Bhd, which is engaged in Manufacturing and marketing of all types of rice and sago sticks (vermicelli); Rasayang Food Industries Sdn Bhd, which is engaged in manufacturing and trading of beehoon and beehoon laksa; Bersatu Noodles Industries Sdn Bhd, which is engaged in manufacturing and trading of noodles and related products, and Bersatu Biotechnology (Johore) Sdn Bhd, which is engaged in manufacturing and marketing of all types of sago starch and related products. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Neha Marwah]

  LMC Automotive expects the annualized rate to be 16.1 million, the best in six years. This is a decent improvement from last year�� November, when the industry reported 15.3 million as the adjusted annualized rate. In comparison, Kelley Blue Book (KBB) expects the November 2013 SAAR to be around 15.6 million, while Edmunds.com estimates it to be 15.7 million.

Top 10 Japanese Companies To Invest In 2014: Maxim Integrated Products Inc.(MXIM)

Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. engages in designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing various linear and mixed-signal integrated circuits worldwide. The company also provides various high-frequency process technologies and capabilities for use in custom designs. It primarily serves industrial, communications, consumer, and computing markets. The company markets its products through a direct-sales and applications organization, as well as through its own and other unaffiliated distribution channels. Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By rusticnomad]

  Maxim Integrated (MXIM) didn't do very well last quarter as its revenue declined. This decline was anticipated by management, as its consumer business was facing seasonal weakness. However, the gains from the initial ramp of a new smartphone at its largest customer arrested the decline.

Top 10 Japanese Companies To Invest In 2014: Deckers Outdoor Corporation(DECK)

Deckers Outdoor Corporation engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of footwear and accessories for outdoor activities and casual lifestyle use to men, women, and children. The company offers luxury footwear and accessories under the UGG brand name; high performance multi-sport shoes, rugged outdoor footwear, and sport sandals under the Teva brand name; casual and sustainable-lifestyle sneakers and accessories under the Simple brand name; casual footwear under the TSUBO brand name; and outdoor performance and lifestyle footwear under the Ahnu brand name. Its accessories include handbags and cold weather outerwear. The company sells its products primarily to specialty retailers, department stores, outdoor retailers, sporting goods retailers, shoe stores, and online retailers. Deckers Outdoor Corporation also sells its products directly to end-user consumers through its Web sites, call centers, retail concept stores, and retail outlet stores, as well as through ret ailers in the United States. In addition, the company distributes its products through independent distributors and retailers in Europe, Canada, Australia, Asia, and Latin America. It has a joint venture with Stella International Holdings Limited for the opening of retail stores and wholesale distribution for the UGG brand in China. Deckers Outdoor Corporation was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Goleta, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ: DECK) is projected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.72 per share on revenue of $385.95 million.

  Colgate-Palmolive Co (NYSE: CL) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.73 per share on revenue of $4.46 billion.

• [By Dan Moskowitz]

  Skechers (NYSE: SKX  ) has is up 65% year-to-date, outperforming Brown Shoe (NYSE: BWS  ) , Wolverine World Wide (NYSE: WWW  ) , Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ: DECK  ) , and Nike (NYSE: NKE  ) , which have appreciated 26%, 39%, 62%, and 43%, respectively. Skechers' upside move is justifiable based on the company's recent performance. At the same time, this doesn't mean Skechers will offer the best long-term investment opportunity in this group.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Constantly changing fashion styles also require continued innovation to keep customers loyal. Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ: DECK  ) , the company behind the Ugg brand, has struggled in recent quarters as sheepskin costs have risen and its styles haven't clicked with younger consumers as well as they had in the past.

• [By DailyFinance Staff]

  Concerns about the political uncertainty in Ukraine caused some volatility in the markets Friday afternoon, with the major indexes making several U-turns ahead of the weekend. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI), which had been up by as much as 125 points, briefly dropped into loss territory before rebounding to end 49 points higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) edged up 5 points, adding to Thursday's record high, but the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) lost 10 points. AP/Darko VojinovicPro-Russian militias have seized local government buildings in Crimea, Ukraine; the unrest there is making investors around the world nervous. February was a great month for investors. All three major averages jumped by about 4 percent. UnitedHealth Group (UNH) led the blue chips, gaining 1½ percent. Other health providers – Aetna (AET), Wellpoint (WLP), Cigna (CI) and Humana (HUM) -- all gained between 1½ and 2 percent. And retail stocks remained active. Target (TGT) added another 3 percent. Best Buy rose 4 percent, and Fred's (FRED), a regional department store chain, jumped 10 percent. But Pier 1 (PIR) fell 5½ percent after lowering its earnings outlook for a second time. That led to a series of brokerage downgrades. Decker Outdoor (DECK) tumbled 12 percent. The maker of footwear brands such as Ugg and Teva issued a weak outlook. And apparel maker Lululemon (LULU) fell 5-percent on negative comments from Credit Suisse. It seems as though there are always some big movers in the drug and biotech sectors – and that was certainly the case today. GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) rose 2 percent after the FDA granted orphan status to its drug to treat a rare form of childhood epilepsy. But most of the action was on the downside. Endologix (ELGX) slid 24 percent after forecasting lower revenue growth. Questcor (QCOR) fell 10 percent. It's lost big for three straight days amid allegations of questionable business practices. Jazz Pharma

Top 10 Japanese Companies To Invest In 2014: Invesco Plc(IVZ)

Invesco Ltd. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to individuals, typically high net worth individuals. It also manages accounts for institutions. The firm manages separate client focused equity, fixed income, balanced portfolios. It also launches equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds for its clients. The firm invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. It invests in core, growth, and value stocks of small-cap, mid-cap, and large-cap companies. The firm employs a fundamental and quantitative analysis with a bottom-up stock picking approach to make its investments. It conducts in-house research to make its investments. Invesco Ltd. was founded in December 1935 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sally Jones]

  This month, Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) reported that foreign exchange increased its assets under management by $1.1 billion. Invesco�� preliminary average total AUM for the quarter (through November 30) was reported at $757.2 billion. The preliminary month-end AUM of $767.3 billion, reflected an increase of 0.4%, month-over-month, according to the company website.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  We believe the hire of Bill Gross is a landmark moment for Janus, strengthening the franchise and could potentially further shift investor sentiment towards the stock. Due to the sheer magnitude of assets under Gross�� management while at PIMCO ($300-$500B), it will take just a small share coming over to Janus to make for compelling economics, in our view. We upgrade�Janus to Equal-weight, with an $18 price target (+13% upside) and raise our 2015-16e EPS to $1.13 & $1.37 (from 88c & 97c) on an est��$30B Gross AuM (~10% of his PIMCO retail AuM, slightly less than Neil Woodford�� 12% since he left Invesco (IVZ)).

• [By Nicole Seghetti]

  Gaining ETF exposure...�without breaking the piggybank
  So what's the best choice? A traditional ETF or one that's value creating? That depends. First, determine your need for market exposure. For example, if you're lacking international investments, go with an ETF that'll get you that type of exposure. Next, decide whether or not you're willing to pay a higher cost for the chance to outperform. If you're inclined to fork over extra dough for that potential, then consider a value-creating type of ETF. For example, Invesco's (NYSE: IVZ  ) PowerShares ETFs seek to beat traditional benchmark indexes while giving investors access to more focused investment opportunities. Instead, if you want to keep costs to a minimum, then look for a traditional ETF with a low expense ratio.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Investment management firm Invesco (NYSE: IVZ  ) , which typically caters to high-net-worth individuals and offers a myriad of ETFs, rose 6.8% after reporting its first-quarter results. For the quarter, profits jumped nearly 15% to $0.49 per share as clients and investors flooded into its ETFs. Total cash inflows totaled $19.2 billion for the quarter -- a record for the company. It also didn't hurt that Invesco boosted its dividend by 30% to $0.225 per quarter. Even after today's move, at just 13 times forward earnings, there could still be room to run higher.