10 Best Low Price Stocks To Own For 2014

With shares of Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) trading around $78, is WMT an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Wal-Mart operates retail stores in various formats around the world. The company’s slogan, “Everyday Low Prices,” is also its pricing philosophy, under which it prices items at a low price every day. Wal-Mart operates in three business segments: the Walmart U.S. segment, the Walmart International segment, and the Sam�� Club segment. It�operates retail stores, restaurants, discount stores, supermarkets, supercenters, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, apparel stores, Sam�’s Clubs, neighborhood markets, and other small formats, as well as Walmart.com and Samsclub.com. Through its retail channels, Wal-Mart is able to provide a variety of products and services at very affordable prices to consumers and companies worldwide. For consumers and businesses looking for one location that contains a wide variety of products and services, Wal-Mart is the spot and will continue to be well into the future.

Best Services Companies To Watch For 2015: Diamondcorp PLC (DCP)

DiamondCorp plc is a United Kingdom-based diamond producer. The Company�� 74%-owned Lace diamond mine is located 200 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg in the Free State Province of South Africa. The project comprises the Lace kimberlite. Approximately 33 million tons of kimberlite have been outlined in the main Lace pipe between the 240 meter and the 855 meter level, containing an estimated 13.3 million carats of diamonds at an average estimated grade of 40 carats per hundred tons (cpht). Its subsidiaries include Diamondcorp Holdings Limited, Botswana Diamondcorp Limited, Lace Diamond Mine (Pty) Limited, which is engaged in diamond exploration, Soapstone Investments (Pty) Limited and DCP Exploration (Pty) Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Perhaps bigger players like Occidental were able to hog the limited takeaway capacity, but this won't be a good reason for slowed production very soon. Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE: MMP  ) and DCP Midstream (NYSE: DCP  ) both have pipelines coming on line within the next couple of months that will have takeaway capacity of 225,000 and 350,000 barrels per day, respectively. Once these pipelines come on line, there should be much more room for LINN's production.�

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  Winners
  Given the current state of U.S. energy production, most midstream companies are winners these days. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP  ) got things started off on the right foot, reporting in mid-April and beating expectations on revenue and EPS. Here are some highlights from around the industry:

  Buckeye Partners (NYSE: BPL  ) �trounced analyst expectations on the top and bottom lines, and recorded a distribution coverage ratio of 1.21 times payouts, allowing the partnership to boost its distribution. DCP Midstream Partners' (NYSE: DCP  ) �distributable cash flow popped 40% year over year, and the partnership completed its Eagle Ford dropdown transaction with parent company DCP Midstream, boosting its stake in the lucrative South Texas shale play. Boardwalk Energy Partners' (NYSE: BWP  ) �operating revenue and net income increased 5% and 10% year over year. More importantly, distributable cash flow popped 24%, though the partnership elected to hold the distribution flat quarter over quarter. Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP  ) �had no distribution increase either, but things are looking better than they have in a while. Production in the Eagle Ford Shale is driving growth at ETP, and the partnership is reorganizing into an operation that is stronger and more diverse than ever before.

  Very strong results here, now let's take a look at some midstream companies that didn't perform as well.

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Own For 2014: Select Medical Holdings Corporation(SEM)

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiary, Select Medical Corporation, operates specialty hospitals and outpatient rehabilitation clinics in the United States. The company?s Specialty Hospitals segment offers long term acute care hospital services and inpatient acute rehabilitative hospital care. This segment provides services for various medical conditions, such as respiratory failure, neuromuscular disorders, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, strokes, non-healing wounds, cardiac disorders, renal disorders, and cancer. As of December 31, 2011, it operated 110 long term acute care hospitals and 9 inpatient rehabilitation facilities in 28 states. The Outpatient Rehabilitation segment operates clinics; and provides physical, occupational, and speech rehabilitation services. It offers medical rehabilitation services on a contract basis at nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living and senior care centers, schools, and worksites. This segment also pro vides specialized programs, such as functional programs for work related injuries, hand therapy, and athletic training services. As of December 31, 2011, it operated 954 outpatient rehabilitation clinics in 32 states and the District of Columbia. Select Medical Holdings Corporation was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  Patricia Rice
  Patricia Rice has held the position as president of Select Medical (NYSE: SEM  ) since 2005. She also served as chief operating officer for the company from 2005 until 2011. Select Medical is a leading provider of�long-term acute care, inpatient medical rehabilitation, outpatient physical therapy, and contract therapy. The company generated revenue of nearly $3 billion in 2012.

• [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 Select Medical Holdings (NYSE: SEM  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Overvalued companies include MWI Veterinary (MWIV) and�Stericycle (SRCL), while companies with attractive valuations include Cardinal Health (CAH), Selected Medical (SEM). He’s not a fan of Intrexon (XON) but calls�Aratana (PETX) a “hidden gem.”

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of Select Medical (NYSE: SEM  ) , an operator of specialty hospitals and outpatient rehabilitation centers, dipped as much as 14% after the company reported disappointing first-quarter results and provided an uninspiring full-year outlook.

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Own For 2014: Woori Finance Holdings Co Ltd (WF)

Woori Finance Holdings Co., Ltd., incorporated on March 27, 2001, is a financial holding company. The Company serves over 24 million corporate and retail customers with a range of financial services, including commercial banking, credit card, capital market, international banking, wealth management and bancassurance services. The Company�� domestic network consists of more than 1,300 branches and 8,500 cash terminals. Its banking subsidiaries include Woori Bank, Kwangju Bank and Kyongnam Bank. Its non-banking subsidiaries include Woori Investment & Securities, Woori AVIVA Life Insurance, Woori CS Asset Management, Woori Financial, Woori Finance Information System, Woori F&I and Woori Private Equity.The Company established a new wholly owned subsidiary, on March 16, 2011. The new entity is mainly engaged in banking business.

The Company�� products in retail banking include Low-Carbon Green Deposit, Mommy Relief Deposit, Plus Savings Deposit, Plus Revolving Time Deposit, Solid Success Time Installment Deposit and Happy Time Installment Deposit. Mommy Relief Deposit facilitates response to locate missing children; the fingerprints of children under 10 are digitally recorded by the bank and made instantly available nationwide if the child should go missing. Plus Savings Deposit is a fixed-interest installment-based time deposit account that offers preferential rates to customers who also apply for credit card products. It also provides bonus services for special occasions and foreign travel. Plus Revolving Time Deposit is a compound-interest time deposit especially for customers who want to access their funds in under three months. Solid Success Time Installment Deposit is a time installment deposit product for business owners. It offers a sliding scale of interest rates if the customer purchases additional products, such as a retirement annuity. Happy Time Installment Deposit is a fixed-interest time installment deposit account for individuals. It also provides extra services for occasio! ns, such as weddings, overseas trips and the birth of a child.

The Company provides one-stop services to corporate clients through joint account management by Woori Bank, Woori Investment & Securities, Woori CS Asset Management and Woori Private Equity. It also carries out various sales and marketing activities to promote its products and services to domestic companies of all sizes. The Company supports small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). In addition to financial products, it also provides professional consulting services. Woori Bank ahs developed the Woori Robot Era Loan and Woori Green Solar Loan. To help family-owned businesses, Woori Bank operates the Woori Family Business Succession Consulting program.

Woori Bank has an investment banking firm in Hong Kong. Woori Financial Group acts as a developer of client specific derivatives. Woori Bank acts as a dealer in overseas index products, including NIKKEI and HSCEI-indexed derivatives. The Bank also sells comForex, combining F/X and spot transactions. As of December 31, 2009, the Company had 9.3 million cardholders. Woori Financial Group provides its private banking clients with financial solutions. Woori Bank has consulting centers for private banking customers, which offers advice on taxes, real estate, asset management, overseas investments and financing solutions for emigrants and students studying abroad.

The Company provides wealth management solutions for its customers. Octo is the name of Woori Investment & Securities wealth management service for high-networth individuals. Octo customers can use a single platform to buy and sell equity-linked securities, bonds, repurchase agreements, bills and beneficiary certificates, and access their cash management accounts. The Company provides professional advice and a range of consumer insurance products to its clients. It offers a portfolio of 61 insurance products, which includes 35 life insurance, and 26 property and casualty. Woori CS Asset Management has! one exch! ange traded funds and 63 other products, including structured products, overseas asset funds and index funds.

Woori Finance Information System has developed integrated customer relationship management (CRM) and Groupware systems, information technology (IT) systems for Woori Bank�� overseas branches and a credit risk management system for Woori Investment & Securities. The Company also deployed a standardized asset & liability management system and an imaging system for managing utility bill payments. The Company has also integrated the IT infrastructure of Woori CS Asset Management, Woori AVIVA Life Insurance and Woori Financial into its system.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Question: Is Berkshire too big to fail? How about DF and how does it impact insurance and Wells Fargo (WF) and Goldman Sachs (GS)?

  Warren: It won�� affect it to my knowledge. Capital ratios for long banks at high levels and affects return on equity. Cap ratios increase and return on equity will increase. Banking in the U.S. is stronger than in the past 20 years. Compared to the EU or 20 years ago, it�� dramatically stronger. Don�� worry about banking being the cause of the next bubble. Usually we don�� get to a bubble the same way we got to the last one. I feel good about our investments at MNT and WFC. We won�� earn as much return on equity because the rules change.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Question: Is Berkshire too big to fail? How about DF and how does it impact insurance and Wells Fargo (WF) and Goldman Sachs (GS).

  Warren: It won�� affect it to my knowledge. Capital ratios for long banks at high levels and affects return on equity. Cap ratios increase and return on equity will increase. Banking in the U.S. is stronger than in the past 20 years. Compared to the EU or 20 years ago, it�� dramatically stronger. Don�� worry about banking being the cause of the next bubble. Usually we don�� get to a bubble the same way we got to the last one. I feel good about our investments at MNT and WFC. We won�� earn as much return on equity because the rules change.

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Own For 2014: Acme United Corp (ACU)

Acme United Corporation, incorporated in 1882, is a worldwide supplier of cutting, measuring and safety products to the school, home, office, hardware and industrial markets. It markets and sells under five main brands - Westcott, Clauss, Camillus, PhysiciansCare and Pac-Kit. The Company has grouped its operations into three segments based on the Company's geographical organization and structure: United States, which includes its Asian operations; Canada and Europe. On February 28, 2011, the Company purchased all of the assets of The Pac-Kit Safety Equipment Company, which is a manufacturer of first aid kits for the industrial, safety, transportation and marine markets. In June 2012, the Company acquired selected assets of The C-Thru Ruler Company. In August 2013, the Company purchased a manufacturing and distribution center in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

The Company's operations are in the United States, Canada, Europe (located in Germany) and Asia (located in Hong Kong and China). The operations in the United States, Canada and Europe are primarily engaged in product development, marketing, sales, administrative and distribution activities. The operations in Asia consist of sourcing, product development, production planning, quality control and sales activities.

Cutting

Principal products within the cutting device category are scissors, shears, guillotine paper trimmers, rotary paper trimmers, rotary cutters, knives, hobby knives and blades, utility knives, pruners, loppers, saws, manicure products, medical cutting instruments and pencil sharpeners. During the year ended December 31, 2011, products introduced included an expanded line of heavy duty school and office iPoint pencil sharpeners. Other recent product introductions included Westcott TrimAir paper trimmers with patented titanium coating and a blade change system for rotary and personal trimmers, Westcott Ultra Soft Handle scissors with anti-microbial product protection, True Professional sewing shear! s, as well as a line of iPoint pencil sharpeners utilizing the Company's non-stick coating. The Company also added to its KleenEarth family of recycled products by modifying the production process to allow for multi-colored products as opposed to the traditional black. During 2011, Clauss introduced the AirShoc line of titanium coated non stick garden tools.

Measuring

Principal products within the measuring instrument category are rulers, and math tools. During 2011, product introductions included Westcott branded compasses, protractors, rulers and math kits with anti-microbial product protection.

Safety

Principal products within the safety product category are first aid kits, personal protection products and over-the-counter medication refills. The Company markets these products under the PhysiciansCare brand.

The Company competes with Fiskars Corporation, Helix International Ltd. and Johnson and Johnson.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bristol Voss]

  Acme United (NYSE: ACU) is a global supplier of cutting, measuring and safety products to consumer and industrial markets. It has neatly tracked the S&P small-cap index and shown the least volatility of the three stocks. While its $43.7 million market cap is the lowest of the three, its nearly $14 share price is the highest. It has a forward P/E of 9.2, and its dividend yield is the best of the three at 2.3%. In its most recent quarter, Acme posted a 7% increase in net income and a 3% rise in earnings.

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Own For 2014: Ishares Trust Russell 1000 (IWF)

iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the large-capitalization growth sector of the United States equity market, as represented by the Russell 1000 Growth Index (the Growth Index). The Growth Index is a subset of the Russell 1000 Index. The Index is capitalization weighted, and consists of those companies, or portion of a company, with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth within the Russell 1000 Index. The Growth Index represents approximately 49% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 1000 Index.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Growth Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Growth Index. iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund's investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Brumley]

  It’s been especially untrue the last few years. Since this point in the year back in 2003, the iShares Russell 1000 Growth Fund (IWF) has advanced 81%, while the iShares Russell 1000 Value Fund (IWD) has only advanced 67%.

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Own For 2014: AIA Group Ltd (AAIGF.PK)

AIA Group Limited is an investment holding company. The Company and its subsidiaries are engaged in provision of products and services to individuals and businesses for their insurance, protection, savings, investment and retirement needs. The Company operates life insurance business, providing life, pensions, and accident and health products to customers in its local market, and distributes related investment and other financial services products. The Company serves more than 100,000 corporate clients with more than 13 million group insurance scheme members. It has operations in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Australia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Macau and Brunei. As of November 30, 2012, its subsidiaries included American International Assurance Company, Limited (AIA Co.), American International Assurance Company (Bermuda) Limited (AIA-B), AIA Australia Limited and PT AIA Financial, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Berkowitz�� top holdings continue to be: American International Group Inc. (AIG), AIA Group Ltd. (AAIGF.PK), Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (BAM).

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Own For 2014: West Pharmaceutical Services Inc.(WST)

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. manufactures and sells components and systems for injectable drug delivery and plastic packaging, and delivery system components for the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and consumer products industries. The company?s Packaging Systems segment provides packaging components and systems used in injectable drug delivery. This segment offers elastomeric stoppers and discs, elastomeric plungers, needle shields, tip caps, aluminum seals and removable plastic buttons, elastomeric components, flashback bulbs and sleeve stoppers, elastomer and co-molded elastomer/plastic components, non-filled syringe components, and dropper bulbs, as well as pharmaceutical containers, closures, and dispensers. This segment also provides laboratory and other services comprising extractables and leachables testing, package/container testing, method development/validation, stability testing, process development, and problem resolution. Its Delivery Systems segment offer s healthcare devices, such as ready-to-use prefilled syringe systems and sterile vials. This segment also offers sterile devices and electronic patch injector systems; passive safety needle systems, disposable auto-injector systems, and safety systems for prefilled syringes; and contract manufacturing services for personal care and consumer products, including infant nurser assemblies, closures for beverage containers, and child-resistant and tamper-evident closures and dispensers. In addition, this segment engages in contract manufacturing and assembling injection molded components and devices for surgical, ophthalmic, diagnostic, and drug delivery systems. The company distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, as well as through contract sales agents and regional distributors in the United States, Germany, France, and other European countries. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Lionville, Pennsylva nia.

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 West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE: WST  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Hot Supermarket Stocks To Watch For 2014

LONDON -- When weighing up a potential investment, it's useful to look forward rather than backward. If you buy a stake in a business, it's the future profits that count -- and the stock market will value your shares based on future expectations.

With that in mind, it can be helpful to review what expert City analysts are expecting a company to earn in the coming years. These expectations can be compared to the share price, to give you a better idea of how the stock market is valuing the business.

Today, I'm looking at the earnings per share (EPS) forecasts for�Tesco� (LSE: TSCO  ) (NASDAQOTH: TSCDY  ) , the FTSE 100 supermarket giant. All my figures are courtesy of S&P Capital IQ.

Analysts expect Tesco to earn 33 pence per share this year. Compared to today's share price of 380 pence, the market is valuing Tesco's shares on a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 11.5.

However, analysts are far from agreed on this year's estimates, with different experts forecasting earnings per share ranging widely between 21 pence, and 38 pence.

Best Transportation Stocks To Watch Right Now: Perrigo Company PLC (PRGO)

Perrigo Company plc, incorporated on March 23, 1988, is a global healthcare supplier that develops, manufactures and distributes over-the-counter (OTC) and generic prescription (Rx) pharmaceuticals, infant formulas, nutritional products, animal health, dietary supplements, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), and medical diagnostic products, and Multiple Sclerosis drug Tysabri. The Company�� businesses include Consumer Healthcare, Nutritionals, Rx Pharmaceuticals, API, Life Sciences and Other Businesses. The Company offers Healthcare Products across a range of product categories primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Israel and Australia, and distributes into dozens of other markets worldwide, including Canada, China and Latin America. In February 2014, the Company announced that it has acquired a basket of value-brand OTC products sold in Australia and New Zealand from Aspen Global Inc.

The Company operates through several wholly owned subsidiaries. In the United States, its operations are conducted primarily through L. Perrigo Company, Perrigo Company of South Carolina, Inc., Perrigo New York, Inc., PBM Products, LLC, PBM Nutritionals, LLC, Paddock Laboratories, LLC, Perrigo Diabetes Care, LLC (formerly CanAm Care, LLC), Sergeant's Pet Care Products, Inc. and Fidopharm, Inc. Outside the United States, its operations are conducted primarily through Perrigo Israel Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Chemagis Ltd., Quimica y Farmacia S.A. de C.V., Laboratorios Diba, S.A., Wrafton Laboratories Limited, Galpharm Healthcare Ltd., Orion Laboratories Pty Ltd and Rosemont Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Consumer Healthcare

Perrigo Consumer Healthcare (CHC) operation includes the Company's United States, United Kingdom and Mexico manufacturing operations supporting the sale of OTC pharmaceutical products. Perrigo CHC supplies more than 15 categories and 500 formulas and offers analgesics, cough and cold remedies, and gastrointestinal and feminine hygiene products, as w! ell as vitamins, dietary supplements and nutritional drinks. Perrigo offers a range of products, such advertised brand products as Tylenol, Advil or One-A-Day. Tylenol has acetaminophen as an active ingredient and is available in stores' analgesic (pain reliever) aisle. Store-brand acetaminophen is located next to the national brand, offering the same active ingredient (acetaminophen) and the same pain relief.

Perrigo Nutritionals

Perrigo is a manufacturer of nutrition products for the store brand market. Nutrition products include infant formula, pediatric nutritionals and vitamins, minerals, and supplements. Acquired by Perrigo, Perrigo Nutritionals, formerly PBM Products, LLC, had introduced private-label, or store-brand infant formulas to the United States. Perrigo Nutritionals is the supplier of store-brand infant formulas and nutrition products. With distribution to major retailers, Perrigo Nutritional products can be found in more than 40,000 retail locations around the world. Its pediatric nutritionals business extends its offerings to children well beyond infancy. Its baby cereals, toddler foods, and pediatric nutritional drinks are available as store brands at various retail locations throughout the United States and the international community. Perrigo manufactures a range of vitamins, minerals, and supplements, in every major segment of the business. Marketed under the store brand labels of the retailers in the food, drug, mass-merchandise and wholesale club channels, it manufactures over 395 formulas of dietary supplements. Its brands include Centrum, One-A-Day, Flintstones, and Osteo-Bi-Flex.

Rx Pharmaceuticals

The Company�� Rx Pharmaceuticals business is focused on the development, manufacture and sale of generic prescription drug products, primarily for the United States market. Manufacturing operations are based in the United States and Israel. Perrigo's portfolio focuses on complex, high-barrier ophthalmological, topical foam and or! al liquid! formulations. Its products include Acetylcysteine Injection 200 mg/mL (6g/30mL), Acetylcysteine Injection 6 g/30 mL (200 mg/1 mL), NOVAPLUS, ACTIDOSE with SORBITOL, ACTIDOSE-AQUA, ASPIRIN SUPPOSITORIES USP, Bacitracin Ophthalmic Ointment USP, Belladonna and Opium Suppositories C-II, BENZOIN COMPOUND TINCTURE USP, Benzoyl Peroxide 10% Acne Medication Wash, CLOBETASOL PROPIONATE LOTION 0.05% and Docusate Sodium.

Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients

Primarily through the Company�� Israel-based business, Perrigo develops, manufactures and markets the complex chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients used worldwide by the generic drug industry. Certain of these ingredients are also used in Perrigo's own pharmaceutical products. It manufactures API at facilities in Israel, India and China. Perrigo API specializes in tailor-made research and process development of APIs and Finished Dosage Forms (FDFs).

Life Sciences

Through the Company�� Israel-based business, Perrigo markets and manufactures branded prescription drugs and medical diagnostic products through exclusive agreements with pharmaceutical companies. Its Pharmaceutical and Medical Diagnostic Products businesses also market and manufacture branded prescription drugs under licenses. Other pharmaceutical and medical diagnostics products are imported to Israel through exclusive agreements. Products in life sciences segment include TYSABRI and ELND005. TYSABRI (natalizumab) is indicated for treatment of: Multiple Sclerosis: as monotherapy for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis to delay the accumulation of physical disability and reduce the frequency of clinical exacerbations. TYSABRI is recommended for patients who have had an inadequate response to, or are unable to tolerate, an alternate MS therapy; Crohn�� Disease (CD): Inducing and maintaining clinical response and remission in adult patients with moderately to severely active Crohn�� disease with e! vidence o! f inflammation who have had an inadequate response to, or are unable to tolerate, conventional CD therapies and inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor-伪.

Other

Perrigo's Pharmaceutical and Medical Diagnostic Products business markets and manufactures branded prescription drugs under licenses. Other pharmaceutical and medical diagnostic products are imported to Israel through exclusive agreements with pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies. This business is divided into two departments: Pharma-Israel and Tayco Diagnostics. Pharma-Israel operates in the Israeli market as a partner in the marketing, sales and distribution of Rx (dermatology, gastroenterology, blood products, CNS, urology and other fields), OTC, generics, branded generics, dermo-cosmetics and dietary supplements. Tayco, the diagnostics division of Perrigo-Israel Pharmaceuticals Ltd., specializes in marketing and sales of medical laboratory systems, reagents, accessories and consumables. It also markets self-monitoring medical devices for diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. The division operates throughout Israel to service the central laboratory, hospital, clinic, point of care and self-testing markets. Its activities in the medical and research fields in Israel cover all market segments: medical (private and public health services), research institutions and the biotech industry.

The Company competes with Dr. Reddy�� Laboratories, Ltd., Actavis Inc., Aaron Industries, Inc., Ohm Laboratories, Inc., PL Developments, LNK International, Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Mead Johnson Nutrition Co., Nestle S.A. (Gerber), Danone Baby Nutrition, Bayer AG, Pfizer, Inc., Rexall Sundown, Inc., Apotex, Glenmark Generics Inc., Impax, Prasco, Sandoz, Taro Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Triax Pharmaceuticals, and Zydus Pharmaceuticals.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Johnson Research Group]

  Expect to see the shorts��resolve start to break as CERN stock cracks the $60 level, sparking a short squeeze.

  Short Squeeze Candidate #2: Perrigo (PRGO)

  
  Click to Enlarge Another classic setup for a short squeeze is the activity that we��e seeing in Perrigo (PRGO).

• [By Meg Tirrell]

  There have been 44 acquisitions of specialty drug companies for more than $500 million in the last three years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The average disclosed size was $1.2 billion and average premium was 20 percent, the data show. The largest deal was Perrigo Co. (PRGO)�� purchase of Elan Corp. for $6.2 billion earlier this year.

Hot Supermarket Stocks To Watch For 2014: Liquidity Services Inc.(LQDT)

Liquidity Services, Inc. operates various online auction marketplaces for surplus and salvage assets in the United States. Its auction marketplaces include liquidation.com, which enables corporations and selected government agencies located in the United States to sell surplus and salvage consumer goods and capital assets; govliquidation.com that enables government agencies to sell surplus and scrap assets; govdeals.com, which enables local and state government entities, including city, county, and state agencies, as well as school boards and public utilities located in the United States to sell surplus and salvage assets. The company also operates secondipity.com that provides consumers a source of products and a socially conscious online experience through donating a portion of the proceeds of every sale to charity; and truckcenter.com, a marketplace for the sale of idle, surplus, and used fleet and transportation equipment. Its marketplaces provide professional buyers a ccess to supply of surplus and salvage assets presented with customer focused information, including digital images and other relevant product information along with services to complete the transaction; and enable corporate and government sellers to enhance their financial return on excess assets by providing liquid marketplaces and value-added services that integrate sales and marketing, logistics, and transaction settlement. The company offers approximately 500 products organized into various categories, including consumer electronics, general merchandise, apparel, scientific equipment, aerospace parts and equipment, technology hardware, energy equipment, industrial capital assets, fleet and transportation equipment, and specialty equipment. Liquidity Services, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Technology shares dropped by 0.14 percent in the US market today. Among the sector stocks, Liquidity Services (NASDAQ: LQDT) was down more than 11.2 percent, while Silicon Image (NASDAQ: SIMG) tumbled around 6.7 percent.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Liquidity Services (NASDAQ: LQDT) shares fell 1.02% to reach a new 52-week low of $17.50. Liquidity Services is expected to report its Q2 results on May 8, 2014.

• [By Rich Smith]

  Liquidity Services is drying up
  Shares of surplus, scrap, and salvage merchandise liquidator Liquidity Services (NASDAQ: LQDT  ) are getting vaporized Monday, down nearly 4% as of this writing. For this, you can (at least partly)�blame analysts at the Benchmark Company, who cut their price target on Liquidity to $47.

• [By Will Ashworth]

  Either way, ARO stock could be due for big gains. It�� a gamble I�� be willing to take.

  Small Caps to Buy #2: Liquidity Services (LQDT)

  If you��e a business or government agency,�Liquidity Services (LQDT) might be who you go to in order to sell surplus assets.

Hot Supermarket Stocks To Watch For 2014: Abercrombie & Fitch Company(ANF)

Abercrombie & Fitch Co., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of casual apparel for men, women, and kids. The company sells casual sportswear apparel, including knit and woven shirts, graphic t-shirts, fleece, jeans and woven pants, shorts, sweaters, and outerwear; personal care products; and accessories under the Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, and Hollister brands. It also offers bras, underwear, sleepwear, and at-home products for girls under the Gilly Hicks brand. The company sells products through its stores; direct-to-consumer operations; and Websites, which comprise abercrombie.com, abercrombiekids.com, hollisterco.com, and gillyhicks.com. As of October 29, 2011, it operated a total of 1,092 stores, including 316 Abercrombie & Fitch stores, 179 abercrombie kids stores, 501 Hollister Co. stores, and 18 Gilly Hicks stores in the United States; and 10 Abercrombie & Fitch stores, 4 abercrombie kids stores, 63 Hollister Co. stores, and 1 Gill y Hicks store internationally. The company was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in New Albany, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  With the Phil Robertson, A&E and Duck Dynasty controversy raging, Faith Driven Consumer has�created an online petition at istandwithphil.com�for those who�support Phil�� side in the controversy, but the group has also come out with a faith based rating system for major companies with publicly traded stocks like�Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE), Victoria's Secret or L Brands Inc (NYSE: LB) and Walgreen Company (NYSE: WAG) scoring�the lowest�because they lean strongly against a���iblical world view��(See my previous articles: Large Cap Stocks Leaning Toward a Biblical World View: A Good Investment? BBBY, DG, FDO, KSS & LOW; Small�Cap Stocks Leaning Toward a Biblical World View: A Good Investment? BLKIB, ARO, SMRT & ZLC). But what about the�share performance for these�stocks?

• [By CNNMoney Staff]

  Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) shares surged after the clothing retailer raised its earnings guidance for the year.

  --CNNMoney's Annalyn Kurtz contributed

Hot Supermarket Stocks To Watch For 2014: Equifax Inc. (EFX)

Equifax Inc. collects, organizes, and manages various financial, demographic, employment, and marketing information solutions for businesses and consumers. The company�s U.S. Consumer Information Solutions segment provides consumer information services, such as credit information, credit scoring, credit modeling, locate, fraud detection and prevention, identity verification, and other consulting services; mortgage loan origination information, appraisal, title, and closing services; consumer financial marketing services; and identity management services. Its International segment provides information services products, which include consumer and commercial services, such as credit and financial information, and credit scoring and modeling services; and credit and other marketing products and services. The company�s Workforce Solutions segment offers employment, income, and social security number verification services, as well as employment tax and talent management servi ces. Its North America Personal Solutions segment sells credit information, credit monitoring, and identity theft protection products directly to consumers through the Internet and hard-copy formats. The company�s North America Commercial Solutions segment offers commercial products and services comprising business credit and demographic information, credit scores, and portfolio analytics, which are derived from its databases of business credit, financial, and demographic information. It serves customers in financial services, mortgage, human resources, consumer, commercial, telecommunications, retail, automotive, utilities, brokerage, healthcare, and insurance industries; and state and federal governments. The company has operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, the United States, and the Republic of Ireland. Equifax Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Atla nta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By U.S. News]

  Alamy Everyone makes mistakes and credit bureaus are no exception. In fact, a Federal Trade Commission study last year found that one in four consumer credit reports contain errors -- these include everything from minor mistakes to outrageous oversights. It's important to know what to look for when you're checking for mistakes in your credit reports. There are three types: identity errors, incorrect account details and fraudulent accounts. 1. Identity errors. The three major credit bureaus are Equifax (EFX), Experian and TransUnion. Each bureau maintains its own database of consumer data, including personal information, account information and payment history. This information is included in your credit reports. From time to time, a credit bureau -- or all three -- will get some information wrong. Some of these errors are minor. For instance, one bureau might have your street address incorrect. It's annoying, but it won't hurt your credit. Other times, it's a more serious error: Your name could become mixed up with someone else's, and you could begin seeing some of his accounts on your credit report. This will affect your credit either positively or negatively, depending on his payment history. 2. Incorrect account details. Sometimes the bank or lender providing information about your accounts to the credit bureaus gets things wrong. On the other hand, the credit bureau could incorrectly process the information provided. For instance, your credit card could be displaying the wrong credit limit, your mortgage might have the incorrect origination date or your auto loan could show as "open" when it's clearly been closed. 3. Fraudulent accounts. This is the most serious error out there, since it means someone has used your identity -- including your name, Social Security number and other personal data -- to open and begin using an account. If there's a line of credit on your credit report that you didn't open, you'll want to move quickly to ensure that th

Hot India Stocks To Own For 2015

Hot India Stocks To Own For 2015: Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd(RDY)

Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a pharmaceutical company. It produces finished dosage forms, active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, and biotechnology products. The company also conducts research in the areas of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, inflammation, and bacterial infection. In addition, it involves in the contract manufacture generic prescription and over-the-counter products for branded and generic companies in the United States. The company primarily focuses on therapeutic categories of cardiovascular, diabetes management, gastro-intestinal, and pain management. It markets its products in India, the United States, Europe, and the Russian Federation. The company has a co-development and commercialization agreement with Rheoscience A/S for the development and commercialization of Balaglitazone/DRF 2593, a partial PPAR-gamma agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes; an agreement with ClinTec Internatio nal for the development of an anti-cancer compound, DRF 1042; collaboration with the National Cancer Institute in Maryland; and an agreement with Argenta Discovery Limited for the joint development and commercialization of a novel approach to the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It also has an agreement with 7TM Pharma for drug discovery collaboration on selected drug targets; and an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline plc to develop and market pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, oncology, gastroenterology, and pain management. Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Hyderabad, India.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Benjamin Shepherd] We’re now into day 15 of the US government shutdown, as House Republicans stubbornly try to defund Obamacare. No matter what sort of deal is eventually struck, health care costs aren’t likely to come down! any time soon. And that’s good news for generic drug makers.
  
  Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) is one of the biggest players in generic drugs, offering more than 200 off-brand medications in the areas of cardiovascular disease, pain management and oncology, among others. In fact, this India-based company has become one of the largest makers of generics in the world, helping to drive more than 20 percent annual compounded earnings growth at the company over the past decade.
• [By Monica Gerson]

  Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.52 per share.

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

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Teva has dropped 7.7% to $37.85 today at 3:23 p.m. but doesn’t seem to be spreading though the generic drug space. Taro Pharmaceuticals (TARO) ha gained 1.1% to $79, while Actavis (ACT) has gained 1.2% to $156.25 and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (RDY) has advanced 1% to $40.24. Mylan (MYL) has dropped 0.7% to $38.40.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY  ) reported earnings on May 14. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q4), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/hot-india-stocks-to-own-for-2015.html

Top US Stocks To Own For 2014

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

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

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

Top 10 Sliver Companies To Watch In Right Now: Humana Inc.(HUM)

Humana Inc. offers various health and supplemental benefit plans in the United States. Its Government segment consists of beneficiaries of government benefit programs; and operates in three lines of businesses, including Medicare, Military, and Medicaid. The Medicare program provides hospital and medical insurance benefits to persons of age 65 and over and some disabled persons under the age of 65. The Military program offers health insurance coverage to the dependents of duty military personnel, and to retired military personnel and their dependents. The Medicaid program is a federal program that is state-operated to facilitate the delivery of health care services primarily to low-income residents. The Commercial segment consists of members enrolled in its medical and specialty products marketed to employer groups and individuals. This segment provides health maintenance organization products that offer prepaid health insurance coverage to its members through a network of independent primary care physicians, specialty physicians, and other health care providers; preferred provider organization products, which are offered primarily to employer groups and individuals; and administrative services only products that are provided to employers who self-insure their employee health plans. It also offers various specialty products, including dental, vision, and other supplemental products, as well as disease management services. As of December 31, 2010, Humana Inc. had approximately 10.2 million members enrolled in medical benefit plans; and approximately 7.1 million members enrolled in specialty products programs. The company markets its products through various channels comprising television, radio, the Internet, telemarketing, and direct mailings. In addition, it has strategic alliances with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.; State Farm; and United Services Automobile Association to market its products. The company was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brandy Betz]

  And it was the reversal of a seemingly adverse change behind a health plans rally last week. After an unfavorable government reimbursement decision for Medicare Advantage plans was reversed, shares of Humana (NYSE: HUM  ) and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH  ) surged to finish up 13% and 9% for the week, respectively.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Maybe Obamacare won't be so bad after all as health insurance provider Humana (NYSE: HUM  ) says it's expecting 2013 to be a very good year, certainly better than what it thought just three months ago, because after a strong first quarter, it's raising its full-year guidance.�

• [By Victor Reklaitis and Barbara Kollmeyer]

  Humana (HUM) posted third-quarter earnings of $2.31 a share versus $2.62 a year ago. Analysts had been expecting EPS of $2.15 a share and the stock lost 3% in premarket trading.

• [By Sean Williams]

  On one hand, and in all fairness to Obamacare, when was the last time we saw any multibillion-dollar overhaul cost less than initially projected? Then again, these 73% have viable concerns, given that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, reversed a recommendation last month to boost Medicare Advantage reimbursements by 3.3% instead of dropping them by 2.3% as it initially recommended in February. The move, the CMS claims, was made after it recalculated how doctors were being paid. However, it also came on the heels of lobbying attempts by the insurance industry and about 160 lawmakers. If the cost of Obamacare goes well over budget, that'll be great news for Humana (NYSE: HUM  ) �Humana generates 63% of its revenue from Medicare Advantage plans, which are supplemental health plans purchased by seniors to help offset the costs not covered by Medicare. If the government is unable to lower reimbursements to these companies, then Humana may have little to worry about.�

Top US Stocks To Own For 2014: Implant Sciences Corp (IMSC)

Implant Sciences Corporation (Implant Sciences), incorporated in August 31,1984, develops, manufactures and sells sensors and systems for the security, safety and defense (SS&D) industries. Its technologies are used worldwide in security and inspection applications. Implant Sciences has developed technologies used in explosives trace detection (ETD), and and narcotics trace detection (NTD) applications and market and sell handheld ETD and benchtop ETD and NTD systems that use its technologies. The systems are used by private companies and Government agencies to screen baggage, cargo, vehicles, other objects and people for the detection of trace amounts of explosives. Implant Sciences have developed explosives detection systems designed for use in aviation and transportation security, high threat facilities and infrastructure, military installations, customs and border protection, and mail and cargo screening. The systems use the Quantum Sniffer technologies, including photon-based, non-radioactive ion source in combination with ion mobility spectrometry, a detection tool sensitive to the speeds with which ions of various substances move through the air to electronically detect minute quantities of explosives vapor and particles.

Quantum Sniffer QS-H150 Portable Explosives Detector

The Quantum Sniffer QS-H150 Portable Explosives Detector employs a vortex collector for the simultaneous detection of explosives particulates and vapors with or without physical contact and in real-time. The QS-HS150 can detect vapors and nanogram quantities of explosives particulates for explosives substances considered to be threats. The substances include military and commercial explosives, improvised and homemade explosives, and propellants and taggants.

The QS-H150 has automatic and continuous self-calibration. It monitors its environment, senses changes that would affect its accuracy, and re-calibrates accordingly. The system requires no user intervention and no calibration cons! umables. The detection process begins with the collection of a sample with its vortex collector. After collection, the sample is ionized photonically and analyzed using ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) technology. The presence of a threat substance is indicated by a visible and audible alarms. The threat substance is then identified and displayed on the integrated liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. When detecting a threat substance, the QS-H150 rapidly alarms. This real-time detection limits equipment contamination and allows for fast clear-down.

Quantum Sniffer QS-B220 Benchtop Explosives and Narcotics Detector

QS-B220 Benchtop Explosives and Narcotics Detector uses dual IMS with non-radioactive ionization for the detection and identification of a range of military, commercial, and improvised explosives as well as narcotics. The QS-B220 uses a sample trap which is wiped on the surface to be interrogated for explosives or narcotics particles.

The QS-B220 has automatic and continuous self-calibration. It monitors its environment, senses changes that would affect its accuracy, and re-calibrates accordingly.

Quantum Sniffer TM QS-Hx Portable Explosives Detector

The Company is focusing in developing a next-generation handheld detector that will use dual IMS non-radioactive ionization for the detection and identification of a range of military, commercial and improvised explosives, as well as narcotics. The QS-Hx will have automatic and continuous self-calibration, multi-level password-protected data security and will include a data management interface with data export to a network for recordkeeping, providing a link with the central command centers and logistics systems used by carriers.

Miniature Mass Spectrometer

The Company�� acquisition of Ion Metrics enabled it to obtain miniaturized quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS) detector technology. The QMS detector is roughly the size of an AA battery and has low manufactur! ing costs! . When used in conjunction with an IMS, the QMS detector senses the molecular weight of the chemical species resulting in an orthogonal detection method in which a more fundamental characteristic of a substance is measured. It is developing interfaces for integrating the QMS detector into its future products.

Hyphenated Detectors

Depending on the application and the number of interfering background chemicals, it may be necessary to incorporate additional orthogonal detection methods. The combination of multiple sensors in series is known as employing hyphenated methods. By measuring different properties of the same species, interferents are separated from target species for a deterministic detection and identification and have minimum rates of false alarms. It is developing hyphenated systems employing conventional ion mobility, differential mobility and quadrupole mass spectrometry. As of June 30, 2012, it has one patent issued in real-time trace detection by IMS and QMS and two hyphenated system patents pending.

The Company competes with Morpho Detection, Inc., NucTech Company Limited and Smiths Detection, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  It's not an uncompetitive market. Names like Implant Sciences Corporation (OTCMKTS:IMSC) and NXT-ID (OTCBB:NXTD) are battling in the security and facility-defense arena as well; IMSC makes explosives-detection and drug-detection hardware, while NXTD designs 3D image-rendering software that caters to the unique needs of prison security personnel, though the same technology has been proven in more traditional functions like building-security systems that keep certain people out rather than in. Neither Implant Sciences nor NXT-ID compete directly head-to-head with View Systems, however ... fortunately for them. See, VSYM is considered by some to be the best in the industry.

Top US Stocks To Own For 2014: Sealed Air Corporation(SEE)

Sealed Air Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides food safety and security, facility hygiene, and product protection solutions worldwide. Its Food Packaging segment provides shrink bags and vacuum packaging products; packaging materials for cook-in applications; laminated and coextruded rollstock packaging materials used in thermoforming and form, fill, and seal applications; and associated packaging equipment and systems, including bag loaders, dispensers, and vacuum chamber systems. The company?s Food Solutions segment offers case-ready packaging offerings; ready meals packaging technologies; vertical pouch packaging solutions for packaging flowable food products; foam and plastic trays; absorbent products for food packaging; and related packaging equipment, including vacuum chamber systems. Its Protective Packaging segment provides air cellular packaging materials; polyolefin performance shrink films for product display; shrink packaging equipment systems; pol yurethane foam packaging systems that provide protective packaging; lightweight and tear-resistant mailers and bags; inflatable packaging systems; paper cushioning systems that include recycled paper and automated dispensing equipment; paper packaging products; and suspension and retention packaging products. The company?s Diversey Segment offers a range of products and services, such as kitchen cleaning products; food and beverage and manufacturing and processing products; floor care products and systems; restroom care and other housekeeping products; and laundry products, as well as consulting services. Sealed Air Corporation also provides specialty materials products to fabricators and manufacturers; and medical applications products and solutions to medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. The company markets its products primarily under the Bubble Wrap, Cryovac, and Diversey brands. Sealed Air Corporation was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in El mwood Park, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Sealed Air�(SEE) has fallen 0.7% to $28.35 after the food-safety company was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at�Barclays.

  Towers Watson�(TW) has dropped 0.5% to $102.49 after it was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan. It was also upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Basic Materials: Sealed Air Corp. (NYSE: SEE) is top pick at other firms that we cover on Wall Street as well. Credit Suisse believes that following the recent (October) management change at the company, Sealed Air will significantly improve its profitability and cash flows while also deleveraging its sizable debt load, with both of these things driving significant shareholder value. The price target for the stock is posted at $36. The Thomson/First Call estimate is at $33. Investors are paid a 1.9% dividend. Credit Suisse is the high target on Wall Street and would represent a 31% gain for investors. The stock closed Tuesday at $27.48.

Top US Stocks To Own For 2014: United Continental Holdings Inc.(UAL)

United Continental Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of passenger and cargo air transportation services. As of February 24, 2011, it operated a total of approximately 5,675 flights a day to 372 airports on 6 continents from their hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo, as well as in Washington, D.C. The company was formerly known as UAL Corporation and changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc. on October 1, 2010. United Continental Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Back on July 8, Morgan Stanley’s John Godyn predicted that United Continental (UAL) would execute a turnaround before JetBlue (JBLU). If today’s earnings are anything to go by, that appears to be a good call.

  Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

  Today, United Continental said it earned $2.34 a share, beating topping the Street consensus for $2.15, on sales of $10.33, narrowly beating forecasts for $10.31 billion. United Continental also said it would buy back $1 billion of its shares over the next three years. JetBlue, on the other hand, reported a profit of 19 cents share, meeting analyst forecasts, while revenue came in at $1.49 billion, below forecasts for $1.51 billion.

  Shares of United Continental have gained 3.2% to $47.88 at 11:02 a.m., while JetBlue has dipped 0.3% to $11.24.

  Cowen’s Helane Becker and Conor Cunningham zero in on United Continental’s third-quarter guidance:

  United has historically lagged its major competitors in PRASM growth; 3Q14 could signify a turning point as management forecasts 3Q14 PRASM growth of 2% to 4%, compared to our estimate of 2% and in line with Delta’s (DAL) forecast. We consider this guide a major positive for the company as we have long been concerned about the company’s PRASM deficiencies…

  In conjunction with earnings, United announced a $1 Bn (~6% of the company market cap) share repurchase program to be completed over the next three years. This announcement is two quarters earlier than our expectations. We believe the company could quickly complete this repurchase program well before the three year time frame.

  United Continental has gained 15% so far in July, easily outperforming Delta’s 1.2% rise and JetBlue’s 3.7% advance.

• [By Burke Speaker, Investorplace Writer United Airlines (UAL]

  United Airlines (UAL) announced that it will honor the airline tickets it accidentally sold online Thursday to customers for free or for between $5 and $10.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  United Continental's (NYSE: UAL  ) flagship carrier United Airlines is hoping that comfort will win it some high-end business. The company announced today that 182 of its aircraft that fly international routes from the New York City region will be equipped with 180-degree flat-bed seats in its premium cabins.

Top US Stocks To Own For 2014: Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings(LH)

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as an independent clinical laboratory company in the United States. The company offers a range of testing services used by the medical profession in routine testing, patient diagnosis, and in the monitoring and treatment of disease, as well as specialty testing services. Its routine tests include blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid tests, Pap tests, HIV tests, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests. The company?s specialty tests and related services comprise viral load measurements, genotyping and phenotyping, and host genetic factors for managing and treating HIV infections; cytogenetic, molecular cytogenetic, biochemical, and molecular genetic tests for diagnostic genetics; oncology tests for diagnosing and monitoring certain cancers and treatments; clinical trials testing for pharmaceutical companies, which conducts clinical research trials on diag nostic assays; forensic identity testing used in criminal proceedings and parentage evaluation services, as well as testing services in reconstruction cases; allergy testing; and occupational testing for the detection of drug and alcohol abuse. Its customers include independent physicians and physician groups, hospitals, managed care organizations, governmental agencies, employers, pharmaceutical companies, and other independent clinical laboratories. The company operates a network of 51 primary laboratories and approximately 1,700 patient service centers. In addition, it delivers a co-branded electronic health records Lite solution for physician practices. The company works with university, hospital, and academic institutions, such as Duke University, The Johns Hopkins University, the University of Minnesota, and Yale University to license and commercialize new diagnostic tests. Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Burlingto n, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines include upgrades for both AMC Networks (NASDAQ: AMCX  ) and Bankrate (NYSE: RATE  ) , but a downgrade for LabCorp Holdings (NYSE: LH  ) . Let's dive right in.

• [By Daniel Lauchheimer]

  EXAS began their pivotal DeeP-C trial earlier this year, with 10,000 patients enrolled around the USA. Success in this trial formed a pivotal fulcrum for EXAS -- success would mean commercialization, and revenue, but failure means, well failure. In April, EXAS submitted the final module of this trial, and it reported significantly worse results than expected causing the company to sink 40%. Additionally, as reported in a detailed five part series, Seeking Alpha Contributor Alpha Exposure reported on the inflated numbers both in terms of scientific research data and market projections -- yet another reason to give investors pause before they decide to invest in EXAS. Additionally, EXAS has not formed a meaningful partnership with other molecular diagnostic companies. True, it formed a partnership with LabCorp (LH), but this partnership doesn't focus on the heart of EXAS product (and thus provide it with a measure of validation), but on a commercialization post approval.

Top US Stocks To Own For 2014: SPDR S&P International Consumer Discretionary Sector ETF (IPD)

SPDR S&P International Consumer Discretionary Sector ETF (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the total return performance of the S&P Developed Ex-U.S. BMI Consumer Discretionary Sector Index (the Index), an index that tracks the consumer discretionary sector of developed global markets outside the United States. The Index represents the non-United States consumer discretionary sub-industry of developed countries included in the S&P Broad Market Index (the Global BMI Index). The Global BMI Index captures the full universe of institutionally investable stocks in developed and emerging markets with float-adjusted market capitalizations of at lease $100 million. The Fund�� investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WilliamBriat]

  The SPDR S&P International Consumer Discretionary Sector (NYSE: IPD) is an ETF that tracks the consumer discretionary sector of developed global markets. Holdings include luxury brand stock juggernaut LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SA and Swedish luxury brand stock multinational retail clothing company H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB.

Top US Stocks To Own For 2014: Lucara Diamond Corp (LUCRF.PK)

Lucara Diamond Corp. (Lucara) is a diamond development company focused in Africa. The business of Lucara consists of the acquisition, exploration and development of diamond properties. The principal assets of Lucara and the focus of Lucara�� development and exploration activities are its interest in mining, exploration and prospecting diamond licenses in Lesotho, Botswana and Namibia. The Company�� project Mothae Diamond Project is located in northeast Lesotho. In May 2010, it commenced test mining in Mothae Diamond Project-Lesotho. Mothae Diamonds (PTY) Ltd (Mothae Diamonds), an indirect 75% owned subsidiary of the Company, holds a 100% interest in the Mothae project. As of March 23, 2011, a total of 175,000 dry tons had been processed from the C domain, producing 5,484 carats at an average grade of 3.13 carats per hundred tons. In December 2010, the Company completed the acquisition of African Diamonds PLC, upon which Lucara indirectly owns 100% of the AK6 Diamond Project. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Leonard]

  Lucara Diamond (LUCRF.PK) is still being valued as a riskier exploration stage miner rather than a profitable and growing producer. The current "backward looking" valuation fails to reflect the recent and significant operational transition.

Top Oil Companies To Invest In 2015

Top Oil Companies To Invest In 2015: CVR Energy Inc (CVI)

CVR Energy, Inc. (CVR Energy), incorporated September 2006, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, acts as an independent petroleum refiner and marketer of transportation fuels in the mid-continental United States. In addition, the Company, through its majority-owned subsidiaries, acts as an independent producer and marketer of nitrogen fertilizer products in North America. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned the general partner and approximately 70% of CVR Partners, LP (the Partnership), a limited partnership which produces nitrogen fertilizers in the form of ammonia and an aqueous solution of urea and ammonium nitrate used as a fertilizer (UAN). The Company operates in two segments: the petroleum segment and the nitrogen fertilizer segment. On December 15, 2011, the Company acquired Gary-Williams Energy Corporation and its subsidiaries (GWEC).

Petroleum Business

The Company operates a 115,000 barrels per day complex full coking medium-sou r crude oil refinery in Coffeyville, Kansas and, as of December 15, 2011, a 70,000 barrels per day crude oil unit refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. Its combined production capacity represents approximately 15% of its region's output during the year ended December 31, 2011. The Coffeyville facility is situated on approximately 440 acres in southeast Kansas, approximately 100 miles from Cushing, Oklahoma, a crude oil trading and storage hub. The Wynnewood facility is situated on approximately 400 acres located approximately 65 miles south of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and approximately 130 miles from Cushing, Oklahoma. During 2011, its Coffeyville refinery's product yield included gasoline (mainly regular unleaded) (44%), diesel fuel (42%), and pet coke and other refined products, such as natural gas liquids (NGL) (propane and butane), slurry, sulfur and gas oil (14%). Its Wynnewood refin! ery's product yield included gasoline (54%), diesel fuel (31%), asphalt (6%), jet fuel (3%) an d other products (6%) during 2011.

The Company! owns and operates a crude oil gathering system serving Kansas, Oklahoma, western Missouri and southwestern Nebraska. The system has field offices in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Plainville, Kansas and Winfield, Kansas. The system consists of approximately 350 miles of feeder and trunk pipelines, 100 trucks, and associated storage facilities for gathering sweet crude oils purchased from independent crude oil producers in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri. It also leases a section of a pipeline from Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (Magellan), which is incorporated into its crude oil gathering system. During 2011, the Company's crude oil gathering system had a gathering capacity of approximately 38,000 barrels per day. During 2011, it gathered an average of approximately 35,000 barrels per day.

CVR Energy owns a pipeline system capable of transporting approximately 145,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Caney, Kansas to its refinery. Crude oils sourced out side of its gathering system are delivered by common carrier pipelines into various terminals in Cushing, Oklahoma, where they are blended and then delivered to Caney, Kansas via a pipeline owned by Plains Pipeline L.P. (Plains). The Company also owns associated crude oil storage tanks with a capacity of approximately 1.2 million barrels located outside its Coffeyville refinery, 0.5 million barrels of crude oil storage at Wynnewood, Oklahoma, and lease an additional 3.3 million barrels of storage capacity located at Cushing, Oklahoma and other locations. In addition to crude oil storage, it owns approximately 4.5 million barrels of combined refinery related storage capacity.

CVR Energy has access to foreign crude oil from Latin America, South America, West Africa, the Middle East, the North Sea and Canada. It purchases domestic crude oil from Kansas, Oklahoma, N! ebraska, ! Texas, North Dakota, Missouri, and offshore deepwater Gulf of Mexico production. During 2011 , its Coffeyville crude oil supply blend consisted of approx! imately 8! 0% light sweet crude oil, 2% light/medium sour crude oil and 18% heavy sour crude oil. During 2011, Wynnewood's crude oil supply blend consisted of approximately 88% sweet crude oil and 12% light/medium sour crude oil.

During 2011, approximately 35% of the Coffeyville refinery's products were sold through the rack system directly to retail and wholesale customers, while the remaining 65% was sold through pipelines via bulk spot and term contracts. The Company makes bulk sales (sales into third party pipelines) into the mid-continent markets via Magellan and into Colorado and other destinations utilizing the product pipeline networks owned by Magellan, Enterprise Products Operating, L.P. (Enterprise) and NuStar Energy, LP (NuStar). Approximately 60% of the Wynnewood refinery's finished products sold are distributed in Oklahoma. Customers for its petroleum products include other refiners, convenience store companies, railroads and farm cooperatives.

The Company competes with BP, Conoco Phillips, HollyFrontier, NCRA, Valero, Flint Hills Resources, CHS and Shell.

Nitrogen Fertilizer Business

The nitrogen fertilizer business, operated by the Partnership, is the nitrogen fertilizer plant in North America. It utilizes a pet coke gasification process to produce nitrogen fertilizer. The nitrogen fertilizer facility's primary input is pet coke. The nitrogen fertilizer facility includes a 1,225 ton-per-day ammonia unit, a 2,025 ton-per-day UAN unit and a gasifier complex having a capacity of 84 million standard cubic feet per day. Linde LLC (Linde) owns, operates, and maintains the air separation plant that provides contract volumes of oxygen, nitrogen and compressed dry air to the gasifier for a monthly fee.

The primary geographic markets for the nitrogen fertilizer business' fer! tilizer p! roducts are Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Colorado and Texas. The nitrogen fertilizer bu siness markets the ammonia products to industrial and agricu! ltural cu! stomers and the UAN products to agricultural customers. The nitrogen fertilizer business sells ammonia to agricultural and industrial customers. Agricultural customers include distributors such as MFA, United Suppliers, Inc., Brandt Consolidated Inc., Gavilon Fertilizer LLC, Transammonia, Inc., Agri Services of Brunswick, LLC, Interchem and CHS Inc. Industrial customers include Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc., National Cooperative Refinery Association, and Dyno Nobel, Inc. The nitrogen fertilizer business sells UAN products to retailers and distributors.

The Company competes with Agrium, Koch Nitrogen, Potash Corporation and CF Industries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Susan J. Aluise]

  The company, whose earnings have been blistered by low natural gas prices, has reworked its business model to focus more on boosting profitability in its regulated utility operations. That’s a solid strategy for FE, given the state of the energy market. Also, the bad news has been priced in, providing a potentially attractive entry point for investors.

  CVR Energy (CVI)

  CVR Energy (CVI) stock is down 9% since Jan. 2. CVI stock has a lofty dividend yield of 8%, and its valuation is attractive now with a puny forward P/E of 9.4. CVI shares soared by more than 3% on Thursday after the company reported fourth-quarter and full-year earnings.

• [By Hibah Yousuf]

  Snyder also pointed out that Take-Two was not that big of a holding for Icahn. It represented less than 1% of Icahn Enterprise's (IEP, Fortune 500) total portfolio. The firms' largest holdings include CVR Energy (CVI), Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), Chesapeake Energy (CHK, Fortune 500) and Herbalife (HLF).

• [By Robert Rapier] In last week’s issue I discussed the basics of the refining sector. Today I will! provide ! an overview of four MLPs that hold refining assets.
  
  To review, the refining sector was very profitable in 2012 thanks to unusually high crack spreads, which for many US refiners are approximated by the price differential between Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oils. For a more thorough explanation of this phenomenon, please refer to last week’s issue.
  
  After years of trading at a $1 to $3 per barrel discount to WTI, Brent began fetching a premium a few years ago as a glut of crude developed in the mid-continent area of the US. In 2011 the Brent-WTI price differential increased to more than $25/bbl, and it remained historically high in 2012.
  
  But pipeline capacity started to catch up this year, and the share prices of refiners retreated as the glut began to dissipate and the Brent-WTI differential shrank. In Q3 2012, the Brent-WTI differential a veraged $17.43/bbl, but by Q3 of this year, the differential had fallen to $4.43/bbl. This promises bad news for refiners about to report Q3 earnings.
  
  Many analysts downgraded the refining sector in Q3, but as the differential fell below $5/bbl it was hard to imagine that the news could get much worse. With poor Q3 results largely priced in, the differential subsequently rose back above $10/bbl, signaling better refining margins moving into Q4.
  
  Refiners began to post earnings this past week, and as expected they were weak. Valero (NYSE: VLO) reported slightly higher revenues year-over-year, but net earnings fell more than 50 percent from a year ago. Nevertheless, they beat the extremely pessimistic expectations of analysts, and Valero shares rose on the news.
  
  Phillips 66’s (NYSE: PSX) refining unit actually posted a loss, but its chemical business turned in a solid quarter which more than compensated for the disappointing refining results.
  
  T he rest of the refine

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-oil-! companies! -to-invest-in-2015-2.html

Hot Shipping Companies For 2014

FedEx said e-commerce is growing globally at three to four times the rate of traditional retail buying in brick and mortar stores.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) With stores offering big online sales discounts, FedEx expects this year's Cyber Monday to be the busiest day in its shipping history.

Each year, the big online shopping day hits the Monday after post-Thanksgiving holiday sales and many retailers offer special discounts on online purchases. This year, Cyber Monday falls on Dec. 2.

On that day, FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500) expects to ship more than 22 million shipments, its highest ever.

The global package shipping company said that e-commerce is growing globally at three to four times the rate of traditional retail buying in brick and mortar stores.

10 Best Tech Stocks For 2015: Werner Enterprises Inc (WERN)

Werner Enterprises, Inc., incorporated on September 14, 1982, is a transportation and logistics company engaged primarily in hauling truckload shipments of general commodities in both interstate and intrastate commerce. The Company also provides logistics services through its value added services (VAS) division. As of the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company had a fleet of 7,150 trucks, of which 6,505 were Company-operated and 645 were owned and operated by independent contractors. The Company operates in two segments: Truckload Transportation Services (Truckload) and VAS.

Truckload segment

The Company's Truckload segment consists of the One-Way Truckload and Specialized Services units. One-Way Truckload includes the operating fleets: the regional short-haul (Regional) fleet transports a variety of consumer nondurable products and other commodities in truckload quantities within geographic regions across the United States using dry van trailers; the medium-to-long-haul van (Van) fleet provides comparable truckload van service over irregular routes, and the expedited (Expedited) fleet provides time-sensitive truckload services utilizing driver teams.

Specialized Services provides truckload services dedicated to a specific customer, generally for a retail distribution center or manufacturing facility, including services for products requiring specialized trailers such as flatbed or temperature-controlled trailers. The Company's Truckload fleets operate throughout the 48 contiguous United States, both common and contract, granted by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The Company also has authority to operate in several provinces of Canada and to provide through-trailer service into and out of Mexico. The principal types of freight the Company transports include retail store merchandise, consumer products, grocery products and manufactured products. The Company focuses on transporting consumer nondurable products that generally ship.

!

VAS segment

The Company's VAS segment is a non-asset-based transportation and logistics provider. VAS is consists of four operating units that provide non-trucking services to the Company's customers: truck brokerage (Brokerage) uses contracted carriers to complete customer shipments; freight management (Freight Management) offers a range of single-source logistics management services and solutions; the intermodal (Intermodal) unit offers rail transportation through alliances with rail and drayage providers as an alternative to truck transportation, and Werner Global Logistics international (WGL) provides complete management of global shipments from origin to destination using a combination of air, ocean, truck and rail transportation modes. The Company's Brokerage unit had transportation services contracts with approximately 9,400 carriers as of December 31, 2012.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Flannelly]

  Following Werner Enterprises, Inc.’s (WERN) third quarter earnings warning, analysts at KeyBanc downgraded the transportation and logistics company on Tuesday.

  The analysts downgraded WERN from “Buy” to “Hold.”

  KeyBanc analyst Todd Fowler said, “We downgrade WERN from Buy to HOLD following its negative 3Q pre-ann’ct, which reflected a number of company-specific issues that we expect to limit upside going forward; we would focus investors on other, stronger-performing names within the truckload space, specifically, BUY-rated Swift Transportation Company (SWFT), Marten Transport Ltd. (MRTN), and Knight Transportation Inc. (KNX).”

  Werner Enterprises shares were down $1.66, or 6.80%, during pre-market trading on Tuesday. The stock is up 12.64% year-to-date.

Hot Shipping Companies For 2014: Nicholas Financial Inc.(NICK)

Nicholas Financial, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialized consumer finance company. The company engages in acquiring and servicing contracts for purchases of new and used automobiles and light trucks. It also makes direct loans and sells consumer-finance related products. In addition, the company engages in developing, marketing, supporting, and updating industry-specific computer application software for small businesses located primarily in the Southeast United States. As of April 5, 2011, it operated 56 branch locations in 14 Southeastern and Midwestern states. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Clearwater, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Prospect Capital Corp.(PSEC) said it agreed to buy Nicholas Financial Inc.(NICK) in a stock deal valued at about $199 million that the investment firm expects will expand its presence in the car-loan industry. Prospect Capital is offering $16 a share for Nicholas, a 4.5% premium over Tuesday’s closing price. Nicholas Financial shares edged up 2.8% to $15.70 premarket.

Hot Shipping Companies For 2014: KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation (KS)

KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation engages in the production and sale of unbleached kraft, linerboard, saturating kraft, and unbleached folding carton boards primarily in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. It offers kraft paper to converters, who produce multiwall bags for agricultural products, pet food, cement, chemicals, and grocery bags, as well as specialty conversion products, such as wrapping paper products and roll wrap; and linerboards to converters in the corrugated box industry and to other converters for various end uses, including laminated tier sheets and wrapping material. The company offers its saturating kraft products to various industries, such as construction, electronics manufacturing, and furniture manufacturing; and unbleached folding carton board products to the general folding carton segment of paperboard packaging. KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation offers its kraft paper, linerboard, and saturating kraft products under the DuraSorb brand name; and folding carton board under the Kraftpak brand name. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois.

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 KapStone Paper and Packaging (NYSE: KS  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Hot Shipping Companies For 2014: Energen Corporation (EGN)

Energen Corporation, an energy holding company, engages in the development, acquisition, exploration, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the continental United States. The company is also involved in the purchase, distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, as well as to other end-users of natural gas in central and north Alabama. In addition, it provides gas transportation services to industrial and commercial customers located on its distribution system. As of December 31, 2012, the company had approximately 750 million barrels of oil-equivalent proved, probable, and possible reserves. Energen Corporation was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Energen Corp.(EGN) said it expects last month’s severe weather in West Texas to weigh on results from the oil-and-gas production company’s Permian Basin operations.

Hot Shipping Companies For 2014: Adept Technology Inc.(ADEP)

Adept Technology, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides intelligent robotics systems and services for packaging, solar, medical, disk drive/electronics, machine tool automation, and automotive electronics markets. Its product range includes application software, integrated real-time vision and multi-axis motion controls, machine vision systems and software, autonomous navigation software and controls, industrial robots and grippers, autonomous service robots, intelligent automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and advanced vision-based flexible parts feeders. The company offers 4-axis Cobra family of robots, which are designed for assembly and material handling tasks; Adept Quattro parallel robots for high-speed packaging, assembly, and loading/unloading applications; Adept Viper 6-axis articulated robots for high-speed precision assembly; Modular Adept Python single axis robot mechanisms; and mobile robots, including autonomous service robots and intelligent AGVs. It a lso provides support services to customers, including spare parts for and/or remanufacture of robot mechanisms; information regarding the use of its automation equipment; ongoing support for installed systems; consulting services for applications; and training courses ranging from system operation and maintenance to programming for manufacturing engineers, who design and implement automation lines. The company markets its products through its direct sales force, as well as through systems integrators, sales representatives, distributors, and original equipment manufacturers primarily in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Adept Technology, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Spruce Point Capital Management, LLC has released a research report about small cap robotics stock iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ: IRBT) entitled ��bout to Short Circuit,��meaning investors should take a closer look at the report, the�stock�and the performance of�robotics peer Adept Technology Inc (NASDAQ: ADEP) and�the Robo-Stox Global Robotics & Automation ETF (NASDAQ: ROBO). I should mention that we used to have both Adept Technology and iRobot Corporation in our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio�because we see the�robotics subsector improving as companies aim to reduce overhead and improve efficiencies through machine to machine (M2M) automation.

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  Michael's pick for 2014 was Adept Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: ADEP), a play on the red-hot robotics sector whose stock he predicted could zoom 50% to 100% because of improving finances and the potential for a takeover.

Hot Shipping Companies For 2014: Intel Corporation(INTC)

Intel Corporation engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of integrated circuits for computing and communications industries worldwide. It offers microprocessor products used in notebooks, netbooks, desktops, servers, workstations, storage products, embedded applications, communications products, consumer electronics devices, and handhelds. The company also provides system on chip products that integrate its core processing functionalities with other system components, such as graphics, audio, and video, onto a single chip. In addition, it offers chipset products that send data between the microprocessor and input, display, and storage devices, including keyboard, mouse, monitor, hard drive, and CD, DVD, or Blu-ray drives; motherboards designed for desktop, server, and workstation platforms, and that has connectors for attaching devices to the bus; and wired and wireless connectivity products consisting of network adapters and embedded wireless cards used to translate and transmit data across networks. Further, the company provides NAND flash memory products primarily used in portable memory storage devices, digital camera memory cards, and solid-state drives; software products comprising operating systems, middleware, and tools used to develop, run, and manage various enterprise, consumer, embedded, and handheld devices; and software development tools that enable the creation of applications. Additionally, it develops computing platforms, which are integrated hardware and software computing technologies designed to offer an optimized solution. The company sells its products principally to original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers, PC components and other products users, and other manufacturers of industrial and communications equipment. It has a strategic alliance with Scientific Conservation Inc. Intel Corporation was founded in 1968 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Intel is a developer of technology products such as microprocessors, chipsets, and software, and distributes them to companies and consumers around the world. A recent earnings release has investors optimistic about the company. The stock has been trading sideways for several years and is now near the center of its yearly range. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenues have been mixed, which have produced conflicting feelings among investors about recent earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, Intel has been a weak year-to-date performer. WAIT AND SEE what Intel does this quarter.

• [By Eric Bleeker, CFA, Jason Moser, and Chris Hill]

  Gartner predictions show Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) Android devices overtaking Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) Windows last year in terms of units shipped, and Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) iOS and Mac devices in a dead heat with Windows devices by 2014. While these numbers can be notoriously unreliable, they point toward the future of looking at "computing devices" rather than PCs versus smartphones. Already, Apple sees 50% higher profits than Microsoft and�Intel� (NASDAQ: INTC  ) -- the keystones of the PC industry -- combined.�

Best Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Mazda's redesigned Mazda3 compact is a sweetheart, while Jeep's touted new 2014 Cherokee is a bit sour, according to Consumer Reports' recent tests.

Says CR: "The Mazda3 has long been a favorite among our staff, and among our readers, for its balance of frugality and fun. We're pleased to report that the redesigned Mazda3 carries on that proud tradition."

The Jeep Cherokee SUV, CR says, "is a contemporary design that had potential, but despite a few high points, overall we found it half-baked."

Replies Jeep's parent, Chrysler Group: "We value feedback from all our customers, including Consumer Reports, and it helps guide the constant improvements we make to our products.

"On the whole, we're receiving very encouraging feedback on owner satisfaction and initial quality from the approximately 35,000 customers who bought a Cherokee in its first three months on the market ��and we have received consistently positive third-party (media/journalist) impressions since the vehicle was introduced."

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Invest In Right Now: Walgreen Co (WAG)

Walgreen Co. (Walgreens), incorporated on February 15, 1909, together with its subsidiaries, operates the drugstore chain in the United States. The Company provides its customers with access to consumer goods and services, pharmacy, and health and wellness services in communities across America. The Company offers its products and services through drugstores, as well as through mails, by telephone and online. The Company sells prescription and non-prescription drugs, as well as general merchandises, including household items, convenience and fresh foods, personal care, beauty care, photofinishing and candy. On August 2, 2012, it acquired 45% interest in Alliance Boots GmbH (Alliance Boots). In September 2012, the Company completed the purchase of a regional drugstore chain in the mid-South region of the United States that included 144 stores operated under the USA Drug, Super D Drug, May��, Med-X and Drug Warehouse names. In September 2012, WP Carey & Co LLC acquired five retail stores leased to Walgreen Co. In December 2012, the Company completed a transaction giving company a ownership stake in Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Pharmacy LLC.

The Company's pharmacy, health and wellness services include retail, specialty, infusion and respiratory services, mail service, convenient care clinics and worksite health and wellness centers. These services help improve health outcomes and manage costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The Company's Take Care Health Systems subsidiary is a manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the United States.

As of August 31, 2012, Walgreens operated 8,385 locations in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. In 2012, the Company opened or acquired 266 locations for a net increase of 175 locations after relocations and closings. As of August 31, 2012, the Com! pany had 7,930 of Drugstores, 366 of Worksite Health and Wellness Centers, 76 of Infusion and Respiratory Services Facilities, 11 of Specialty Pharmacies and two of Mail Service Facilities. The Company's drugstores are engaged in the retail sale of prescription and non-prescription drugs and general merchandise. General merchandise includes, among other things, household items, convenience and fresh foods, personal care, beauty care, photofinishing and candy.

The Company offers specialty pharmacy services that provide customers nationwide access to a variety of medications, services and programs for managing complex and chronic health conditions. In addition, the Company offers its customers infusion therapy services, including the administration of intravenous (IV) medications for cancer treatments, chronic pain, heart failure, and other infections and disorders which must be treated by IV. Walgreens provides these infusion services at home, at the workplace, in a physician's office or at a Walgreens alternate treatment site. The Company also provides clinical services, such as laboratory monitoring, medication profile review, nutritional assessments and patient and caregiver education.

Customers can also access the Company's e-commerce solutions, which extend the convenience to purchase most products available within its drugstores, as well as additional products sold exclusively online through its walgreens.com and drugstore.com Websites, including beauty.com and visiondirect.com. The Company's Websites allow consumers to purchase general merchandise including beauty, personal care, home medical equipment, contact lenses, vitamins and supplements and other health and wellness solutions. The Company's mobile applications also allow customers to refill prescriptions through their mobile device, download weekly promotions and find the nearest Walgreens drugstore. The Company also offers services through Take Care Health Systems, which manages its Take Care Clinics at select Wa! lgreens d! rugstores throughout the country.

Alliance Boots is a pharmacy-led health and beauty retailing and pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution business. As of March 31, 2012, its fiscal year end, Alliance Boots had, together with its associates and joint ventures, pharmacy-led health and beauty retail businesses in 11 countries and operated more than 3,330 health and beauty retail stores, of which over 3,200 had a pharmacy. In addition, Alliance Boots had approximately 625 optical practices, approximately 185 of which operated on a franchise basis. Its pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution businesses, including its associates and joint ventures, supplied medicines, other healthcare products and related services to more than 170,000 pharmacies, doctors, health centers and hospitals from over 370 distribution centers in 21 countries.

Alliance Boots�� stores located in the United Kingdom, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Thailand and Lithuania and through its associates and joint ventures in Switzerland, China, Italy, Russia and Croatia. In addition, as of March 31, 2012, there were 58 Boots stores operated in the Middle East on a franchised basis. In its Health & Beauty Division, Alliance Boots has product brands such as No7, Soltan and Botanics, together with other brands, such as Boots Pharmaceuticals and Boots Laboratories. Through its Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division and several of its associates, Alliance Boots sells Almus, its line of generic medicines, in five countries and Alvita, its line of patient care products, in six countries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Walgreen provides health and wellness products, a pharmacy, and general products required by many consumers across the nation. The stock has been on a path towards higher prices in recent years that has taken it to the top-end of a multi-year range. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenue figures have been on the decline which has disappointed investors in the company. Relative to its peers and sector, �Walgreen has been a year-to-date performance leader. WAIT AND SEE what Walgreen does at these prices.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) posted fourth-quarter and fiscal-year 2013 results before markets opened Tuesday morning. The drugstore chain reported adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.73 on revenues of $17.94 billion. In the same period a year ago, Walgreen reported EPS of $0.63 on revenue of $17.07 billion. Fourth-quarter results also compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $0.72 and $17.95 billion in revenue.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  More recently, other brands have sought to change their label in hopes of boosting stagnating sales. Boston Beer updated its Samuel Adams brand, hoping to reverse slowing sales of the craft brew, while Walgreen (NYSE: WAG  ) brought all of its private-label brands under a new, updated Nice! label.

• [By Chuck Saletta]

  Two of the others, industrial conglomerate United Technologies (NYSE: UTX  ) and pharmacy retailer Walgreen (NYSE: WAG  ) , paid their fourth consecutive quarterly dividend consistent rates. United Technologies' dividend has been at $0.535 per quarter while Walgreen's has been at $0.275 per quarter. �While nothing is guaranteed until the board declares a change, if Walgreen follows its recent pattern, its next quarter's dividend declaration may very well be a raise.

Best Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Bell AG (BELL)

Bell AG is a Switzerland-based company that is primarily engaged in the production and distribution of meat. The Company has seven product groups. The Fresh Meat product group is involved in the supply of self-service meat products for the retail trade and products for the restaurant trade, as well as Vaudois specialties. The Charcuterie (own and purchased) product groups offer ready-cooked products, both under the Bell brand and under a number of customers' own brands. The Poultry product group offers various poultry products, as well as specialty meats, such as rabbit, game, ostrich and kangaroo. The Convenience product group offers ready-cooked seasonal convenience products, such as domestic and imported fish. Within the Seafood product group, the Company offers fresh and frozen seafood. Bell AG�� brands include Abraham, Zimbo and Polette, among others. The Company operates subsidiaries in Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Hungary and other countries. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tannor Pilatzke]

  Investment ideas are scarce and hard to come by at times. People constantly ask me about companies they work for (Bell) or businesses they purchase a lot of product from (P&G or Coca-Cola), and what I think about the prospects/valuation. When it is not the blue chips in the limelight it certainly is the Netflix��,Tesla's, 3-D printing, and other companies I would classify as speculative. It is not that I am a Grinch, but I do not like giving out investment ideas. Rather, I attempt to give lessons. As Maimonides said, ��ive a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.��/p>

Best Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: AptarGroup Inc. (ATR)

AptarGroup, Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of consumer product dispensing systems in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America. The company operates in three segments: Beauty + Home, Pharma, and Food + Beverage. The Beauty + Home segment primarily sells pumps, closures, aerosol valves, and accessories to the personal care and household markets, as well as pumps and decorative components to the fragrance/cosmetic market; and fragrance/cosmetic and personal care fine mist spray pumps, personal care lotion pumps, and continuous spray aerosol valves. The Pharma segment provides pumps for nasal allergy treatments; and metered dose inhaler valves for respiratory ailments in pharmaceutical market. The Food + Beverage segment offers dispensing and non-dispensing closures, spray pumps, and aerosol valves to the food and beverage markets. AptarGroup, Inc. sells its products through sales force, independent representatives, and distributors. The c ompany was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

• [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 AptarGroup (NYSE: ATR  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Best Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc.(GMCR)

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. engages in the specialty coffee and coffee maker business. The company sources, produces, and sells approximately 200 varieties of coffee, cocoa, teas, and other beverages in K-Cup portion packs and coffee in traditional packaging, including whole bean and ground coffee selections in bags and ground coffee in fractional packs for use in at-home (AH) and away-from-home (AFH). It sells its products primarily in North America through supermarkets, club stores, and convenience stores; in restaurants and hospitality; and to office coffee distributors, as well as directly to consumers through its Website. The company also manufactures gourmet single-cup brewing systems and brewing equipment. In addition, it sells AH single-cup brewers; accessories; and coffee, tea, hot cocoa, and other beverages in K-Cup portion packs, as well as offers other licensed roasters to retailers, department stores, and mass merchandisers. Further, the company sells AFH single-cup brewers to distributors for use in offices. It provides its products under the Van Houtte, Br�erie St. Denis, Br�erie Mont-Royal, and Orient Express brands, as well as licensed Bigelow and Wolfgang Puck brands. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Waterbury, Vermont.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Yesterday looks to have been an exception, not the rule as Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR) and McKesson (MCK) helped the S&P 500 hit a new high, Microsoft (MSFT) helped boost the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Elizabeth Arden (RDEN) helped lead the Russell 2000 lower.

  REUTERS

  The S&P 500 inched up 0.04% to 1,897.45 today, a new high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 16,715.4, also a record high. The Nasdaq Composite, however, fell 0.3% to 4,130.17 and the Russell 2000 tumbled 1,1% to 1,121.16.

  Keurig Green Mountain jumped 7.6% to $119.07 after Coca-Cola (KO) upped its stake in the company from 10% to 16%.Coca-Cola has gained 0.9% to $41.19.

  McKesson has advanced 3% to $179.43 after the pharmaceutical distributor beat earnings forecasts and projected solid full-year profits. “We believe McKesson is one of the most attractive EPS growth stories in the healthcare services arena,” Sterne Agee’s Greg Bolan says.

  Microsoft rose 1.8% to $40.42, making it the biggest gainer in the Dow. Microsoft announced that it would lower the price of its Xbox today.

  Elizabeth Arden fell 23% to $27.50 after the beauty-product company said it lost 84 cents a share, missing forecasts for breakeven.

  Instinet’s Frank Cappelleri worries about the market’s lack of volume yesterday and explain what he’d like to see:

  Does this matter? It certainly could, as the lack of participation could denote non-belief. After all, the last two months of violent choppy action have done a number on bearish and bullish traders alike.

  Therefore, with the SPX up just shy of 1% but the R2k nearly 2.5% yesterday, many market observers are labeling it short covering and nothing more. Seeing the most beaten stocks pop so fervently, one can�� argue that much of it was indeed covering to lock in profits.

  However, as noted yesterday here, a shift out of safety actually started on Thursda

Best Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Generac Holdlings Inc. (GNRC)

Generac Holdings Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a range of generators and other engine powered products for the residential, light commercial, industrial, and construction markets in the United States and Canada. It offers generators and other products fueled by natural gas, liquid propane, gasoline, diesel, and Bi-Fuel under the Generac and Magnum brands. The company�s product line includes residential power products, commercial and industrial power products, and other products. Its residential power products comprise automatic residential standby generators that range in output from 6kW to 60kW; air-cooled residential standby generators, which range in outputs from 6kW to 20kW; and liquid-cooled generators that range in outputs from 20kW to 60kW. The residential power product line also includes portable generators consisting of GP series ranging from 1,850W to 17,500W for homeowners; the XG series ranging from 4,000W to 10,000W for the premium homeowner market; the XP series ranging from 4,000W to 8,000W for the professional contractor market; and the iX series ranging from 800W to 2,000W for the recreational market. The company�s industrial and commercial power products comprise light-commercial standby generators ranging from 22kW to 150kW for grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, gas stations, pharmacies, retail banks, and healthcare facilities; single-engine industrial generators, which range in output from 10kW to 600kW; and generator systems ranging from 20kW air-cooled generators to 3mW modular power system for the telecommunications market, as well as aftermarket service parts and RV generators. The company sells its generators through independent residential and industrial dealers, wholesalers, national accounts, private label arrangements, retailers, catalogs, e-commerce merchants, equipment rental companies and dealers, and construction companies. Generac Holdings Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartere d in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Generac (NYSE: GNRC  ) has reached abroad for its latest asset buy. The company announced Thursday that it inked an agreement to acquire Tower Light, an Italy-based company that develops and sells mobile light towers.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Generator maker Generac (NYSE: GNRC  ) announced this morning it had completed the refinancing of its senior secured�term loan credit facility and, as it previously promised, will use part of the proceeds to pay investors a special dividend of $5.00 per share,�payable on June 21�to stockholders of record on June 12.�

Best Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Movado Group Inc. (MOV)

Movado Group, Inc. designs, sources, markets, and distributes fine watches. It operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. The company offers its watches under the Coach, Concord, Ebel, ESQ, Scuderia Ferrari, HUGO BOSS, Juicy Couture, Lacoste, Movado, and Tommy Hilfiger brands to jewelry store chains, department stores, independent regional jewelers, licensed partner retail stores, and a network of independent distributors. It is also involved in the after-sales service activities and shipping. In addition, Movado Group, Inc. operates retail outlet stores. As of January 31, 2013, the company operated 34 outlet stores. It operates principally in the United States, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The company was formerly known as North American Watch Corporation and changed its name to Movado Group, Inc. in 1996. Movado Group, Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Movado Group (NYSE: MOV) was also up, gaining 9.18 percent to $45.89 after the company reported upbeat Q4 earnings and issued a strong FY15 outlook.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On Wednesday, Movado (NYSE: MOV  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The stock has hit some bumps in the road lately, raising questions about whether it can successfully compete with its luxury-retail peers.

• [By Sean Williams]

  The most obvious choice is through Movado Group (NYSE: MOV  ) , which uses a combination of electronic and mechanical movements through its collection. With an average price point of $300 through upwards of $2,000 per timepiece, Movado delivers to consumers the perception of a higher-end watch and delivers the sleek statement styling that many upper-income earners are looking for. Not surprisingly, Movado has blown Wall Street's EPS estimates out of the water in each of the past four quarters and attributed its 6% sales growth in the first quarter primarily to increased sales in its "accessible luxury category." Not to be forgotten, Movado also has greater than $5 per share in cash and is debt-free, giving shareholders quite the safety net and allowing Movado the luxury of boosting its dividend should it choose to do so.

• [By Andrew Marder]

  Wholesale growth
  On the wholesale side of the business, Fossil is really playing to its strengths. Last quarter, wholesale revenue rose 13.5%, with the European division seeing the strongest growth. That business competes most directly with the Movado Group (NYSE: MOV  ) , which produces watches for most of the designers that Fossil doesn't cover. To compare, Movado's revenue was up just 6.1% last quarter. Fossil's edge came from the company's strong portfolio of brands -- which is what we're going to call a segue.

Best Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: XO Group Inc (XOXO)

XO Group Inc. (XO Group), formerly The Knot, Inc., is a media and technology company. The Company is engaged in the business of weddings, pregnancy and everything in between, providing young women with the information, products and advice to guide them through the transformative events of their lives. Its family of brands began with the wedding brand, The Knot, and it also include WeddingChannel.com, The Nest, The Bump and Ijie.com. XO Group has its presence in all media from the Web to social media and mobile, magazines and books, and video - and social platforms. XO Group has businesses in online sponsorship and advertising, registry services, ecommerce and publishing.

The Company has a network of Websites under several different brands, TheKnot.com, the wedding Website, WeddingChannel.com, the wedding registry site and wedding vendor review site with nearly 350,000 reviews, TheNest.com, a site for newlyweds and new couples, and TheBump.com, a pre-natal and pregnancy Website. These sites offer content and services tailored to the engaged, newly married, and pregnant audiences. Weddings, nesting, and first-time pregnancy are information-intensive events requiring research, planning, and decision-making.

The sites provides future brides and grooms with databases that draw on thousands of articles about weddings, including planning advice, etiquette, Q&As, real wedding stories, tips on getting engaged, fashion, beauty, grooms, the wedding party, and honeymoons. TheNest.com offers information and resources on merging bank accounts and making dinner, with searchable databases for recipes, home decor, and real estate. For couples who are getting ready for a baby, the same urgent need for information surfaces, which the Company provides at TheBump.com with baby naming tools, nursery decor ideas, and a host of health and development-related information. Each of the content areas offers articles, ideas, hundreds of photo slideshows, and videos, all covering a wide range of styles,! perspectives, budgets, traditions, lifestyles and ethnicities.

Active Community Participation and Social Networking

The community areas on XO Group websites generate member involvement through message boards, blogs, and personalized interactive services. Women who are planning their weddings actively seek forums to exchange ideas and ask questions. The community areas feature 24-hour activity.

User-Generated Content

Through blogs, message boards, and photo-posting features, all XO Group sites feature many forms of user-generated content related to the particular interests of its audience. Recent brides post wedding photos, vendor reviews, and their own wedding advice for future brides. Recent home purchasers post home-buying stories, before and after photos, and photos of their own home decor ideas. Pregnant women post chronicles of their pregnancies, reviews of their doctors, photos of their nurseries, and stories of their newborns at key developmental stages.

Interactive Tools

TheKnot.com offers, personalized wedding planning tools, including checklists, budgeters, guest list managers, calendars, and reminder services. An online scrapbook gives users the ability to save favorite dresses, articles, photos, vendors, honeymoons, wedding supplies, and other planning information. After a couple�� wedding day, these personalized tools are automatically converted to its newlywed Website, TheNest.com, to help them organize their new life as a married couple. The guest list manager is used to track thank-you notes, and couples receive an entirely new checklist and budgeter to help them organize their newlywed to-dos and finances. On TheBump.com, it offers checklists, budget tools, a baby name tool, and tools to track everything from ovulation to breastfeeding. These tools are also available on mobile platforms, which provide its users the ability to modify budgets and check off tasks from the convenience of their mobile phones. !

The Company offers personal pregnancy and baby websites through TheBump.com. XO Group Websites offers tools to assist with shopping for key elements of a wedding. Its wedding planning sites highlight a searchable bridal gown database with more than 5,000 gown images from over 200 designers, plus searchable databases for bridesmaid, mother-of-the-bride, and flower girl dresses, bridal accessories, engagement and wedding rings and tuxedos. The sites also offer search tools for honeymoon resorts, jewelry, and tabletop products. Local Resource Listings

The local resource areas on XO Group websites provide access to the local wedding market through online regional guides that host nearly 21,000 local vendors who display over 28,000 profiles, highlighting offerings for reception halls, bands, florists, caterers and other wedding-related products and services across 85 local markets in North America.

One-Stop Registry Shopping Service

WeddingChannel.com is the registry site online. Its patented registry aggregation service offers couples and their guests one place to view all their gift registries via a registry system that searches approximately 4.5 million registries from many retail partners, including Macy��, Crate & Barrel, Williams-Sonoma, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, Amazon.com, Tiffany & Co., JCPenney and others. TheBump.com uses the same patented registry aggregation service to focus on baby registries, including Target, Buy Buy Baby, Diapers.com, Pottery Barn Kids and more.

The Company integrates informative content with online shops that feature an array of attendant gifts, favors, and supplies that relate to the wedding itself, as well as apparel, toys, gifts, and other goods for babies. It sells directly to consumers through its integrated shopping destinations, The Knot Wedding Shop, the WeddingChannel Store and The Bump Baby Shop. These online stores offer over 4,000 products, including cocktail napkins, wedding bubbles and bells, candy! and cook! ies, ring pillows, toasting flutes, reception decorations, table centerpieces, goblets and glasses, garters, and unity candles.

Broadband Video Content

The Knot TV is a continuous video stream that includes a range of wedding content, including shows about choosing a creative cake, hiring the videographer, planning dream honeymoons and learning about real weddings across the country. It produces video on demand content for The Knot, The Nest, and The Bump brands, covering everything from wedding fashion to home tours to mommy advice. The Knot TV On Demand provides video content from bridal fashion runway shows for brides to watch when they want, including programs on the trends in dresses, silhouettes, necklines, and accessories. Its video content is also distributed to MSN.com video, YouTube, and Sling Media. The Knot TV also features live programming with limited runs of The Knot LIVE, a weekly magazine format show.

Informative E-mail

Members of XO Group Websites subscribe to newsletters and e-mail updates, many of which are targeted with information for members in a specific stage of the wedding planning process. Other newsletters and e-mails are focused on specific topics, including honeymoon deals and personalized e-mails containing relevant local information or offers, such as bridal events or dress sample sales. E-mails are also sent to members of The Nest and The Bump with sponsored promotions and information about their stage of pregnancy or the age of their newborn.

Niche Website Network and Sister Sites

The Company also owns and operates a network of targeted websites that offer services of interest to its core audience of engaged couples. These include niche weddings sites such as ChineseWeddingsbyTheKnot.com, BeachWeddingsbyTheKnot.com, GayWeddingsbyTheKnot.com and over 300 other sites tailored to the searched-for wedding destinations and themes. The sites features local listings, forums, real wedding photos an! d local p! lanning advice.

The Company sells both the national and local editions of The Knot Weddings magazines through newsstands, bookstores, and on its Website, and it distributes local editions of The Bump pregnancy guide to doctors��offices across the country. It also offers a library of books complementing the content on its lifestages websites.

The Knot Weddings National Magazine

It publishes The Knot Weddings magazine four times a year. It features hundreds of dresses from the industry�� top designers. Also featured is an array of photos of wedding party attire and accessories, including bridesmaid, mother-of-the-bride, and flower girl dresses, as well as veils, shoes, and tuxedos.

The Knot Weddings Local Magazines

It publishes regional wedding magazines semi-annually in 17 markets in the United States. The Knot�� regional magazines combine national editorial content with up-to-date, region-specific information, including sections featuring real weddings within the market, making these publications a must-have wedding planning companion for engaged couples.

The Bump Magazine

A pocketbook-sized magazine for first-time moms, The Bump magazine features local resources and modern advice from its editors and nationally-recognized experts.

The Company sells both the national and local editions of The Knot Weddings magazines through newsstands, bookstores, and on its Website, and it distributes local editions of The Bump pregnancy guide to doctors��offices across the country. It also offers a library of books complementing the content on its lifestages Websites. It publishes The Knot Weddings magazine four times a year.

The Company publishes regional wedding magazines semi-annually in 17 markets in the United States. The Knot�� regional magazines combine national editorial content with up-to-date, region-specific information, including sections featuring real weddings within the ! market, m! aking these publications a must-have wedding planning companion for engaged couples.

A pocketbook-sized magazine for first-time moms, The Bump magazine features local resources and modern advice from our editors and nationally-recognized experts. Distributed at no charge through OB/GYN offices in 20 markets nationwide, The Bump magazine is specifically designed to connect first-time parents with the information and resources they need to prepare for a baby. It publishes The Bump magazine semi-annually.

The Company offers a library of up-to-date wedding books authored by itsChief Content Officer Carley Roney and published by divisions of Random House and Chronicle Books. Its first three-book wedding planning series published by Random House�� Broadway Books includes The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner, The Knot Complete Guide to Weddings in the Real World, and The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions. These books feature information on everything a bride and groom need to know when planning their wedding and includes worksheets, checklists, etiquette, and answers to frequently asked questions. Its gift book series published by Chronicle Books includes The Knot Book of Wedding Gowns, The Knot Book of Wedding Flowers, The Knot Guide for the Mother of the Bride, and The Knot Guide for the Groom. Its second planning series, published by Random House�� Clarkson Potter, includes The Knot Guide to Destination Weddings, The Knot Book of Wedding Lists and The Knot Bridesmaid Handbook.

The Company offers a series of books for The Nest brand published by Clarkson Potter. The first book in the series, The Nest Newlywed Handbook, goes on the topics of interest to the newlywed, from changing its name to deciding how to divide up the daily chores. The second title, The Nest Home Design Handbook, is a four-color, photo-filled book on home decoration and design.

The Company competes with Brides magazine (published by Conde Nast), Bridal Guide (published by RFP LLC) ! and Marth! a Stewart Weddings.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares climbed around 0.22 percent in trading on Friday. Leading the sector was strength from American Public Education (NASDAQ: APEI) and XO Group (NASDAQ: XOXO). In trading on Friday, telecommunications services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.41 percent.