Top 5 Cheap Companies For 2016

Top 5 Cheap Companies For 2016: Bank of America Corporation(BAC)

Bank of America Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and nonbanking financial services and products to individuals, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, and governments in the United States and internationally. The company?s Deposits segment generates savings accounts, money market savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and checking accounts; and Global Card Services segment provides the U.S. consumer and business card, consumer lending, international card and debit card services. Its Home Loans & Insurance segment offers consumer real estate products and services, including mortgage loans, reverse mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and home equity loans. It also provides property, disability, and credit insurance. The company?s Global Commercial Banking segment offers lending products, including commercial loans and commitment facilities, real estate lending, leasing, trade finance, short-term credit, asset-based lending, and indirect consumer loans; and capital management and treasury solutions, such as treasury management, foreign exchange, and short-term investing options. Its Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial products, advisory services, settlement, and custody services; debt and equity underwriting and distribution, merger-related advisory services, and risk management products; and integrated working capital management and treasury solutions. The company?s Global Wealth & Investment Management segment offers investment and brokerage services, estate management, financial planning services, fiduciary management, credit and banking expertise, and asset management products. Bank of America Corporation serves customers through a network of approximately 5,900 banking centers and 18,000 automated teller machines. It was formerly known as NationsBank Corporation and changed its na! me on October 1, 1998. Bank of America Corporation was founded in 1874 and is based in Charlott e, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-478728{display:none}.cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-478728,#postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-478728{width:570px;display:block} At the annual International Consumer Electronics Show, it's traditional to hear announcements of the most amazing things, some of which are so amazing that it's hard to believe they might happen. For example, Windows tablets have yet to put the sales of iPads to shame. Past announcements of smartwatches never saw them become a must for the fashion conscious. This year, perhaps one of the most eyebrow-raising claims belonged to Comcast (CMCSA) (CMCSK). "We expect that customer service will soon be one of our best products," said CEO Neil Smit, according to tech blog BGR. That would be one astonishing turnaround. Although, as BGR put it, "Considering the quality of most of Comcast's products, this wouldn't be very difficult to achieve." In "The Prince," Machiavelli once debated whether it was better for a leader to be feared or loved. (He said both if possible, but if not, then feared.) What he didn't address so clearly was the utility of being hated. That's been Comcast's quandary, as the company has exceeded at being hated. It won -- if that's the right word -- Consumerist's audience poll of the most hated company in the country last year. That was the second time the largest cable television provider in the U.S. grabbed the crown, with 2010 being the first. Comcast beat out the likes of Monsanto (MON), Walmart (WMT) and Bank of America (BAC). It even bested SeaWorld (SEAS) after the scandalous Blackfish documentary. The reason? Bad customer service. No, make that service so terrible that it has gained national attention on more than one occasion in just the last year: A tech journalist recorded his attempt! to cance! l his Comcast service, as Time reported, while a "customer retention" specialist desperately tried to keep him from doing so. Another man had multi

• [By Matt Egan]

  Alcoa (AA), the aluminum maker, is set to unofficially start the earnings period on Monday evening. It'll be quickly followed by big banks like Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM).

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-cheap-companies-for-2016.html

Hot High Dividend Stocks To Own For 2016

Hot High Dividend Stocks To Own For 2016: Blue Nile Inc.(NILE)

Blue Nile, Inc. operates as an online retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry worldwide. Its fine jewelry selection includes diamond, gemstone, platinum, gold, pearl and sterling silver jewelry, and accessories, as well as wedding bands, earrings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets, and watches. Blue Nile, Inc. sells its products through the Web sites bluenile.com, bluenile.ca, and bluenile.co.uk. The company was formerly known as Internet Diamonds, Inc. and changed its name to Blue Nile, Inc. in November 1999. Blue Nile, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  We think the next chapter of Internet growth will be driven by increasing broadband penetration and mobile 3G rollouts globally. Baron invests in the global Internet in two ways: 1) U.S. based Internet companies that have substantial international businesses, and 2) foreign based Internet companies. Several Baron portfolio holdings such as Google, Inc. and priceline.com, Inc. receive 50% or more of their revenues outside the U.S., and we think the faster growth of Internet access in emerging economies will be a substantial benefit to these companies. Other Baron portfolio companies such as LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) and Blue Nile, Inc. (NILE) are also accelerating their efforts to penetrate international markets in 2012 and beyond.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-high-dividend-stocks-to-own-for-2016.html

Hot Retail Stocks To Own Right Now

Hot Retail Stocks To Own Right Now: Lowe's Companies Inc.(LOW)

Lowe's Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company offers a range of products for maintenance, repair, remodeling, home decorating, and property maintenance. It provides home improvement products in the categories of appliances, lumber, paint, millwork, building materials, lawn and landscape products, flooring, rough plumbing, seasonal living, tools, hardware, fashion plumbing, lighting, nursery, outdoor power equipment, cabinets and countertops, home organization, rough electrical, and home fashion, as well as boards, panel products, irrigation pipes, vinyl sidings, and ladders. The company also offers installation services through independent contractors in various product categories. Lowe's Companies serves homeowners and renters primarily consisting of do-it-yourself customers and do-it-for-me customers; and commercial business customers, who work in the construction, rep air/remodel, commercial and residential property management, or business maintenance professions. As of August 15, 2011, it operated approximately 1,725 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company also offers its products through electronic product catalogs and Lowes.com. Lowe's Companies, Inc. was founded in 1952 and is based in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Jeff Greenberg/Alamy Now that all of the gifts have been unwrapped, you have three choices: use the present because you really do like it, put it in the back of the closet because you'll never use it but you may regift it next year, or return it. The National Retail Federation says more than $58-billion worth of gifts were returned last year. If you received something that doesn't fit, or just isn't you, the! re's no need to rush back to the store and do battle with all of the people looking for post-Christmas bargains. You have a little bit of time, but you have to know the rules -- and the rules differ from store to store and from one item to the next. If you have a receipt or a gift receipt, the return process is a whole lot easier. A survey by the NRF found 68 percent of the respondents say they included a gift receipt some or most of the time. You may still need to check the fine print on each retailer's website, but we'll lay out the basic policies for many of the largest chains. Most stores give you at least 30 days to make returns, and the clock does not start running until Dec. 26. Some offer 90 days, and some -- mostly high-end department stores -- are even more liberal with their policies. But there are also stricter rules and exceptions, especially when it comes to electronics, computers, digital cameras and other items. The return window for these items is only open for 15 days at some stores, and almost all stores insist that these items not be opened and that you bring it back with all of the original packing. Some stores charge restocking fees on these items. The motive behind these restrictions is to reduce fraud, which cost retailers more than $9 billion last year. How Big Chains Behave Let's start with the biggest retailer, Walmart (WMT). It gives you 90 days on most items, including electronics, but there is a fairly long list of exceptions that could be subject to as little as 15 days. Computer software, books, movies and video games mus

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Balter says the sale of the Cupertino location and the sublease of others should be good news for Home Depot (HD) and Lowe’s (LOW), while its decision to reduce exposure to big-screen TVs could give a small benefit to Best Buy (BBY).

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Goldman Sachs’ Matthew Fassler and team are feeling more bullish on consumer willingness to spend on their homes, leading them ! to raise ! their price target on Neutral-weighted Home Depot (HD) and lift Lowe’s (LOW) to Buy.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-retail-stocks-to-own-right-now-2.html

Top Semiconductor Companies To Invest In Right Now

Top Semiconductor Companies To Invest In Right Now: Peregrine Semiconductor Corp (PSMI)

Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation (Peregrine), incorporated in February 1990, is engaged in the design, manufacturing and marketing radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for the aerospace and defense, broadband, industrial, mobile wireless device, test and measurement equipment, and wireless infrastructure markets. The Company is provider of RFICs. Its products include RF switches-antenna, RFswitches-broadband and general purpose, digital attenuators, synthesizers, mixers/upconverters, prescalers, variable gain amplifiers, digitally tunable capacitors, DC-DC converters and power amplifiers. Its UltraCMOS technology enables the design, manufacture, and integration of multiple radio frequency (RF), mixed signal, and digital functions on a single chip. Its solutions target a range of applications in the aerospace and defense, broadband, industrial, mobile wireless device, test and measurement equipment, and wireless infrastructure markets.

As of December 25, 2010, The Company offers a portfolio of more than 120 RFICs, including switches, digital attenuators, mixers/upconverters, and prescalers, and it is developing power amplifiers (Pas), digitally tunable capacitors (DTCs), and DC-DC converters. During the fiscal year ended December 25, 2010, its products were sold to more than 1,400 module manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), contract manufacturers, and other customers, including such companies as Amalfi Semiconductor, Inc., The Boeing Company, EPCOS AG, Ericsson AB, Hitachi Media Electronics Company, Ltd., Hitachi Metals, Ltd., Humax Co., Ltd., Itron, Inc., LG Innotek Co., Ltd., Mini-Circuits, Inc., Motorola, Inc., Murata Manufacturing Company, Ltd., Planet Technology Corp., Rockwell Collins, Inc., Rohde & Schwarz, Inc., SIPAT Co., Ltd., Skyworks Solutions, Inc., So! ny Corporation, Source Photonics, Inc., and Thales Alenia Space.

RF switches-antenna

RF Switches are utilized in the RF section of mobile devices to route RF signals between! the antenna and the handset core, through one or more signal paths. For mobile handsets, its switch products offer up to 10 RF signal paths with integrated digital bus support and onboard voltage regulation.

RFswitches-broadband and general purpose

The Company's broadband and general purpose RF switches deliver combination of broadband linearity, settling time, and isolation while routing RF signals to their respective transmit or receive paths. Its attributes are being used by the OEMs of LED and plasma digital televisions (DTVs), set top box, cable infrastructure, test and measurement devices

Digital Attenuators

The Company provides digital step attenuators that are used to control the amplitude of an RF or analog signal. The products include digital control circuitry integrated with an RF attenuator core and are used in third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) cellular base stations, repeaters, and point-to-p oint nodes.

Synthesizers

The Company's frequency synthesizers provide an electronic system for generating any of a range of frequencies from a single fixed timebase or oscillator. Its synthesizers provide low-power, ultra-low phase noise, programmable frequency synthesis for defense, broadband, industrial, and wireless infrastructure markets.

Mixers/Upconverters

The Company's mixers/upconverters are used to translate encoded voice/data signals from one frequency to another to enable radio transmission. Its mixers / upconverters are incorporated into mixer modules and provide industry linearity, which is a metric to maximizing wireless data transmission rates. These attributes are critical in 3G and 4G cellular base station designs.

Prescalers

The Co! mpany's! prescalers operate in the C, X, and Ku bands to divide the frequency of a wireless signal in order to extend the operating range of a sy nthesizer beyond its base capability. Its prescalers complem! ent its f! requency synthesizer line, providing its customers with design.

Variable Gain Amplifiers

The Company's Variable Gain Amplifiers (VGAs) are used in both the receiving and transmitting path of a radio system to maintain a signal's strength at a level necessary for other circuits to operate optimally. Its DVGA is the monolithic integrated circuit (IC) to integrate three functional blocks, including digital attenuators, RF/IF amplifiers and a common serial interface onto a single IC.

DC-DC Converters

The Company's frequency-configurable DC-DC converters efficiently perform voltage conversion using a high frequency switching technique that minimizes system noise. Its DC-DC converters are designed to enable a distributed power management architecture designed for satellite applications, replacing inefficient drop out regulators and central converters.

Power Amplifiers

The Company's PAs amplify RF sign als in order to generate the necessary power required to establish a radio link between a base station and a mobile device. With its UltraCMOS technology the Company has the ability to integrate its PAs on a single chip with other RF, mixed signal, and digital components.

The Company competes with Hittite, M/A-COM, NEC, Renesas, RFMD, Skyworks, Sony, Toshiba and TriQuint Semiconductor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: PSMI) is a lesser known name that is a top stock to buy at Deutsche Bank. The company recently released a new radio frequency (RF) switch specifically designed for broadband cable systems. With HD content exploding, this could be a huge home run for the company. Deutsche Bank has a $14 price target for the stock, the same a! s the con! sensus target.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-semiconductor-companies-to-invest-in-right-now.html

Top 5 Supermarket Companies To Buy Right Now

Top 5 Supermarket Companies To Buy Right Now: Duke Realty Corporation (DRE)

Duke Realty Corporation operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. It offers leasing, property and asset management, development, construction, build-to-suit, and other tenant-related services. As of December 31, 2006, Duke Realty owned approximately 721 industrial, office, and retail properties comprising 113.8 million rentable square feet, as well as owned 6,400 acres of unencumbered land for development. The company has elected to be taxed as REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal income tax purposes, provided that it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its shareholders. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana with regional offices in Alexandria, Virginia; Atlanta, Georgia; Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas and Houston, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Nashville, Tennessee; Orlando, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona; Raleigh, North Carolina; St. Louis, Missouri; and Tampa and Weston, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brad Thomas]

  Other REITs mentioned: (O), (NNN), (STAG), (DCT), (EGP), (PDM), (DRE), (LRY)

  Source: Chambers Street: More Liquidity Magic On The Way In REIT-Dom

  Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-supermarket-companies-to-b! uy-right-now-4.html

Morning Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here are 10 things you should know for Wednesday, Sept. 18:

1. -- U.S. stock futures were rising following modest gains across the globe as investors await an announcement from the Federal Reserve on its plans to taper economic stimulus.

European stocks were higher. Asian shares finished the session mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.4%.

2. -- The economic calendar in the U.S. Wednesday includes housing starts and building permits for August at 8:30 a.m. EDT, and the rates decision from the Federal Open Market Committee in the afternoon. 3. -- U.S. stocks on Tuesday rose as investors await guidance from the Fed about the future of its sweeping economic stimulus program. The S&P 500 rose 0.42% to close at 1,704.76 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.29% to finish at 15,539.63. The Nasdaq gained 0.75% to 3,745.70. 4. -- Walgreen (WAG) is set to become one of the largest employers to make sweeping changes to company-backed health programs. The drugstore giant is expected to disclose on Wednesday a plan to provide payments to eligible employees for the subsidized purchase of insurance starting in 2014, according to The Wall Street Journal. The plan would affect roughly 160,000 employees, and will require them to shop for coverage on a private health-insurance marketplace. Walgreen joins a list of companies making changes to their benefits. IBM and Time Warner said recently they will move thousands of retirees from their own company-administered plans to private exchanges. 5. -- Starbucks (SBUX) said guns are no longer welcome in its cafes, though the coffee chain stopped short of an outright ban on firearms. The request is being made in part because more people have been bringing guns into Starbucks over the last six months, prompting confusion and dismay among some patrons and employees, CEO Howard Schultz told Reuters in an interview. In an open letter to customers issued late Tuesday, Schultz said: "Our stores exist to give every customer a safe and comfortable respite from the concerns of daily life." Starbucks' long-standing policy had been to default to local gun laws, including "open carry" regulations that allow people to bring guns into stores, Reuters noted. Schultz said he hopes people will honor the request not to bring in guns but said the company will nevertheless serve those who do. "We will not ask you to leave," he said. Starbucks has almost 7,000 company-operated U.S. stores. 6. -- Adobe Systems (ADBE), the maker of creative-suite products like Photoshop and InDesign, said fiscal third-quarter earnings on an adjusted basis fell to 32 cents a share from 58 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue fell 8% in the quarter to $995.1 million. Wall Street expected Adobe to report earnings of 34 cents a share on revenue of $1.01 billion. Adobe has been shifting its business to a subscription-based model. The company said subscription revenue rose 73% to $299.4 million. The company said its Creative Cloud service gained 331,000 paying subscribers during the quarter, surpassing 1 million. 7. -- FedEx (FDX) is expected by Wall Street on Wednesday to report fiscal first-quarter earnings of $1.50 a share on revenue of $10.97 billion.

8. -- Software maker Oracle (ORCL) is expected by analysts to post fiscal first-quarter earnings of 56 cents a share on revenue of $8.48 billion.

9. -- A report by the 9to5Mac blog said Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 5s could be in short supply. Customers in China and Hong Kong could reserve the iPhone 5s starting Tuesday. But just minutes after the phone became available, most models and colors sold out across the country, the blog reported. The rate at which the 5s sold out in China doesn't bode well for the rest of the world, as it suggests that overall supply in general of the 5s is low, according to 9to5Mac. Apple begins selling the iPhone 5s in retail stores on Friday. 10. -- Employees from US Airways (LCC) and American Airlines (AAMRQ) are in Washington, lobbying members of Congress to support a planned merger of the two carriers, despite opposition from the Justice Department. The employees, including leaders of unions at the two carriers, will hold individual meetings with members of Congress on Wednesday, and they will gather for a noon rally near the Capitol building, The Dallas Morning News reported. -- Written by Joseph Woelfel >To contact the writer of this article, click here: Joseph Woelfel >To submit a news tip, send an email to: tips@thestreet.com.

Copyright 2013 TheStreet.com Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy Right Now

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy Right Now: Apple Inc.(AAPL)

Apple Inc., together with subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells third-party Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores; and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. As of September 25, 2010, it had 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. The company, formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Ted S. Warren/APAmazon CEO Jeff Bezos introduced the Amazon Fire Phone last June. The world's leading online retailer is feeling pretty mortal these days. Amazon.com (AMZN) saw its shares slump 22 percent last year. History is on the side of those long Amazon. The stock hasn't suffered back-to-back years of declines in its nearly two dozen years as a public company. However, let's go over a few of the things that Amazon can do to make its own luck as it tries to bounce back into market fancy in 2015. 1. Profitability Must Return Amazon's net sales rose 18 percent through the first nine months of 2014, and that's impressive for ! a retailer that will top $100 billion in sales this new year -- but sales growth is decelerating. The rub for Amazon has been its shrinking profitability as it spends a lot of money on products and service initiatives that won't pay off right away. Amazon can point to the $5.7 billion in operating cash flow that it has generated over its past four quarters -- or even the $1.1 billion in free cash flow that it has cranked out in that time -- but it needs to prove itself worthy of its market cap on the bottom line. CEO Jeff Bezos may brag about having the flexibility to take big bets, but investors are no longer as patient or risk-tolerant as they used to be. 2. Fire Phone Needs a Strong Sophomore Season Amazon's ambitious push into the smartphone market has been a dud. The Fire phone is certainly rich with unique features, but it's been held back by the limitations of not being a true Android device. Yes, the Fire Phone's operating system is built on top of Android's open source platform, but it's a unique system that does not play nice with the growing universe of applications available on Google's (GOOG) (GOOGL) Google Play app store. In short, it's at the mercy of Amazon or app developers porting over their programs to Fire Phone. That's been a deal breaker for many potential owners, and it's the most common complaint in the nega

• [By Tom Rojas var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach(func]

  Audio-equipment maker Monster LLC and its chief executive sued Apple Inc.'s(AAPL) Beats Electronics LLC, its co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, and Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp.(2498.TW) for allegedly conspiring to dupe Monster out of a deal with Beats before the company was sold to Apple for $3.2 billion last year.

• [By Ashraf Eassa]

  Ever since Lenovo (NASDAQOTH: LNVGY  ) launched its Yoga 3 Pro convertible laptop, I have been skeptical about whether Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) would use Int! el's (NA! SDAQ: INTC  ) Core M processor in a next-generation MacBook Air -- an idea I was initially quite fond of.

• [By Sam Mattera]

  Next year will be vital for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) , and not just because of the Apple Watch.

  The success (or failure) of Apple's first wearable is likely to be important, but the Cupertino tech giant's performance in 2015 will depend primarily on the device that generates the vast majority of its revenue and profit: the iPhone.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-blue-chip-stocks-to-buy-right-now-4.html

Top 5 Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now

Top 5 Undervalued Stocks To Buy 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 Jayson Derrick]

  Analysts at Credit Suisse maintained an Outperform rating on Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) with a price target raised to $109 from a previous $110. Analysts at Citigroup maintained a Neutral rating with a price target lowered to $110 from a previous $115. Shares gained 0.17 percent, closing at $99.44.

• [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's find out the details of the third quarter earnings. 

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Why the massive rally? Chalk it up to solid earnings from some bellwether companies. Caterpillar (CAT), for instance, gained 4.6% this week after reporting surprisingly good results, while 3M (MMM) rose 8.1% following its own beat, and Microsoft (MSFT) advanced 5.7% this week after beating earnings and reporting that it was finally making a profit on its Surface tablet. Apple (AAPL), the biggest company in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, rose 7.7% after the tech giant beat the Street’s earnings and revenue forecasts, and offered above-consensus guidance.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Why is the market surging? Top-notch earnings from big Dow components like Caterpillar (CAT) and 3M (MMM), and a dividend increase from Visa (V) certainly have helped, as these are some of the priciest stocks in the price-weighted Dow. And then there’s the economic data. US jobless claims rose to 283,000, a tad bit higher than expected but still ridiculously low. Global purchasing managers’ ! indexes al! so showed signs of improvement, especially in Europe. If the recent selloff was a “growth scare,” then perhaps growth isn’t as scary as many investors thought. 

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-undervalued-stocks-to-buy-right-now-2.html

Hot Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2016

Hot Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2016: Castle Brands Inc. (ROX)

Castle Brands Inc. develops and markets beverage alcohol products. The company provides rum, whiskey, liqueurs, vodka, tequila, and wine. It offers its products under various brands, including Goslings Rum, Goslings Dark n Stormy, Jeffersons, Jeffersons Reserve and Jefferson's Presidential Select, Jeffersons Rye, Clontarf, Pallini, Boru, Knappogue Castle Whiskey, Tierras, Celtic Honey, Brady's Irish Cream, Travis Hasses Original Pie, Gozio, A. de Fussigny, and CC. The company offers its products through a network of wholesale distributors and state-operated agencies in the United States, Ireland, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Germany, Canada, South Africa, Bulgaria, France, Russia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and China, as well as in continental Europe and Latin America. Castle Brands Inc. is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another stock that's rapidly moving within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Castle Brands (ROX), which develops and markets premium and super-premium brands in the beverage alcohol categories: rum, whiskey, liqueurs, vodka, tequila and fine wine. This stock has been on fire so far in 2013, with shares up huge by 234%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Castle Brands, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending very strong for the last three months, with shares soaring higher from its low of 30 cents per share to its recent high of 99 cents per share. During that uptrend, shares of ROX have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of ROX within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

  Market players should now look for long-biased trades in ROX if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at 93 cents per share to its 52-week high at 99 cents per share with high volume. Look for a su! stained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 501,958 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ROX will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $1.50 to $2 a share.

  Traders can look to buy ROX off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at 80 cents to 77 cents per share, or around its 50-day at 70 cents per share. One can also buy ROX off strength once it clears those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot-building-product-stocks-to-invest-in-2016.html

On Turning Back Your Clock as Daylight Saving Time Ends

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Most people like the extra hour of sleep. Others relish having an extra hour of life to do one thing or another.

Turning back the clock to end daylight saving time has intrigued me ever since I was a young boy growing up in the small western New York hamlet of Niagara Falls. (It's actually not a hamlet.)

As a 38-year-old, I'll be as fascinated by it this weekend as I have ever been.

When I was a youngster, unable to stay up until two in the morning, I always thought something mysterious took place at 2:00 a.m. I just couldn't wrap my head around the notion of the one-o-clock hour going off twice. I used to say to my mother exactly what I say to my wife 30 years later: So it's one in the morning, but right when it hits two, it becomes one again. At some point in my pre-teen life, I stayed up until two, eyes focused on the television screen, to see if it would do a funky dance or self-destruct. Now, I'm enamored by the on-screen guide merely repeating the one-o-clock hour, but with a fresh slate of programming or infomercials. A year out of high school, I worked as a DJ at Q102, the Best Hits Without the Hard Rock and Rap, where, to avoid the obvious clash, I went by "Rich Pendola." I did weekend overnights. One year, on the night we had to turn back the clock, my program director, Rob Lucas, let me pick the music for that extra hour. The playlist went out the window, an oddity for what was, even back in 1993 or thereabouts, an over-programmed adult-contemporary radio station. The year after that, I spent the night we turn the clocks back as an underage drinker in the Allentown section of Buffalo at a famous watering hole called "Mulligan's Brick Bar." The place still exists, complete with a huge poster of Springsteen's The River album cover hanging on the wall. When the clock strikes two in Buffalo on this night, things get wild. At the Brick Bar, shots of Mad Dog 20/20 flowed for an extra hour till last call at four, which, because of the time switch was really five. Now, in my relative old age, I don't care much about the extra hour of sleep. I just like that it gets lighter faster and earlier on in the fall. It's actually light out when I wake up in the morning. Maybe it's my West Coast smug (I live in Santa Monica, just west of Los Angeles), but I relish darkness in the early evening hours. On LA's Westside, much like in my previous stomping grounds of San Francisco, there's just this cozy, cool feel that promotes a festive holiday mood. Of course, if you live on the East Coast or another place that experiences traditional winter you might go so far as feeling depressed when it's time to fall back. You prefer springing ahead, a sure sign that warmer weather is on the way. To each his/her own. In any event, just like there's no excuse for being an hour late to work or school on the Monday morning after we spring ahead, you'll look just as bad if you show up an hour too soon. With that in mind, whether you like or not, be sure to turn your clock back Sunday morning at 2:00 a.m. Follow @rocco_thestreet --Written by Rocco Pendola in New York City

Tesla Convertible Note Conversion May Affect Stock: StreetInsider

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) were back in the red after flirting with gains earlier in the afternoon. Part of the issue may be remarks made by Elon Musk after hours yesterday.

StreetInsider.com also has an interesting take on the stock today (subscription required):

With Tesla shares looking like they have a weight on them at around the $170 level, investors may look no further than the May 2013 convertible notes offering. Based on the terms of the convertible notes, if the share price holds up then after September 30 the notes may be convertible into approximately 5.3 million shares.

To counteract dilution from the convertible notes, Tesla entered info a convertible note hedge transactions whereby we have the option to purchase up to 5.3 million shares of our common stock at a price of approximately $124.52 per share. The cost of this transaction was offset by an agreement to sell warrants on approximately 5.3 million shares which give holders of the warrants the option to purchase up to approximately 5.3 million shares of our common stock at a price of $184.48 per share.

Some traders have suggested the strange comments from CEO Elon Musk last night, that it’s “not crazy” to short the stock at this level, is some type of manipulation related to the convertible notes conversion.

Short interest has edged up in recent weeks, from 21.6 million shares, from 20.3 million as of mid-August.

But Tesla have also gotten good news this week, with Bloomberg noting that the company's plan to buy back its Model S cars could boost sales, and Dougherty reiterating its $200 price target on the stock.

5 Best New Stocks To Invest In 2016

5 Best New Stocks To Invest In 2016: Solazyme Inc (SZYM)

Solazyme, Inc. (Solazyme), incorporated on March 31, 2003, makes oil. The Company's technology transforms a range of plant-based sugars into oils. Its renewable products can replace or enhance oils derived from the world's three existing sources-petroleum, plants and animal fats. The Company is focused on commercializing its products into three target markets: fuels and chemicals, nutrition, and skin and personal care. In 2010, the Company launched its products, the Golden Chlorella line of dietary supplements. In March 2011, the Company launched its Algenist brand for the luxury skin care market through marketing and distribution arrangements with Sephora S.A. (Sephora International), Sephora USA, Inc. (Sephora USA), and QVC, Inc. (QVC).

The Company is engaged in development activities with multiple partners, including Chevron U.S.A. Inc., through its division Chevron Technology Ventures (Chevron), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Ecopetrol S.A. (Ecopetro l), Qantas Airways Limited (Qantas) and Conopoco, Inc., doing business as Unilever (Unilever).

In 2010, the Company entered into a 50/50 joint venture with Roquette Freres, S.A. (Roquette). In November 2010, the Company entered into a joint venture and operating agreement for Solazyme Roquette Nutritionals with Roquette. In December 2010, the Company entered into an exclusive distribution relationship with Sephora International, and in January 2011, the Company entered into a distribution relationship with Sephora USA. Under the arrangements, each of Sephora International and Sephora USA will distribute the Algenist product line in their respective territories.

In Fuels and Chemicals market its renewable oils can be refined and sold as drop-in replacements for marine, motor vehicle and jet fuels, as well as replacements for chemicals that are traditionally! derived from petroleum or other conventional oils. The Company work with its refining partne r Honeywell UOP to produce Soladiesel (renewable diesel), So! ladiesel renewable diesel for United States Naval vessels, and Solajet renewable jet fuel for both military and commercial application testing. In nutrition market the Company has developed microalgae-based food ingredients, including oils and powders that enhance the nutritional profile and functionality of food products while reducing costs for consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies. In Skin and Personal Care market the Company hs developed a portfolio of branded microalgae-based products. Its ingredient is Alguronic Acid, which the Company has formulated into a range of skin care products with anti-aging benefits. The Company is also developing algal oils as replacements for the oils used in skin and personal care products.

The Company competes with BP p.l.c., Royal Dutch Shell plc, and Exxon Mobil Corporation, jatropha, camelina, SALOV North America Corporation, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Cargill, Incorporated, DSM Food Specialties and Danisco A/S

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Renewable oils manufacturer Solazyme (NASDAQ: SZYM  ) got walloped after announcing a new commercialization strategy that will result in drastically reduced production volumes from facilities in Clinton, Iowa and Moema, Brazil and less revenue in 2015 and beyond than originally expected. The company's former commercialization strategy of selling massive volumes of commodity replacements relied on optimized, low-cost production and numerous customers. That stood in contrast to the strategy settled into by fellow industrial biotech Amyris (NASDAQ: AMRS  ) at the end of 2012, which relied on producing low volumes of high value products, seeding important long-term markets, driving costs down with new microbial production strains, and adopting an efficient corporate cost structure.

• ! [By J! ohn Udovich]

  As a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report comes out about wasteful spending on biofuels, small cap renewable biofuel stock Gevo, Inc (NASDAQ: GEVO) reported earnings that came in below expectations - meaning its worth taking a closer look at the GAO report, the stock and the performance of KiOR Inc (NASDAQ: KIOR), Solazyme Inc (NASDAQ: SZYM) and Syntroleum Corp (NASDAQ: SYNM).

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/5-best-new-stocks-to-invest-in-2016.html

Hot Net Payout Yield Companies To Buy Right Now

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First-quarter earnings season is supposed to be a dud, but don’t tell that to Coca-Cola (KO), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) or Charles Schwab (SCHW). These three blue chips delivered some market-pleasing results Tuesday, helping KO stock, JNJ stock and SCHW stock to take off.

Best Dow Dividend Stocks For 2016: Ecopetrol S.A.(EC)

Ecopetrol S.A. operates as an integrated oil company in Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and the U.S. Gulf Coast. The company engages in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas. As of December 31, 2010, its proved reserves of crude oil and natural gas consisted of 1,714.0 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company also transports crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil, and other refined products, as well as mixture of diesel and palm oil. It owns transportation network consisting of 3,003 kilometers of crude oil pipeline directly, as well as an additional 2,178 kilometers of crude oil pipeline with its business partners; and 3,017 kilometers of multi-purpose pipelines for transportation of refined products from refinery to wholesale distribution points. As of the above date, Ecopetrol S.A. owned 58 stations with a nominal storage capacity of 19 million barrels of crude oil and 6 million barrels of refined products. In addition, the company owns and o perates refineries that produce a range of refined products, including gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel, aviation fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, sulfur, heavy fuel oils, motor fuels, and petrochemicals, including paraffin waxes, lube base oils, low-density polyethylene, aromatics, asphalts, alkylates, cyclohexane and aliphatic solvents, and refinery grade propylene, as well as provides industrial services to third parties. Further, it markets various refined and feed stock products, including regular and high octane gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, natural gas, and petrochemical products. The company was formerly known as Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos and changed its name to Ecopetrol S.A. in June 2003. Ecopetrol S.A. was founded in 1948 and is based in Bogota, Colombia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Energy services shares dropped around 0.63 percent in the US market on Tuesday. Top decliners in the sector included Ecopetrol SA (NYSE: EC), down 4 percent, and Petróleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (NYSE: PBR), off 2.28 percent.

• [By Dividend]

  Ecopetrol (EC) has a market capitalization of $94.96 billion. The company employs 8,087 people, generates revenue of $35.317 billion and has a net income of $7.863 billion. Ecopetrol�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $15.070 billion. The EBITDA margin is 42.67 percent (the operating margin is 35.23 percent and the net profit margin 22.26 percent).

Hot Net Payout Yield Companies To Buy Right Now: Enel SpA (ENEL)

Enel SpA is an Italy-based company engaged in the utilities sectors. It operates in seven divisions. The Sales segment focuses on the sale of electricity and gas products and services for end users. The Generation and Energy Management is involved in generation with thermal, natural gas regasification and schedulable hydroelectric power plants. The Infrastructure and Networks distributes electricity and public lighting. The Iberia and Latin America operates in the electricity and gas markets of Spain, Portugal and Latin America. The International segment supports strategies for the European and Russian markets. The Renewable Energy is active in the generation of electricity from renewable resources. The Engineering and Research develops the conventional and nuclear construction of power plants. In November 2013, through Enel Investment Holding BV, it sold a 40% stake in Artic Russia BV, which in turn owns a 49% of the share capital of SeverEnergia, to NK Rosneft' OAO. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  Enel SpA (ENEL) retreated 3.8 percent to 3.22 euros after Deutsche Bank AG said that its estimates for earnings at Italy�� biggest utility show no potential for growth for 2013 or 2014.

Hot Net Payout Yield Companies To Buy Right Now: Peregrine Semiconductor Corp (PSMI)

Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation (Peregrine), incorporated in February 1990, is engaged in the design, manufacturing and marketing radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for the aerospace and defense, broadband, industrial, mobile wireless device, test and measurement equipment, and wireless infrastructure markets. The Company is provider of RFICs. Its products include RF switches-antenna, RFswitches-broadband and general purpose, digital attenuators, synthesizers, mixers/upconverters, prescalers, variable gain amplifiers, digitally tunable capacitors, DC-DC converters and power amplifiers. Its UltraCMOS technology enables the design, manufacture, and integration of multiple radio frequency (RF), mixed signal, and digital functions on a single chip. Its solutions target a range of applications in the aerospace and defense, broadband, industrial, mobile wireless device, test and measurement equipment, and wireless infrastructure markets.

As of December 25, 2010, The Company offers a portfolio of more than 120 RFICs, including switches, digital attenuators, mixers/upconverters, and prescalers, and it is developing power amplifiers (Pas), digitally tunable capacitors (DTCs), and DC-DC converters. During the fiscal year ended December 25, 2010, its products were sold to more than 1,400 module manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), contract manufacturers, and other customers, including such companies as Amalfi Semiconductor, Inc., The Boeing Company, EPCOS AG, Ericsson AB, Hitachi Media Electronics Company, Ltd., Hitachi Metals, Ltd., Humax Co., Ltd., Itron, Inc., LG Innotek Co., Ltd., Mini-Circuits, Inc., Motorola, Inc., Murata Manufacturing Company, Ltd., Planet Technology Corp., Rockwell Collins, Inc., Rohde & Schwarz, Inc., SIPAT Co., Ltd., Skyworks Solutions, Inc., Sony Corporation, Source Photonics, Inc., and Thales Alenia Space.

RF switches-antenna

RF Switches are utilized in the RF section of mobile devices to route RF signals between! the antenna and the handset core, through one or more signal paths. For mobile handsets, its switch products offer up to 10 RF signal paths with integrated digital bus support and onboard voltage regulation.

RFswitches-broadband and general purpose

The Company�� broadband and general purpose RF switches deliver combination of broadband linearity, settling time, and isolation while routing RF signals to their respective transmit or receive paths. Its attributes are being used by the OEMs of LED and plasma digital televisions (DTVs), set top box, cable infrastructure, test and measurement devices

Digital Attenuators

The Company provides digital step attenuators that are used to control the amplitude of an RF or analog signal. The products include digital control circuitry integrated with an RF attenuator core and are used in third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) cellular base stations, repeaters, and point-to-point nodes.

Synthesizers

The Company�� frequency synthesizers provide an electronic system for generating any of a range of frequencies from a single fixed timebase or oscillator. Its synthesizers provide low-power, ultra-low phase noise, programmable frequency synthesis for defense, broadband, industrial, and wireless infrastructure markets.

Mixers/Upconverters

The Company�� mixers/upconverters are used to translate encoded voice/data signals from one frequency to another to enable radio transmission. Its mixers / upconverters are incorporated into mixer modules and provide industry linearity, which is a metric to maximizing wireless data transmission rates. These attributes are critical in 3G and 4G cellular base station designs.

Prescalers

The Company�� prescalers operate in the C, X, and Ku bands to divide the frequency of a wireless signal in order to extend the operating range of a synthesizer beyond its base capability. Its prescalers complem! ent its f! requency synthesizer line, providing its customers with design.

Variable Gain Amplifiers

The Company�� Variable Gain Amplifiers (VGAs) are used in both the receiving and transmitting path of a radio system to maintain a signal�� strength at a level necessary for other circuits to operate optimally. Its DVGA is the monolithic integrated circuit (IC) to integrate three functional blocks, including digital attenuators, RF/IF amplifiers and a common serial interface onto a single IC.

DC-DC Converters

The Company�� frequency-configurable DC-DC converters efficiently perform voltage conversion using a high frequency switching technique that minimizes system noise. Its DC-DC converters are designed to enable a distributed power management architecture designed for satellite applications, replacing inefficient drop out regulators and central converters.

Power Amplifiers

The Company�� PAs amplify RF signals in order to generate the necessary power required to establish a radio link between a base station and a mobile device. With its UltraCMOS technology the Company has the ability to integrate its PAs on a single chip with other RF, mixed signal, and digital components.

The Company competes with Hittite, M/A-COM, NEC, Renesas, RFMD, Skyworks, Sony, Toshiba and TriQuint Semiconductor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: PSMI) is a lesser known name that is a top stock to buy at Deutsche Bank. The company recently released a new radio frequency (RF) switch specifically designed for broadband cable systems. With HD content exploding, this could be a huge home run for the company. Deutsche Bank has a $14 price target for the stock, the same as the consensus target.

Hot Net Payout Yield Companies To Buy Right Now: COCA COLA HELLENIC BOTTLING CO (CCH)

Coca-Cola HBC AG operates as a bottler of products of The Coca-Cola Company in Switzerland and internationally. It offers a range of ready-to-drink non-alcoholic beverages in the sparkling, juice, water, sport, energy, tea, and coffee categories. The company has operations in 28 countries serving approximately 581 million people. Coca-Cola HBC AG is based in Zug, Switzerland. As of April 22, 2013, Coca-Cola HBC AG operates as a subsidiary of Kar-Tess Holding S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Berkshire’s ownership position in�Coca-Cola may set the stage for something similar to Duracell��ith Berkshire’s 400 million�Coca-Cola shares currently worth $17.8 billion, and an estimated value for CCR (Coca-Cola’s North American bottling assets) of $12.8 billion (based on 8x estimated EBITDA of $1.6 billion), this would not be a large enough transaction for Berkshire to completely transfer its�Coca-Cola stake. Of course, we do not think�Coca-Cola needs to capitalize the business with $5 billion in cash, as Procter & Gamble did for Duracell to “plug the gap” between the valuation of the business and Berkshire’s stake, but that may be a possibility in this instance as well. However��all us crazy��e think Berkshire could also take a look at CCEAG, Coca-Cola’s German bottling business. We valued this at $2.75 billion three years ago6, based on $3.8b of revenue, a 10.4% EBITDA margin and a 7.0x multiple. We think there is upward bias to a current valuation given likely cost rationalization that has occurred in the intervening years. If we wanted to get even more creative, we could even envision Berkshire taking a look more broadly at European bottlers like Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) and Coca-Cola HBC (CCH), which have similar industry dynamics to the U.S. bottlers. We note that some type of swap transaction, � la Duracell, could save Berkshire Hathaway nearly $5 billion in income taxes.

Top 5 High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2015

The New Jersey-based specialty chemicals maker, Cytec Industries (CYT), announced third quarter operating results after the closing bell on Thursday that topped analysts’ estimates.

Cytec Industries managed to rake in revenues of $464 million last quarter, falling short of the projected $482.61 million figure. The company did manage to beat the mark, however, in terms of earnings per share; in the third quarter Cytec generated EPS of $1.32, beating the expected EPS of $1.34 by two pennies.

Looking back, the most recent quarterly results are well above the 91 cents EPS seen in Q3 exactly one year ago. Looking ahead, the company expects FY2013 EPS of $4.70-$4.80 compared to the consensus of $4.82.

5 Best Managed Healthcare Stocks To Buy For 2016: Reclaim Industries Ltd (RCM)

Reclaim Industries Limited is engaged in the manufacture of recycled rubber and its associated products. The principal activities of the Company include rubber recycling and manufacturing to convert used rubber tires into commercially surfacing, molded and granule products for a range of industries in both domestic and international markets. The Company operates in three segments: collections, manufacturing and sales. Collections, which is engaged in the pickup of tires from customers. Manufacturing, which is the processing of tires into rubber granule or baled tires. Sales, which is engaged in the laying of the rubber soft-fall surfaces or selling of rubber crumb and associated products to wholesale markets. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Whitney George is Director of Investments, Managing Director, and a Portfolio Manager of Royce & Associates, LLC, investment advisor to The Royce Funds. He serves as portfolio manager for Royce Premier Fund (RPR), Royce Low-Priced Stock Fund (RLP), Royce Global Value Fund (RGV), Royce SMid-Cap Value Fund (RSV), and Royce Focus Trust (FUND). He also serves as assistant portfolio manager for Royce Micro-Cap Fund (RMC), Royce Value Fund (RVV), Royce Value Plus Fund (RVP), Royce Focus Value Fund (RFV), and Royce Capital Fund ��Micro-Cap Portfolio (RCM). Mr. George's thoughts in this interview concerning the stock market are solely his own and, of course, there can be no assurance with regard to future market movements.

Top 5 High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2015: Tuesday Morning Corp.(TUES)

Tuesday Morning Corporation engages in the retail sale of decorative home accessories, housewares, and gifts in the United States. The company?s merchandise primarily consists of lamps, rugs, furniture, kitchen accessories, small electronics, gourmet housewares, linens, luggage, bedroom and bathroom accessories, toys, stationary, and silk plants, as well as crystal, collectibles, and silver serving pieces. It also offers apparel and accessories. In addition, the company provides brand name merchandise, including cookware, appliances, linens, bath towels, luggage, flatware, tabletop, crystal, collectibles, dolls, china and giftware, and rugs. As of September 21, 2011, it operated 861 discount retail stores in 43 states. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

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 Tuesday Morning (Nasdaq: TUES  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Tuesday Morning (NASDAQ: TUES) shares gained 4.87% to create a new 52-week high of $14.63. Tuesday Morning shares have jumped 110.09% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 18.17% in the same period.

Top 5 High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2015: Conmed Corp (CNMD)

CONMED Corporation (CONMED), incorporated on February 10, 1970, is a medical technology company/ The Company emphasizes on surgical devices and equipment for minimally invasive procedures and monitoring. The Company's products are used by surgeons and physicians in a range of specialties, including orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery, and gastroenterology. The Company operates in five segments: CONMED Endoscopic Technologies, CONMED Endosurgery, CONMED Electrosurgery, CONMED Linvatec and CONMED Patient Care.

Arthroscopy

The Company offers a range of devices and products for uses in arthroscopic surgery. The Company's arthroscopy products include powered resection instruments, arthroscopes, reconstructive systems, tissue repair sets, metal and bioabsorbable implants as well as related disposable products and fluid management systems. The Company also offers a line of video Endoscopy products suitable for uses in multi-specialty clinical environments beyond orthopedic arthroscopy, including laparoscopy, ear, nose and throat (ENT), gynecology and urology, as well as integrated operating room systems and equipment.

Powered Surgical Instruments

Electric, battery or pneumatic powered surgical instruments are used to perform orthopedic, arthroscopic and other surgical procedures where cutting, drilling or reaming of bone is required. Each power system consists of one or more handpieces and related accessories as well as disposable and limited reusable items (e.g., burs, saw blades, drills and reamers). Powered instruments are categorized as either small bone, large bone or specialty powered instruments. Specialty powered instruments are utilized in procedures such as spinal surgery, neurosurgery, ENT, oral/maxillofacial surgery, and cardiothoracic surgery.

The Company's line of powered instruments is sold principally under the Hall Surgical brand name, for use in large and small bone orthopedic, arthroscopic, oral/maxillofaci! al, podiatric, plastic, ENT, neurological, spinal and cardiothoracic surgeries. Large bone, neurosurgical, spinal and cardiothoracic powered instruments are sold primarily to hospitals while small bone arthroscopic, otolaryngological and oral/maxillofacial powered instruments are sold to hospitals, outpatient facilities and physicians offices.

The Company's powered instruments product line includes the MPower battery system. This orthopedic power system is specifically designed to meet the requirements of orthopedic applications. The MPower battery system allows a facility to purchase a single power system to perform total joint arthroplasty, trauma, arthroscopy, and small bone procedures. The system also provides a multitude of battery technologies to meet the varying needs of hospitals worldwide.

Electrosurgery

The use of electrosurgical units and associated surgical tools is commonplace in the hospital surgical suite, surgery centers, clinics and physician offices. Electrosurgery is routinely used to cut and coagulate tissue and small vessels in open and laparoscopic procedures using energy produced through radio frequency (RF) technology. Electrosurgery can be used in almost all surgical procedures including specialties, such as general, gynecology, orthopedics, cardiology, thoracics, urology, neurology, and dermatology. The Company�� portfolio consist of energy-based products is the Argon Beam Coagulation (ABC) technology. ABC technology combines the use of argon gas and electrosurgical energy to allow the surgeon to produce a surface coagulation which results in less tissue damage.

Patient Care

The Company's patient care product line includes a line of vital signs and cardiac monitoring products, including pulse oximetry equipment and sensors, electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes and cables, cardiac defibrillation and pacing pads and blood pressure cuffs. The Company also offers a line of suction instruments and tubing for use in the! operatin! g room, as well as a line of intravenous (IV) products for use in the critical care areas of the hospital.

Endosurgery

Endosurgery (also referred to as minimally invasive surgery or laparoscopic surgery) is surgery performed without a incision. The Company's Endosurgical products include the Reflex and PermaClip clip appliers for vessel and duct ligation, Universal S/I (suction/irrigation) and Universal Plus laparoscopic instruments and specialized suction/irrigation electrosurgical instrument systems for use in laparoscopic surgery. The Company also offers cutting and dilating trocars, suction/irrigation accessories, laparoscopic scissors, dissectors and graspers, active electrodes, insufflation needles and linear cutters and staplers for use in laparoscopic surgery. The Company's disposable skin staplers are used to close large skin incisions with surgical staples, thus eliminating the time consuming suturing process. CONMED Endosurgery also offers a uterine manipulator called VCARE for use in increasing the efficiency of laparoscopic hysterectomies and other gynecologic laparoscopic procedures.

Endoscopic Technologies

The Company offers a line of minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic products used in conjunction with procedures, which requires flexible endoscopy. The Company's principal customers include gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopists, pulmonologists, and nurses who perform both diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic procedures in hospitals and outpatient clinics.

The Company's primary focus is to identify, develop, acquire, manufacture and market differentiated medical devices, which improve outcomes in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal and pulmonary disorders. The Company's diagnostic and therapeutic product offerings for GI and pulmonology include mucosal management devices, forceps, scope management accessories, bronchoscopy devices, dilatation, stricture management devices, hemostasis, biliary devices, and ! polypecto! my.

The Company competes with Smith & Nephew, plc, Arthrex, Inc., Stryker Corporation, ArthroCare Corporation, Johnson & Johnson: DePuy Mitek, Inc., Biomet, Inc., Medtronic, Inc. Midas Rex and Xomed, Synvasive Technology, Inc., Synthes, Inc., MicroAire Surgical Instruments, LLC, Zimmer Holdings, Inc., Covidien Ltd.; Valleylab, Medline Industries, Inc., ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH, Megadyne, Kendall, 3M Company, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc, U.S.Surgical, Boston Scientific Corporation, Wilson-Cook Medical, Inc, Olympus America, Inc. and STERIS Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Margins matter. The more CONMED (Nasdaq: CNMD  ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong CONMED's competitive position could be.

Top 5 High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2015: Xyratex Ltd.(XRTX)

Xyratex Ltd provides modular solutions for the enterprise data storage industry and hard disk drive (HDD) capital equipment for the HDD industry. It offers enterprise data storage solutions that include storage enclosures, which provide a common technology platform that reduces qualification time for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers and includes management interface software, standardized across enclosures, and provides easy integration as new platforms; integrated application platforms that comprise embedded storage platforms, which incorporate embedded server modules into its storage enclosures; and HPC Solutions that consolidate controllers, storage enclosures, application platforms, operating system, data protection, Lustre File System, and management software into a optimized scale-out storage platform that can be deployed in hours rather than weeks. The company also designs and manufactures a range of process test systems, which incorporate mechanical and electronic hardware, and firmware for controlling the HDD operating environment during the formatting of the disk drive. In addition, it provides automated solutions comprising substrate and media inspection systems; servo track writers and related subassemblies; and head testing systems that test and process HDD components throughout the manufacturing process. The company markets and sells its products primarily to OEMs and disk drive manufacturers, as well as to other companies in North America, Asia, and Europe. Xyratex Ltd was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Havant, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sue Chang and William L. Watts]

  Xyratex Ltd. (XRTX) �dropped 6.7%. The company late Thursday reported a 70% drop in third-quarter earnings and offered a somewhat downbeat fourth-quarter forecast. The U.K.-based maker of data-storage and manufacturing equipment said it expects fourth-quarter results to range between a loss of four cents and a profit of 20 cents on revenue of $190 million to $220 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had produced a forecast for profit of 16 cents on revenue of $218 million. Shares are up by around 43% for the year to date.

5 Best Solar Stocks To Buy For 2016

5 Best Solar Stocks To Buy For 2016: First Solar Inc.(FSLR)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Whitney Kisling]

  Gains were led by stocks that had fallen in 2013. First Solar Inc. (FSLR), the Tempe, Arizona-based power technology developer, has jumped 38 percent since sliding 13 percent in the first quarter. Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF), the Cleveland-based iron-ore mining company, rallied 8.8 percent on April 9, its biggest increase since September. The shares were down 52 percent for 2013 before last week.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/5-best-solar-stocks-to-buy-for-2016.html

Hot Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now

Hot Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now: Pentair Inc.(PNR)

Pentair, Inc. operates as a diversified industrial manufacturing company worldwide. The company?s Water segment offers products and systems for use in the movement, storage, treatment, and enjoyment of water. It offers light duty diaphragm pumps and solid handling pumps for water and wastewater applications and agricultural spraying; and pressure tanks for residential applications. This segment also provides control valves, pressure tanks, membranes, carbon products, point of entry and point of use systems, and other filter cartridges for commercial and residential water filtration applications; and pool equipment and accessories, such as pumps, filters, heaters and heat pumps, lights, automatic controls, automatic pool cleaners, commercial deck equipment, maintenance equipment, and pool accessories for commercial and residential pool maintenance, repair and renovation, and service and construction. In addition, it offers filter systems, filter cartridges, pressure vessels , and dispensing pumps for commercial, foodservice, industrial, marine and aviation markets. This segment distributes its products through wholesale distributors, retail distributors, original equipment manufacturers (OEM), home centers, and home and pool builders. The company?s Technical Products segment provides standard, modified, and custom enclosures that house and protect sensitive electronics and electrical components, as well as protect people that use them. Its products comprise metallic and composite enclosures, cabinets, cases, subracks, backplanes, and associated thermal management systems used in industrial machinery, data communications, networking, telecommunications, test and measurement, automotive, medical, security, defense, and general electronics. This segment distributes its products through electrical and data contractors, electrical and electronic components distributors, and OEMs. Pentair, Inc. was founded in 1966 and is based in Golden! Valley, Minn e sota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By The Part-time Investor]

  The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:

  Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)

  Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 throu gh 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  What do BG Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGMD) and Pentair, Ltd. (NYSE:PNR) have in common? Most investors would say absolutely nothing. BGMD is a small cap medical diagnostics company, while PNR is a large cap industrial equipment manufacturer. Those are worlds that simply never collide. The directions each stock has been traveling in over the past few months have even been polar opposites.

• [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 che! cking in ! on Pentair (NYSE: PNR  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/hot-dividend-companies-to-own-in-right-now-2.html

Top 10 Trucking Companies To Buy Right Now

Top 10 Trucking Companies To Buy Right Now: Nielsen Holdings NV (NLSN)

Nielsen Holdings N.V., incorporated on May 17, 2006, is a global information and measurement company. The Company delivers media and marketing information, and analytics on a global and local basis. It operates in three segments: Buy segment, Watch segment and Expositions segment. The Companys Buy segment provides retail transactional measurement data, consumer behavior information and analytics primarily to businesses in the consumer packaged goods industry. Its Watch segment provides viewership data and analytics primarily to the media and advertising industries across television, online and mobile screens. The Companys Expositions segment operates business-to-business trade shows and conference events in the United States. The Companys clients include The Coca-Cola Company, NBC Universal, Nestle S.A., News Corp., The Procter & Gamble Company and the Unilever Group. In May 2011, it acquired NeuroFocus Inc. In August 2011, the Company acquired Marketing Analytics , Inc. In June 2013, Onex Corp announced that it has completed the acquisition of Nielsen Expositions from its parent, an affiliate of Nielsen Holdings NV (Nielsen).

What Consumers Buy

The Companys Buy segment provides retail transactional measurement data, consumer behavior information and analytics primarily to businesses in the consumer packaged goods industry. This segment is organized into two areas: Information, which provides retail scanner and consumer panel-based measurement, and Insights, which provides a range of analytics. The Companys consumer panels collect data from approximately 240,000 household panelists across 26 countries that use in-home scanners to record purchases from each shopping trip. Its analytical services are organized into seven primary categories: growth and demand strategy, market structure and segmentation, brand and portfolio management, product innovation services, pricing and sales modeling, retail ! marketin g strategies and marketing return-on-investment (ROI) strategies.

What Consumers Watch

The Companys Watch segment provides viewership data and analytics primarily to the media and advertising industries across television, online and mobile devices. It is engaged in the television audience measurement. The Company provides two principal television ratings services in the United States: measurement of national television audiences and measurement of local television audiences in all 210 designated local television markets. It measures television viewing in 28 countries outside the United States, including Australia, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico and South Korea. The Company is a global provider of Internet media and market research, audience analytics and social media measurement. Its online measurement service has a presence in 46 countries, including the United States, France, South Korea and Brazil. The Company provides critical advertising metrics, such as audience demographics, page and ad views, and time spent.

The Company provides independent measurement and consumer research for telecom and media companies in the mobile telecommunications industry. The Company offers mobile measurement services in 10 countries worldwide, including the United States. The Company develops advanced measurement techniques of the three principal screens: television, online and mobile devices. Its cross-platform measurement solution provides information about simultaneous usage of more than one screen, unduplicated reach, cause and effect analysis and program viewing behavior. It also provides advertising effectiveness research across multiple platforms. It also integrates data from its Buy segment with these measurement platforms.

The Company competes with GfK, Ipsos, Canoe Ventures, Dish Networks, WPP, Rentrak, TiVo, Mediametrie, Coremetrics, Google, Omniture, WebTrends, BuzzLogic, Cymfony and Umbria.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Taulli]

  Ma! rketing. PEP remains on the cutting edge for marketing as well. Just recall the companys “Crash the Super Bowl” campaign, which allowed fans to develop their own ads. For the 2013 game, the winning ad was ranked No. 1 for “most liked” and “most memorable” according to Nielsen (NLSN) ratings.PEP is also aggressive with celebrity and athlete endorsements, as well as deals with organizations like the National Football League, Major League Baseball and National Hockey League. Beyonce at the Super Bowl, anyone? Retailers are more likely to carry PEP products because of these brand associations.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-10-trucking-companies-to-buy-right-now.html

5 Best Shipping Stocks To Buy For 2015

Paul Sakuma/AP If you live for now, Amazon.com (AMZN) can help. The online retail giant has unveiled a one-hour plan that can deliver thousands of daily essential items, like paper towels and shampoo, to Amazon Prime members in parts of southern Manhattan -- the rollout of an immediate-gratification-takes-too-long program that spreads to more cities in 2015. "There are times when you can't make it to the store and other times when you simply don't want to go," said Dave Clark, Amazon's senior vice president of worldwide operations. "There are so many reasons to skip the trip and now Prime members in Manhattan can get the items they need delivered in an hour or less." Dubbed "Prime Now," the plan is offered through a mobile app available on iOS and Android devices. The delivery service is available from 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. Two-hour delivery is free and one-hour delivery costs $7.99. A portion of Amazon's new building on 34th Street in Manhattan will serve as a hub for delivery of Prime Now orders. Amazon Prime, the online retailer's premier buying plan, costs $99 a year and qualifies subscribers to free streaming of TV shows, films and music; and for free, two-day shipping of Amazon purchases. More from Lisa Kaplan Gordon
•Milwaukee 'Naughtiest' City in U.S., Report Says •Snow Broom Easily Gets Rid of the White Stuff •Garage Birthplace of Apple is a 'Bit of a Myth,' Wozniak Says

Best Media Companies To Buy Right Now: Hillenbrand Inc(HI)

Hillenbrand, Inc. designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells funeral service products to licensed funeral directors operating licensed funeral homes. The company?s products include burial caskets, cremation caskets, containers, vaults, urns, and selection room display fixturing for funeral homes, as well as other personalization and memorialization products and services, including Web-based applications, and the creation and hosting of Websites for licensed funeral homes. It markets its products under the Batesville and Options brand name through direct sales force in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The company also designs, produces, markets, sells, and services bulk solids material handling equipment and systems for various industrial markets, including plastics, food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, power generation, coal mining, pulp and paper, frac sand, industrial minerals, agribusiness, recycling, wood and forest pr oducts, and biomass energy generation. It offers feeders and pneumatic conveying equipment under the K-Tron brand name; and size reduction equipment, such as hammer mills, double-roll crushers, wood and bark hogs, chip sizers, screening equipment, pneumatic and mechanical conveying systems, storage/reclamation systems, and specialty crushers and other equipment under the Pennsylvania Crusher, Gundlach, and Jeffrey Rader brand names. In addition, the company manufactures dry material separation machines that sort dry, granular products based on the particle?s size serving various industries, including frac sand, potash, urea, phosphates, chemical, agricultural, plastics, and food processing. The company sells its material handling equipment and systems worldwide through a combination of a direct sales force, and a network of independent sales representatives and distributors. Hillenbrand, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Batesville, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GURUFOCUS]

  Hillenbrand Inc. (HI), a diversified industrial company, makes and sells business-to-business products and services for various industries worldwide. Dec. 4, the company increased is quarterly dividend 1.3% to $0.1975 per share. the dividend is payable Dec. 31, 2013, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 17, 2013. The yield based on the new payout is 2.8%.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Tuesday

  Earnings Expected: Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD), Hillenbrand Inc (NYSE: HI), Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) Economic Releases Expected: German retail sales, French consumer confidence, German unemployment rate, eurozone CPI, eurozone PPI, US trade balance, US redbook

  Wednesday

5 Best Shipping Stocks To Buy For 2015: Gruppa LSR OAO (LSRG)

Gruppa LSR OAO (LSR Group OJSC) is a Russia-based company involved in the real estate development and construction. It is also engaged in the production of various building materials, such as ceramic bricks, crushed granite, concrete and reinforced concrete products, ready-mix concrete and aerated concrete segments. The Company�� services comprise the development of residential, office and commercial buildings, as well as tower cranes and hoisting machinery services for use in real estate construction. It is also involved in the investment operations. Gruppa LSR OAO acts as a general and sub-contractor for the Russian Federation Government, Saint Petersburg Government, and as a general and sub-contractor for other developers, among pile-driving services. The Company operates through numerous subsidiaries located domestically, as well as one representative office in Moscow. In December 2013, it acquired a 100 % stake in OOO Gazstroy, an owner of Ryabovsky brick plant. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Zahra Hankir]

  Russian stocks declined to the lowest level in a month as builder LSR Group (LSRG) and power company OAO Inter RAO UES dropped after MSCI Inc. cut them from an index tracked by investors. The Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index tumbled 2.5 percent, the most in two months, as Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS led losses in lenders. Benchmark gauges in the Czech Republic and Poland retreated at least 0.7 percent.

5 Best Shipping Stocks To Buy For 2015: Barrett Business Services Inc.(BBSI)

Barrett Business Services, Inc. provides business management solutions in the United States. The company offers human resource management services in areas comprising payroll processing, employee benefits and administration, human resource management, risk management, and workers? compensation coverage areas. It also provides professional employer organization services, which include employee benefits, health insurance, workers? compensation coverage, workplace safety programs, federal and state employment laws compliance, labor and workplace regulatory requirements, and related administrative services; and payroll administrative services, such as payroll processing, payroll taxes, and human resource consulting services. In addition, the company provides staffing services, including on-demand or short-term staffing assignments, contract staffing, long-term or indefinite-term on-site management, direct placement, and human resource administration services. It serves elect ronics manufacturers; various light-manufacturing industries; forest products and agriculture-based companies; transportation and shipping enterprises; food processing; telecommunications; public utilities; general contractors in various construction-related fields; and professional services firms. Barrett Business Services, Inc. was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  The much smaller Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ: BBSI  ) has done even better, soaring 154% over the last 12 months.

  While that might suggest the opportunity to invest in them has passed, I believe their biggest gains are still ahead. While tentativeness among employers about whether the economy is really improving is helping employers to hire more temp workers, the coming implementation of Obamacare will fuel it further. Even with the employer mandate portion of the law being pushed out past the midterm elections to 2015 instead of going into effect on January 1, that just means more companies will be hiring more temp workers for a longer period of time to get below the thresholds the health-care law imposes.

5 Best Shipping Stocks To Buy For 2015: Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited(AOSL)

Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited engages in the design, development, and supply of a range of power semiconductors worldwide. The company offers power discrete product line comprising trench MOSFETs, electrostatic discharge, protected MOSFETs, and SRFETs; and power ICs. Its products are used in notebooks, netbooks, flat panel displays, mobile phone battery packs, set-top boxes, portable media players, and power supplies. The company sells its products to distributors. Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  This split among industry segments has created some value opportunities as those companies with high exposure to PCs are very cheap. And while the move towards smart phones and tablets may continue, the PC is not dead — demand will pick up along with the economy.

  Alpha and Omega Semiconductor (AOSL)

  Alpha and Omega Semiconductor (AOSL) is a designer, developer and global supplier of a broad portfolio of power semiconductors. The portfolio of power semiconductors includes more than 1,400 products, and has grown rapidly with 195 new products introduced last year alone. Its semiconductors are used in a wide range of products, including things like personal computers, flat panel TVs, LED lighting, smart phones, and telecommunications equipment.

Top 5 Penny Companies To Own For 2015

Schlumberger (SLB) was down in Thursday afternoon trading after a mixed first quarter.

The oilfield giant said first quarter earnings were $1.59 billion, or $1.21 a share, up from 94 cents in the year-ago period and one penny ahead of estimates. Revenue rose 6.3% to $11.24 billion, just below the $11.49 billion analysts were expecting.

The Middle East and Asia a was the strongest region, with sales up 19%, followed by North America, with 12%. Revenue edged ahead by 0.6% in Europe and Africa, while Latin America saw a 7.7% decline.

Stephens analyst Michael Marino reiterated an Overweight rating on the stock: ��hile SLB’s geographically diversified footprint will likely limit exposure to the accelerating margin trends in North America this year, global oilfield spending continues to grow at a modest pace. Overall, we continue to see slow and steady revenue growth for the Company and solid incremental margins on higher deepwater mix, overall efficiency gains and potential pricing gains in North America.��/p>

Best Consumer Stocks To Invest In 2016: Lexington Realty Trust (LXP)

Lexington Corporate Properties Trust operates as a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). The company acquires, owns, and manages a portfolio of office, industrial, and retail properties net-leased to corporate tenants in the United States. It also provides investment advisory and asset management services to institutional investors in the net lease area. As of June 30, 2005, the company operated 185 properties and managed 2 properties. Lexington Corporate Properties Trust has elected to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, it would not be taxed on the portion of its income, which is distributed to shareholders, provided it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income. The company was founded in 1991 and is based in New York City.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Lexington Realty Trust (NYSE:LXP), a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on single-tenant real estate investments, reported that it would release its third quarter 2012 results the morning of Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Lexington will conduct a teleconference that same day at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time.

Top 5 Penny Companies To Own For 2015: PostRock Energy Corporation(PSTR)

PostRock Energy Corporation, an integrated independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and transportation of oil and natural gas in the United States. It operates in two segments, Oil and Gas Production, and Natural Gas Pipelines. The Oil and Gas Production segment primarily focuses on the development of coal bed methane in the Cherokee basin and the Marcellus Shale in Appalachian Basin, as well as has oil properties in Central Oklahoma. As of December 31, 2009, it had approximately 51.9 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe) of estimated net proved reserves; development rights to approximately 516,184 net acres; and operated approximately 2,849 gross wells in the Cherokee Basin. It also had approximately 44,507 net acres of oil and natural gas producing properties with estimated proved reserves of 18.9 Bcfe and approximately 498 gross wells in Appalachian Basin; and had 65 gross wells, development rights to approximately 1,4 80 net acres, and estimated net proved reserves, 3.9 Bcfe in Central Oklahoma. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment involves in transporting, gathering, treating, and processing natural gas. It owns and operates a natural gas gathering pipeline networks of approximately 2,173 miles in the Cherokee Basin and 183 miles in the Appalachian Basin; and a 1,120 mile interstate natural gas pipeline, which transports natural gas from northern Oklahoma and western Kansas to the metropolitan Wichita and Kansas City markets. The company is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  LeBlanc is a veteran energy industry CFO. He has filled that role at East Resources -- now a unit of Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A  ) -- as well as�PostRock Energy (NASDAQ: PSTR  ) , and Range Resources, among others.

Top 5 Penny Companies To Own For 2015: China Ceramics Co. Ltd.(CCCL)

China Ceramics Co., Ltd. engages in the manufacture and sale of ceramic tiles used for exterior siding, interior flooring, and design in residential and commercial buildings primarily in the People's Republic of China. It offers porcelain tiles, glazed tiles, glazed porcelain tiles, rustic tiles, and ultra-thin tiles under the Hengda, Hengdeli, TOERTO, and WULIQIAO brand names. The company primarily sells its products through a distributor network, as well as directly to property developers. China Ceramics Co., Ltd. is based in Jinjiang City, the People's Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  China Ceramics Co (NASDAQ: CCCL) shares fell 2.40% to touch a new 52-week low of $1.63. China Ceramics shares have dropped 35.27% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 19.70% in the same period.

Top 5 Penny Companies To Own For 2015: Sirius XM Radio Inc.(SIRI)

Sirius XM Radio Inc. provides satellite radio services in the United States and Canada. It broadcasts a programming lineup of approximately 135 channels of commercial-free music, sports, news and information, talk and entertainment, traffic, and weather on subscription fee basis through two satellite radio systems in the United States; and holds an interest in the satellite radio services offered in Canada. The company also simulcasts music and selected non-music channels over the Internet; and offers applications to allow consumers to access its Internet services on mobile devices. As of December 31, 2010, it had 20,190,964 subscribers. In addition, the company designs, establishes specifications, sources or specifies parts and components, and manages various aspects of the logistics and production of satellite radios; licenses its technology to various electronics manufacturers to develop, manufacture, and distribute radios under various brands; and imports radios distri buted through its Websites. The company?s satellite radios are primarily distributed through automakers, retailers, and its Websites. Further, it provides music services for commercial establishments; a satellite television service to offer music channels as part of certain programming packages on the DISH Network satellite television service; music and comedy channels to mobile phone users through mobile phone carriers; Backseat TV, a service offering television content designed primarily for children in the backseat of vehicles; Travel Link, a suite of data services that include graphical weather, fuel prices, sports schedules and scores, and movie listings; and real-time traffic and weather services. The company was formerly known as Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and changed its name to Sirius XM Radio Inc. in August 2008. Sirius XM Radio Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Fried]

  Satellite radio giant Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI) is the world�� largest pay-radio service (a market leader in car radio service), with a market share of about 70% of new cars in the US and 25.6 million subscribers at the end of 2013.

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Finally, D. E. Shaw's biggest closed positions included Nexen and Mylan. Other closed positions of interest include Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) , which recently hit a five-year high, despite posting disappointing earnings in its last quarter. Still, revenue and earnings are growing at a double-digit rate, which remains attractive. A strong report from Ford�is promising for Sirius, as its radios are embedded in many vehicles. Bulls like the company's new personalized radio service, MySXM, too. Meanwhile, Sirius faces competition from Pandora�and even Google�has a music-streaming business now.

• [By Chris Neiger]

  Living the stream
  Take a quick look at these stats showing the popularity of digital music and online streaming:

  64% of teenagers prefer listening to music on Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) YouTube than from any other service. 53% of teens prefer Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) iTunes to other music destinations. Pandora (NYSE: P  ) streamed 13 billion hours of music in 2012. That's right, billions. SiriusXM (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) has more than 25 million subscribers. Warner Music Group received 25% of its digital revenue from music streaming last year. According to NPD, online radio services make up 23% of music listening for people ages 13 to 35, compared to 24% for AM/FM radio.

  But those are a just a few simple statistics -- the overall streaming market is about to get much more complicated.