The traditional console gaming companies are facing more challenges than ever before. The emergence of set-top boxes that are gradually adapting to include better gaming functionality and the rising popularity of mobile gaming has prompted speculation that dedicated consoles from the likes of Sony (NYSE: SNE ) , Microsoft, and Nintendo�would soon become relics of the past.
There has also been a resurgence of PC gaming, perhaps spurred on by the fact that the last console cycle proved to be abnormally long. Now, one of PC gaming's driving forces and shining innovators hopes to bring its expertise to the console sector and revolutionize the battle for the living room. Should the console manufacturers and retailers like GameStop� (NYSE: GME ) be shaking in their collective boots?
From software innovator to distribution giant
Valve is a privately owned corporation that was founded in 1996 by Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington, both former Microsoft employees. The studio built its early reputation by creating a line of forward-thinking first person shooters that took the world by storm and made Valve one of the most revered names in gaming. The Half-Life series was a more cerebral take on the often blast-happy genre and pioneered the use of many narrative techniques that are now common in the medium. Counter-Strike helped to popularize online gaming and was one of the first FPS games to foster massive Internet communities.
Top 10 Stocks To Watch Right Now: Meritage Homes Corp (MTH)
Meritage Homes Corporation, incorporated on May 26 1988, operates as holding company. The Company through its subsidiaries is a designer and builder of single-family detached homes based on the number of home closings. The Company primarily builds in regions of the western and southern United States and offer a variety of homes that are designed to appeal to a range of homebuyers, including first-time, move-up, active adult and luxury. It has operations in three regions: West, Central and East, which consists of seven states: Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, Colorado, Florida, and the Carolinas. Operations within the Carolinas include the Raleigh and Charlotte metropolitan areas, with some Charlotte communities located across the border into South Carolina. These three regions are its principal business segments. The Company�� homebuilding and marketing activities are conducted under the Meritage Homes brand, except for Arizona and Texas where it operates under the name Monterey Homes. As of December 31, 2012, it was selling homes in 158 communities. Effective September 4, 2013, Meritage Homes Corporation acquired Phillips Builders Inc from Beazer Homes USA Inc.
The Company�� homes range from entry level to luxury. The Company purchases a combination of finished lots and partially-developed or undeveloped lots. As of December 31, 2012, in addition to its approximately 17,500 owned lots, it also had approximately 3,300 committed lots under option or contract. It also participates in three mortgage and one title business joint ventures. The mortgage joint ventures are engaged in mortgage activities, and they provide services to both its customers and other homebuyers. The Company acts as a general contractor.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Paul Ausick]
Of five stocks we looked at, only one shows a gain over the past 12 months. Meritage Homes Corp. (NYSE: MTH) has a market cap of $1.68 billion and the stock closed at $45.39 last Friday, in a 52-week range of $38.42 to $52.95. The stock is up more than 8% over the past 12 months. The consensus price target is around $50.10, which indicates an implied gain of about 10%, about half the implied gain we saw in December. Meritage has easily beaten EPS in each of the past four quarters. Shares were up nearly about 0.8% at $45.82 on Monday morning. Meritage reports earnings on February 5 and is expected to post EPS of $1.03 on revenues of $537.3 million.
- [By Morgan Housel]
Meritage Homes (NYSE: MTH ) �a large national builder, opened sales last September for 75 new homes at its Belmonte subdivision, with prices starting just below $280,000. By the time the community had sold out, in early March of this year, prices had risen by between $55,000 and $75,000 on every model.
- [By Seth Jayson]
Meritage Homes (NYSE: MTH ) reported earnings on July 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Meritage Homes beat expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.
Top 10 Stocks To Watch Right Now: GrowLife Inc (PHOT)
GrowLife, Inc., formerly, Phototron Holdings, Inc., incorporated on March 7, 2001, sells and distributse mini-hydroponic greenhouses (Phototron Units) and horticultural seeds, mineral nutrient solutions, growing mediums and germination kits. On February 14, 2011, the Company entered into an agreement and plan of merger (Merger Agreement) with PHI Merger Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary (MergerCo), and Phototron, Inc., (Phototron). On March 9, 2011, MergerCo was merged with and into Phototron and Phototron became its wholly owned subsidiary. In May 2011, it announced the launch of its wholly owned direct selling hydroponic gardening subsidiary, GrowLife Inc. In April 2012, it merged with SG Technologies Corp. A newly formed subsidiary of the Company was merged with and into SG Technologies Corp. On July 23, 2012, the Company acquired Greners.com, related to the online retail business operated by Greners.
The Company designs and manufactures indoor mini-hydroponic greenhouses capable of growing almost any herb, vegetable, flower, fruit or terrestrial plant better, stronger and faster than traditional farming methods. Its Phototron Units, consisting of 21 inch x 39 inch units and 21 inch x 51 inch units, provide between 18,900 and 36,000 lumens of light. Phototron Units also allow users to control what a plant receives, grow crops densely, avoid using pesticides, increase yields and automatically water plants.
The Company also formulates and sells horticultural seeds, mineral nutrient solutions, growing mediums and germination kits to facilitate hydroponic gardening through the use of its Phototron Units. In addition, it designs and manufactures replacement parts for its Phototron Units to facilitate customization of the units. It owns a mailing list and have a customer base exceeding 50,000 people. Its re-order program, which involves the sale of nutrients and related products and replacement parts for Phototron Units, represents 50% of its revenue.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bryan Murphy]
The last few days have been nothing less than incredible for stocks like Cannabis Science Inc. (OTCMKTS:CBIS), Medbox Inc. (OTCMKTS:MDBX), Growlife Inc. (OTCBB:PHOT), and Medical Marijuana Inc. (OTCMKTS:MJNA). MJNA shares have jumped 90% since last Friday. PHOT is up 51% for the same timeframe. CBIS has grown 150%, while MDBX is up 112%. The reason? It's largely the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado - a law that went into effect as of January 1st. The legalization of medical marijuana in Illinois on the same day didn't hurt either. And truth be told, the event-based rally from the likes of Medbox and Cannabis Science makes basic sense - it's a landmark shift in the way this country views and treats marijuana. On the flipside, before wading any deeper into stocks like Medical Marijuana or Growlife, current and would-be owners might want to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
Top 5 Consumer Stocks To Buy Right Now: Harris & Harris Group Inc.(TINY)
Harris & Harris Group, Inc. is a venture capital and venture debt firm specializing in seed, start up, early stage, and mid venture investments. It primarily invests in tiny-technology-enabled companies with a focus on nanotechnology, microsystems, and microelectromechanical systems technology. Harris & Harris Group, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is based in New York, New York with additional offices in Palo Alto, California and Los Angeles, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sally Jones]
Highlight: Harris & Harris Group Inc. (TINY)
The TINY share price is currently $3.07 or 22.1% off the 52-week high of $3.94. The company does not pay a dividend.
Top 10 Stocks To Watch Right Now: Halcon Resources Corp (HK)
Halcon Resources Corporation (Halcon Resources), incorporated on February 5, 2004, is an independent energy company focused on the acquisition, production, exploration and development of onshore liquids-rich oil and natural gas assets in the United States. The Company has oil and natural gas reserves located primarily in Texas, North Dakota, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Montana. On August 1, 2012, the Company acquired GeoResources by merger. On December 6, 2012, the Company completed the acquisition of entities owning approximately 81,000 net acres prospective for the Bakken / Three Forks formations primarily located in Williams, Mountrail, McKenzie and Dunn Counties, North Dakota (the Williston Basin Assets), from Petro-Hunt, L.L.C. and Pillar Energy, LLC (the Petro-Hunt parties). As of December 31, 2012, the Company has working interests in approximately 128,000 net acres prospective for the Bakken / Three Forks formations in North Dakota and Montana.
The Company�� Woodbine / Eagle Ford acreage is prospective for the Woodbine, Eagle Ford and other formations, with targeted depths ranging anywhere from 7,000 feet to 10,400 feet. As of December 31, 2012, The Company has approximately 198,000 net acres leased or under contract primarily in Leon, Madison, Grimes, Brazos, and Polk Counties, Texas. The Company is the operator and has a 100% working interest in more than 12,000 net acres in Wichita and Wilbarger Counties, Texas that it is actively water flooding in shallow Cisco aged Pennsylvania sandstone and limestone reservoirs. As of December 31, 2012, the Company produced 484 million barrels of oil equivalent from approximately 700 active producing wells and approximately 230 active water injection wells.
The Company�� position in the La Copita Field covers 3,720 gross acres and 2,829 net acres in Starr County, Texas. As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� average net daily production was 623 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The Company operates 100% of this production a! nd its working interest ranges from 75% to 100%. The Company has various other oil and natural gas properties with varying working interests located across the United States, including the Austin Chalk Trend and Eagle Ford Shale in Texas, the Fitts-Allen Fields in Central Oklahoma, and various other areas across South Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, and West Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Matt DiLallo]
Soar higher with this oil stock
Oil and gas driller Halcon Resources (NYSE: HK ) is another that's being built by a team with experience in selling a company. In Halcon's case, CEO Floyd Wilson built Petrohawk Energy and sold it to BHP Billiton� (NYSE: BHP ) for $15 billion. BHP, which was looking for a way to put its massive war chest to use and was able to snap up great assets and technical know-how to develop shale gas resources.� - [By Value Digger]
A) Halcon Resources (HK) is a US-based oil-weighted producer. I was bearish on Halcon at $8 when I shorted it, for the reasons mentioned here. I also noted then that the traders and the speculators pushed Halcon to an outrageous overvaluation at $8.
- [By Jeremy Bowman]
What: Shares of Halcon Resources (NYSE: HK ) were flowing in the wrong direction today, falling as much as 15% after reporting earnings this morning.
- [By Aimee Duffy]
A look ahead
Despite these record numbers, by most accounts the Eagle Ford is just getting started. Tens of billions of dollars are being invested in the play this year, which means there will likely be many bright days ahead for South Texas. In fact, parts of the play have barely been tapped into. Consider the work that Halcon Resources (NYSE: HK ) is doing in the East Texas portion of the play. The company announced earlier this month that production results from the last two wells it drilled are 18% higher than any well it has drilled in the area so far. On top of that, the output is 94% crude oil.
Top 10 Stocks To Watch Right Now: Laredo Petroleum Inc (LPI)
Laredo Petroleum, Inc., formerly Laredo Petroleum Holdings, Inc., incorporated in August 12, 2011, is an independent energy company focused on the exploration, development and acquisition of oil and natural gas in the Permian and Mid-Continent regions of the United States. The Company�� activities are primarily focused in the Wolfberry and deeper horizons of the Permian Basin in West Texas and the Anadarko Granite Wash in the Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma, where it has assembled 134,680 net acres and 37,850 net acres, respectively, as of December 31, 2011.
Permian Basin
The Permian Basin, located in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico, is an onshore oil and natural gas producing regions in the United States. The Company�� Permian activities are centered on the eastern side of the basin approximately 35 miles east of Midland, Texas in Glasscock, Howard, Reagan and Sterling Counties. As of December 31, 2011, it held 134,680 net acres in over 300 sections with an average working interest of 96% in wells drilled as of that date. The overall Wolfberry interval, the principal focus of its drilling activities, is an oil play that also includes a liquids-rich natural gas component. Its production/exploration fairway extends approximately 20 miles wide and 80 miles long. While exploration and drilling efforts in the southern half of its acreage block has been centered on the shallower portion of the Wolfberry (Spraberry, Dean and Wolfcamp formations) the emphasis in the northern half has been on the deeper intervals, including the Wolfcamp, Cline Shale, Strawn and Atoka formations.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company had drilled and completed approximately 600 gross vertical wells and had defined the productive limits on its acreage throughout the trend. It has expanded its drilling program to include a horizontal component targeting the Cline and Wolfcamp Shales. The Company has drilled four gross horizontal Wolfcamp Shale wells as of December 31, 2011. A! s of December 31, 2011, it had drilled a total of 27 gross horizontal wells in the Wolfcamp and Cline formations, of which 23 are in the Cline Shale and four in the Wolfcamp Shale. It had over 5,600 total gross identified drilling locations (both vertical and horizontal) in the Permian, all of which are within the Wolfberry and Cline Shale interval during the year ended December 31, 2011.
Anadarko Granite Wash
Straddling the Texas/Oklahoma state line, its Granite Wash play extends over a large area in the western part of the Anadarko Basin. As of December 31, 2011, it held 37,850 net acres in Hemphill County, Texas and Roger Mills County, Oklahoma. The Company�� play consists of vertical and horizontal drilling opportunities targeting the liquids-rich Granite Wash formation. As of December 31, 2011, it had drilled and completed over 150 gross vertical wells. During 2011, its horizontal Granite Wash program was in the development phase. As of December 31, 2011, it had approximately 100 gross identified potential drilling locations for the horizontal Granite Wash, which included both its Texas and Oklahoma acreage.
Other areas
The Company, in addition to its Permian Wolfberry and Anadarko Granite Wash plays, evaluated opportunities in three other areas within its core operating regions during 2011. The Dalhart Basin is located on the western side of the Texas Panhandle. As of December 31, 2011, the Company held 83,295 net acres in the Dalhart Basin. As of December 31, 2011, it had drilled two gross vertical wells in the Dalhart Basin. The second area is centrally located in the Central Texas Panhandle, where its operations were conducted through its joint venture with ExxonMobil as of December 31, 2011. As of December 31, 2011, it held 46,915 net acres in the Central Texas Panhandle. The third area is located in the eastern end of the Anadarko Basin, in Caddo County, Oklahoma. As of December 31, 2011, the Company held 33,306 net acres in the Eastern An! adarko. Advisors' Opinion:
- [By Tyler Crowe]
Who's doing it the best?
Company % Liquids in�Portfolio Oil Production Replacement Rate (3 Years) Reserve Replacement Costs (3-Year Average) Per boe Rosetta Resources� (NASDAQ: ROSE ) 57% 846% $6.99 Continental Resources� (NYSE: CLR ) 72% 827% $12.61 Laredo Petroleum� (NYSE: LPI ) 52% 1,042% $13.51 SM Energy� (NYSE: SM ) 53% 392% $14.67 SandRidge Energy� (NYSE: SD ) 58% 704% $14.85
It can be pretty handy to evaluate the entire industry on how efficiently it's replacing reserves, but reserve replacement costs can be more effective in evaluating individual companies. The lower the costs, the better it is. According to Ernst & Young, the most effective company at controlling reserve replacement costs is private company�Antero Resources, with a three-year average reserve replacement cost of about $2.88 per barrel of oil equivalent. Antero, and four of the other top five companies on Ernst & Young's list, are almost pure natural gas plays. If we've learned one thing over the past couple of years, it's that oil reserves and natural gas reserves are two totally different things when it comes to value. The five following companies have more than 50% liquids on�their�reserves and had the lowest reserve replacement costs for 2012.Sources: Ernst & Young and S&P Capital IQ; author's calculations.
- [By Tony Daltorio]
Other companies already drilling in the Cline include Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA), Gulfport Energy Corp. (Nasdaq: GPOR), and another pioneer in the region, Laredo Petroleum Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LPI).
Top 10 Stocks To Watch Right Now: Rising India Inc (RSII)
Rising India, Inc., incorporated on April 29, 1998, is a holding company. The Company is engaged in the developing independent living, assisted living and memory center communities. In May of 2013 Rising India, Inc. has acquired ownership of Mayer Luce Corp.
Rising India has researched acquisition and land-banking opportunities throughout Southern California based on new home developers like: D.R. Horton, Lennar, Ryland Homes, Standard Pacific and many others left fully entitled, development projects and planned communities vacant, unsold and basically guarded by private security services. These projects are in demand due to the Baby Boomers.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
Small cap stocks Drinks Americas Holdings, Ltd (OTCMKTS: DKAM), 7 Star Entertainment Inc (OTCMKTS: SAEE), Rising India Inc (OTCMKTS: RSII) and Big Tree Group Inc (OTCMKTS: BIGG) have all been attracting attention thanks to paid promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed and paid for promotions or investor relation activities, but they can backfire on unwary investors and traders alike. So are stock promoters blowing a bunch of hot air regarding these four small cap stocks or are they actually potential winners? Here is a quick reality check to help you decide:
Top 10 Stocks To Watch Right Now: Granite Construction Inc (GVA)
Granite Construction Incorporated (Granite), incorporated on January 24, 1990, is a diversified heavy civil contractors and construction materials producers in the United States. The Company operates in four segments: Construction, Large Project Construction, Construction Materials and Real Estate. The Company operates nationwide, serving both public and private sector clients. Within the public sector, it primarily concentrates on heavy-civil infrastructure projects, including the construction of roads, highways, mass transit facilities, airport infrastructure, bridges, dams and other infrastructure related projects. Within the private sector, it performs site preparation and infrastructure services for residential development, commercial and industrial buildings, and other facilities. The Company owns and leases substantial aggregate reserves and own a number of construction materials processing plants. It also has contractor-owned heavy construction equipment fleets in the United States. In December 2012, it purchased 100% interest of Kenny Construction Company (Kenny).
Construction
Revenue from its Construction segment was approximately 47% of its total revenue during the year ended December 31, 2012. Revenue from its Construction segment is derived from both public and private sector clients. The Construction segment performs various heavy civil construction projects with a large portion of the work focused on new construction and improvement of streets, roads, highways, bridges, site work and other infrastructure projects. These are typically bid-build projects completed within two years.
Large Project Construction
Revenue from its Large Project Construction segment was 41.4% of its total revenue in 2012. The Large Project Construction segment focuses on large, complex infrastructure projects, which typically have a longer duration than its Construction segment work. These projects include major highways, mass transit facilities, bridges, tunn! els, waterway locks and dams, pipelines, canals and airport infrastructure. This segment primarily includes bid-build, design-build and construction management/general contractor contracts. It participates in joint ventures with other construction companies mainly on projects in its Large Project Construction segment. Joint ventures are typically used for large, technically complex projects, including design/build projects, where it is desirable to share risk and resources. Joint venture partners typically provide independently prepared estimates, shared financing and equipment and often bring local knowledge and expertise.
The Company also utilizes the design/build and construction management/general contract methods of project delivery. Under the construction management/general contract method of delivery, it contracts with owners to manage the design phase of the contract with the understanding that it will negotiate a contract on the construction phase when the design nears completion. Revenue from design/build and construction management/general contract projects represented 74.5% of Large Project Construction revenue in 2012.
Construction Materials
Revenue from its Construction Materials segment was 11.1% of its total revenue in 2012. The Construction Materials segment mines and processes aggregates and operates plants that produce construction materials for internal use and for sale to third parties. It has aggregate reserves that it has acquired by ownership in fee or through long-term leases. Aggregate products used in its construction projects represented approximately 42.7% of its tons sold during 2012.
Real Estate
Granite Land Company (GLC) is an investor in a diversified portfolio of land assets and provides real estate services for other Granite operations. GLC�� investment portfolio consists of residential, as well as retail and office site development projects for sale to home and commercial property developers. The range! of its i! nvolvement in an individual project may vary from passive investment to management of land use rights, development, construction, leasing and eventual sale of the project. Generally, GLC has teamed with partners who have local knowledge and expertise in the development of each property. GLC�� investments are located in Washington, California and Texas. Revenue from GLC was 0.2% of its total revenue in 2012.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Louis Navellier]
If we look at the sector using Portfolio Grader, we see that many of the big names in the group like Flour (FLR), Granite Construction (GVA) and KBR incorporated (KBR) are rated ��ell.��The anticipated spending for both government and private industry simply hasn�� materialized, and the companies are not seeing revenue or profit growth.
- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Some of the companies most dependent on government for revenue are Harris Corp. (HRS) �with 80% of revenue government-derived; Granite Construction Inc. (GVA) �with 58%; Flir Systems Inc. (FLIR) �with 54%; and Waste Management Inc. (WM) � and Republic Services Inc. (RSG) �both with 50%, according to Goldman Sachs.
Top 10 Stocks To Watch Right Now: Gentherm Inc (THRM)
Gentherm Inc, formerly Amerigon Incorporated, doing business as Gentherm, incorporated in 1991, is a global developer and marketer of thermal management technologies for a range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications. Automotive products include actively heated and cooled seat systems and cup holders, heated and ventilated seat systems, thermal storage bins, heated seat and steering wheel systems, cable systems and other electronic devices. The Company is developing materials for thermoelectrics and systems for waste heat recovery and electrical power generation for the automotive market that may have applications for consumer products, as well as industrial and technology markets. Gentherm has facilities in the United States, Germany, Mexico, China, Canada, Japan, England, Korea, Malta, Hungary and the Ukraine. In February 2013, it announced the closing of the acquisition of W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG (W.E.T.).
The Company designs, develops and markets products based on its thermoelectric device (TED) technologies for a range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. As of December 31, 2011, its principal product was its Climate Control Seat (CCS), which it sells to automobile and light truck original equipment manufacturers or their tier one suppliers. The Company�� CCS product is offered as an optional or standard feature on automobile models produced by Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan, Tata Motors, Ltd. and Hyundai. On May 16, 2011 the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Amerigon Europe, GmbH (Amerigon Europe), acquired a majority interest in W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG. (W.E.T.).
Thermoelectric device
The Company�� products are primarily based upon its TED technology. A TED is a solid state circuit that has the capability to produce both a hot and cold thermal condition. TEDs also have a capability known as the Seebeck effect that is reciprocal to the Peltier effect.
Climate Control Seat
The Company�� CCS product uses one or more TEDs, which generate heating or cooling depending upon the direction of the current applied to the device. If a manufacturer wishes to integrate its CCS product into a seat, it provides the Company with automotive seats to be modified so that it can install a unit in a prototype. The seat is then returned to the manufacturer for evaluation and testing. If a manufacturer accepts the Company�� CCS product, a program can then be launched for a particular model on a production basis.
Heated and Ventilated Seat
The Company sells a heated and ventilated only variant of the CCS. This product works in a similar fashion to its CCS, only there is no active cooling capability and no TED. In the cooling mode, the vent only system will use the ambient cabin air to provide a degree of cooling comfort to the seat occupant. In the heating mode, the vent only system is supplemented with more traditional resistive heating elements. Similarly, W.E.T.�� core seat comfort product uses a resistive element heater mat to generate heat when the seat is in heating mode and ambient cabin air for cooling.
Heated and Cooled Cup Holder
The heated and cooled cup holder represents an adaptation of the technology found in its CCS, including the use of a TED and other key elements. The dual cup holder provides separate temperature settings in each holder allowing the driver and passenger to individually maintain a heated or cooled beverage. The vehicles that feature the heated and cooled cup holder was the 2011 Dodge Charger and 2011 Chrysler 300 during the year ended December 31, 2011.
Heated and Cooled Mattress
The Company�� heated and cooled mattress incorporates its Climate Control Sleep System (CCSS) technology. The mattress is sold in the United States by its retail partner, Mattress Firm, under its YuMe brand. Mattress Firm has over 800 retail stores located a! cross 26 ! states. There are five available settings in each of the heat and cool modes, as well as an ambient setting. The bed can be controlled using either the Master Control Unit (MCU) or one of two remotes provided for each zone.
Automotive Cable Systems
W.E.T. produces automotive cable systems to be used to connect automotive components to sources of power. W.E.T.�� cable systems include both ready-made individual cables and ready-to-install cable networks.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Gentherm (Nasdaq: THRM ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Top 10 Stocks To Watch Right Now: Cogent Communications Group Inc.(CCOI)
Cogent Communications Group, Inc. provides high-speed Internet access, Internet Protocol, and communications services primarily to small and medium-sized businesses, communications service providers, and other bandwidth-intensive organizations in North America, Europe, and Japan. It offers on-net services to bandwidth-intensive users, such as universities, other Internet service providers, telephone companies, cable television companies, and commercial content providers; and multi-tenant office buildings, including law firms, financial services firms, advertising and marketing firms, and other professional services businesses. The company also provides its on-net services in carrier-neutral colocation facilities, Cogent controlled data centers, and single-tenant office buildings. In addition, it offers off-net services to businesses that are connected to its network primarily by means of last mile access service lines obtained from other carriers primarily in the form of p oint-to-point TDM, POS, SDH, and/or carrier ethernet circuits. Further, the company provides voice services; and Internet connectivity to customers that are not located in buildings directly connected to the company?s network. Additionally, it operates 43 data centers that allow customers to co-locate their equipment and access its network. Cogent Communications Group, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By James O'Toole]
Netflix (NFLX) relies heavily on third parties -- primarily Cogent Communications (CCOI) -- to deliver content from its servers to Internet service providers. Traditionally, broadband companies and bandwidth providers like Cogent haven't charged one another, on the assumption that traffic that flows back and forth over their networks will even out over time.
Top 10 Stocks To Watch Right Now: 7 Days Group Holdings Limited(SVN)
7 Days Group Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates a chain of limited service economy hotels under the brand name of 7 Days Inn in China. The company provides accommodations and services primarily to business and leisure travelers. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 568 hotels in operation, including 247 managed hotels, with 56,410 hotel rooms in 89 cities, as well as 197 hotels with 19,345 hotel rooms under conversion. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in Guangzhou, China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Chinese economy hotel chain 7 Days Group (NYSE: SVN ) announced today that the company's shareholders had approved the going-private proposal that was offered up on Feb. 28.�Approximately 88.3% of the hotel chain's shares voted on the proposal, and approximately 86% voted in favor of it.�
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