Thursday, November 27, 2014

Top 10 Wireless Telecom Stocks To Watch Right Now

Top 10 Wireless Telecom Stocks To Watch Right Now: Tim Participacoes SA (TIMP3)

TIM Participacoes SA (TIM) is a Brazil-based holding company engaged in the telecommunications segment. Through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, TIM Celular SA (TIM Celular) and Intelig Telecomunicacoes Ltda (Intelig), it provides telecommunication services throughout Brazil. TIM Celular and Intelig are active as Public Switched Telephony Network (PSTN) providers in the local and national and international long-distance modalities in all Brazilian states. Additionally, the Company provides multimedia communication services and personal mobile services, mobile data services and a third generation (3G) network, as well as international roaming agreements, multimedia messaging services, blackberry services and sale of related equipment. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Zahra Hankir]

    Brazils Ibovespa extended its weekly decline to 3.3 percent. Mobile carrier Tim Participacoes SA (TIMP3) sank after parent Telecom Italia SpA (TIT)s chief executive officer said its Brazilian assets are strategic, damping speculation the local unit will be sold.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-wireless-telecom-stocks-to-watch-right-now.html

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Hot Net Payout Yield Companies To Watch For 2015

Hot Net Payout Yield Companies To Watch For 2015: CBS Corporation(CBS)

CBS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mass media company in the United States and internationally. The company?s Entertainment segment distributes a schedule of news and public affairs broadcasts, sports, and entertainment programming; produces, acquires, and distributes programming, including series, specials, news, and public affairs; produces and distributes theatrical motion pictures across various genres; and operates online content networks for information and entertainment. Its Cable Networks segment owns and operates multiplexed channels that offers subscription program services, including recently released theatrical feature films, original series, documentaries, boxing, mixed martial arts and other sports-related programming, and special events; and CBS College Sports Network, a 24-hour cable program service related to college sports. This segment also owns and manages Smithsonian Networks, which operates Smithsonian Channel, a basic cab le service in the United States. The company?s Publishing segment publishes and distributes adult and children?s consumer books in printed, audio, and digital formats. Its Local Broadcasting segment owns 29 broadcast television stations; owns and operates 130 radio stations in 28 U.S. markets and related online properties; and owns local Websites that combine television and radio local media brands online to provide the latest news, traffic, weather, and sports information, as well as local discounts, directories, and reviews. The company?s Outdoor segment sells advertising space on various media, including billboards, transit shelters and other street furniture, buses, rail systems, mall kiosks, stadium signage, and in retail stores. CBS Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

    Getty Images The stream is about to turn into a gush. Streaming video-on-demand purveyors like Netflix (NFLX), Hulu and Amazon.com (AMZN) are set to open their wallets a lot wider for content. And where will that cash flow? For the most part, into the bank accounts of the content producers, specifically the Hollywood TV industry. The Fight for Eyeballs As everyone expected with the advance of streaming technology (and the bandwidth to accommodate it), video on demand has become one of the hottest items in entertainment. The evolution has been fast. Five years ago, Amazon's Prime was essentially just a subscription service that provided free two-day shipping of physical goods for its members. Since 2011, though, it's been an increasingly aggressive player in the streaming market. Amazon doesn't break down the figures it spends on streaming video; nevertheless, its "technology and content" expenses line item was $6.6 billion in the first nine months of this year. That was 41 percent higher than in the same period last year, and the amount comprised nearly 10 percent of the company's total net sales. According to an estimate from Bernstein Research, Amazon is set to spend $1.5 billion to $2 billion this year on streaming syndication and original content, which should balloon to more than $2.5 billion in 2015. It's in good company. Its two most prominent rivals, Netflix and Hulu -- a joint venture of units from Comcast (CMCSA), 21st Century Fox (FOX) and Disney (DIS) -- are also prepared to write big checks. According to Variety, an analysis from RBC Capital Markets estimates that the troika will spend a collective $6.8 billion on such content next year. That's a chunky 31 percent increase from the anticipated 2014 figure of $5.2 billion. That higher spend is going both to the original content that has proliferated on such channels (series like Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black"), films, and syndication rights for such broadcast TV series as "The Blackli

  • !
  • ! [By Adam Levy]

    Following in the footsteps of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX  ) and HBO, CBS (NYSE: CBS  ) plans to offer Showtime without a cable subscription. Speaking on the company's third-quarter earnings call last week, CBS CEO Les Moonves told analysts, "We could say fairly definitely, sometime in '15, there will be some [over-the-top] service from Showtime."

  • source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-net-payout-yield-companies-to-watch-for-2015-2.html

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Top Low Price Companies To Own In Right Now

With shares of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) trading around $361, is AMZN 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

Amazon serves its customers through its retail websites and focus on selection, price, and convenience. The company also manufactures and sells Kindle devices. Amazon offers programs that enable sellers to sell their products on the company�� websites, including the sellers��own branded websites, and fulfill orders through them. Amazon also provides platforms that allow authors, musicians, filmmakers, app developers, and others to publish and sell content. Online commerce has been on the rise because of the convenience, efficiency, and relatively low prices offered.

Shares of Amazon soared as the company�� earnings report declared an earnings per share value in line with estimates, but revenues that beat out expectations. Particularly exciting was the company�� guidance for the fourth quarter, which includes the all important holiday season, where the company is forecasting revenues of between $-500 and $500 million and sales of between 10 and 25 percent greater than last year. The company�� shares are currently trading at up over 8 percent on the news.

Best Construction Companies To Invest In Right Now: IPC The Hospitalist Company Inc.(IPCM)

IPC The Hospitalist Company, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides hospitalist services in the United States. It engages in providing, managing, and coordinating the care of hospitalized patients and serves as the inpatient partner of primary care physicians and specialists. As of December 31, 2011, the company with its 1,201 affiliated hospitalists, including physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants that are organized into medical group practices, provided hospitalist solutions at approximately 365 hospitals, and 550 other inpatient and post-acute care facilities primarily in 25 states. It also offers administrative and professional services, including information management system, transition management, regional management, recruiting, training, financial reporting, billing and collection, risk management, and compliance services to affiliated hospitalists. The company serves patients, primary care physicians, specialists, acute care hospitals, alter native sites of inpatient care, and health plans. IPC The Hospitalist Company, Inc., formerly known as InPatient Consultants Management, Inc., was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in North Hollywood, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Garrett Cook]

    Shares of IPC The Hospitalist Company (NASDAQ: IPCM) were down 19.15 percent to $38.03 after the company reported downbeat Q3 results and lowered its FY14 forecast.

Top Low Price Companies To Own In Right Now: Pervasive Software Inc.(PVSW)

Pervasive Software, Inc. provides embeddable software and SaaS services for data management, data integration, B2B exchange, and analytics. Its embeddable Pervasive PSQL database engine provides database reliability in a near-zero database administration environment for packaged business applications. Pervasive Software?s multi-purpose data integration platform, available on-premises and in the cloud, accelerates the sharing of information between multiple data stores, applications, and hosted business systems, and allows customers to re-use the same software for diverse integration scenarios. Pervasive DataRush is an embeddable parallel-processing platform enabling data-intensive applications, such as claims processing, risk analysis, fraud detection, data mining, predictive analytics, sales optimization, and marketing analytics. The company serves customers in approximately 150 countries. Pervasive Software, through Pervasive Innovation Labs, also invests in the explorat ion and creation of solutions for the data analysis and data delivery challenges. Pervasive Software, Inc. has a strategic alliance with A.D.A.M. Inc. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas with additional offices in Greenville, South Carolina; Brussels, Belgium; Frankfurt, Germany; Paris, France; and London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    Pervasive Software(R) Inc. (NASDAQ:PVSW), a global leader in cloud-based and on-premises data innovation, reported that it is in receipt of an unsolicited non-binding letter from Actian Corporation proposing to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Pervasive common stock for $8.50 per share in cash.

Top Low Price Companies To Own In Right Now: Cambridge Heart Inc (CAMH)

Cambridge Heart, Inc., incorporated on January 16, 1990, is engaged in the research, development and commercialization of products for the non-invasive diagnosis of cardiac disease. The Company's products incorporate its technology for the measurement of Microvolt T-Wave Alternans (MTWA). The MTWA Test is conducted by elevating the patient's heart rate through exercise as performed on a treadmill similar to a stress test, pharmacologic agents, or pacing with electrical pulses.

The Company's products, including its first generation HearTwave System and second generation HearTwave II System, CH 2000 Cardiac Stress Test System, MTWA original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Module (MTWA Module) and Micro-V Alternans Sensors have received 510(k) clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for sale in the United States. The Company's products have also received the Conformite Europeenne (CE) mark for sale in Europe. The Company's first generation HearTwave System, CH 2000 Cardiac Stress Test System and the HearTwave II System have been approved for sale by the Japanese Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare.

The Company's 510(k) clearance allows the Company's MTWA Test to be used to test patients with known, suspected, or at risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia and/or sudden cardiac arrest, and allows the claim that its MTWA Test is predictive of those events. The MTWA Module is designed to work with existing cardiac stress test platforms distributed by other manufacturers as an add-on module to enable MTWA testing to be performed using the Company's Micro-V Alternans Sensors.

The Company's HearTwave II System, which has replaced the Company's original HearTwave System, is used to perform both MTWA testing and standard cardiac stress testing. In addition to MTWA measurement, the Company's HearTwave II System is a cardiac diagnostic system designed to support a range of customized protocols for the conduct of cardiac exercise stress testing. The Comp! any's Micro-V Alternans Sensors are single patient use, multi-segment electrodes. The Company's CH2000 is a cardiac diagnostic system designed to support a range of customized protocols for the conduct and measurement of cardiac exercise stress testing.

The Company competes with GE Medical Systems.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Last Friday, small cap stocks Cambridge Heart, Inc (OTCMKTS: CAMH), Abby Inc (OTCMKTS: ABBY) and Grillit Inc (OTCMKTS: GRLT) surged 176.92%, 71.2% and 24.07%, respectively. Of course, that was last week and today is a new trading week. So what should investors and traders alike be prepared for this week with these three small caps? Here is a closer look to help you decide on an investing or trading strategy:

    Cambridge Heart, Inc (OTCMKTS: CAMH) Recently Changed Its Board

    Small cap Cambridge Heart, Inc is a healthcare company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of products for the non-invasive diagnosis of cardiac disease. On Friday, Cambridge Heart, Inc surged 176.92% to $0.018 for a market cap of $1.80 million plus CAMH is up 20% since the start of the year and down 86.1% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

Top Low Price Companies To Own In Right Now: China Unicom (CHU)

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited (Unicom), incorporated on February 8, 2000, is an integrated telecommunications operator in China providing mobile voice and value-added, fixed-line voice and fixed-line broadband, data communications and other telecommunications services to its customers. The Company operates in two business segments consisting of mobile services and fixed-line services. The Company is engaged in global system for mobile communications (GSM) and wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) cellular business in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China, the provision of fixedline voice, broadband and other Internet-related services, information and communications technology services, business and data communications services, and other related telecommunication value-added businesses. As of 30 June 2011, Unicom Group held 57.81% of the shares in the Company through China United Network Communications Limited (A Share Company), China Unicom (BVI) Limited and China Netcom Group Corporation (BVI) Limited, and Telefonica Internacional S.A.U. held 9.01% of the shares in the Company.

Mobile Business

Unicom�� mobile business consists of GSM and third generation (3G) mobile business. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had a total of 167.43 million mobile subscribers. As of December 31, 2010, its total number of mobile subscribers included 167.43 million. Unicom operates the 3G business based on the WCDMA technology nationwide in China. As of December 31, 2010, the total number of its 3G subscribers included 14.06 million, and had 1.35 million wireless data card subscribers, 2.41 million mobile television (TV) subscribers and over seven million mobile reading subscribers. During the year ended December 31, 2010, the total 3G voice usage was 55.47 billion minutes and the average data usage per subscriber per month was 178M. GSM mobile business primarily consists of GSM voice business and value-added business.

The Company�� mobile ! voice business enables its subscribers to make and receive phone calls with a mobile handset at any point within the coverage area of its mobile telecommunications networks. Its mobile voice business includes local calls, domestic long distance calls, international long distance calls, intra-provincial roaming, inter-provincial roaming and international roaming. As of December 31, 2010, the Company�� total number of GSM mobile subscribers was 153.37 million. Unicom offers a range of GSM value-added services nationwide, including short message service (SMS), Cool Ringtone (a personalized ring-back tone service), mobile Internet and other wireless information services. During 2010, a total of 78.31 billion SMSs were transmitted by its GSM mobile subscribers. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had a total number of 67.26 million subscribers to its Cool Ringtone service. In addition, as of December 31, 2010, it had a total number of 55.81 million mobile Internet subscribers.

Fixed-Line Business

Unicom is a fixed-line broadband and communications operator in northern China. The Company offers a range of fixed-line services nationwide in China, including fixed-line broadband services and data communications services; fixed-line voice services, include local and long distance fixed-line voice services and value-added services, and other services. The Company is a provider of fixed-line broadband services in its fixed-line northern service region. Unicom is a provider of data communications services in its fixed-line northern service region. It offers managed data products, such as those based on digital data networks (DDN), frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and Internet protocol-virtual private network (IP-VPN). The Company also offers leased line products, including domestic and international leased circuits. Its customers for these services include government entities, large financial institutions and other domestic and multinational businesses, Internet service prov! iders and! other telecommunications operators.

As of December 31, 2010, the Company had established business cooperation relationships with more than 160 overseas operators to provide various international data communications products and services, such as international voice and data services. During 2010, it continued to offer full-scale data communications services to international operators and domestic and international corporate customers. The Company�� fixed-line voice services consist of local voice, domestic long distance, international long distance, value-added, interconnection and personal handyphone system (PHS) services. In addition to fixed-line telephone voice services, it offers a range of value-added services on its fixed-line networks. The Company�� fixed-line, value-added services include Personalized Ring and caller identification services. Personalized Ring services enable its fixed-line subscribers to personalize the ring-back tone for incoming calls. As of December 31, 2010, the number of its Personalized Ring subscribers reached 23.79 million.

Interconnection and Roaming Arrangements

The Company earns interconnection fees for terminating or transiting calls that originate from other domestic telecommunications operators��networks and pay interconnection fees to other operators for calls originating from its networks that are terminated on their networks. It earns and pays such fees in respect of mobile calls, local and domestic and international long distance calls and Internet services, except for the interconnection by fixed-line subscribers calling its mobile subscribers in the same region where no interconnection fee will be charged.

The Company provides roaming services, which allow its subscribers to access its mobile services while they are physically outside of their registered service area or in the coverage areas of other mobile networks in other countries and regions with which it has roaming arrangements. As of April 30! , 2011, U! nicom had roaming arrangements for GSM international voice and SMS services with 242 operators in 521 countries and regions; GPRS international inbound data services with 179 operators in 400 countries and regions and for international GPRS outbound data services with 164 operators in 357 countries and regions, and 3G services with 104 WCDMA operators in 245 countries and regions.

Mobile Networks

The Company�� mobile network consists of cell sites, which are physical locations, each equipped with a base station that houses transmitters, receivers and other equipment used to communicate through radio channels with subscribers��mobile handsets within the range of a cell; base station controllers, which connect to, and control, the base stations, and mobile switching centers, which control the base station controllers and the routing of telephone calls. Its mobile network also consists of a transmission network, which links the mobile switching centers, base station controllers, base stations and the public switched telephone network. It has deployed GSM and WCDMA mobile networks. The Company�� GSM mobile network mainly operates at 900 megahertz. It has also deployed GSM technology that operates at 1,800 megahertz in metropolitan areas to supplement the capacity of its existing mobile network. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had approximately 329,000 GSM base stations.

The Company competes with China Mobile and China Telecom.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Doug Young]

    I've been writing about the VNO development for awhile now, as it's really quite exciting with the potential to instantly triple the number of telecoms service providers in the market from the current three to a new field of 8-9 operators. Equally important, most of those new operators, which would lease network capacity from the existing three telcos, are private sector firms. That means they should be much more nimble and innovative than the current monopoly of three big state-run companies, China Mobile, China Unicom (CHU) and China Telecom (CHA).

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Top losers in the sector included China Unicom (Hong Kong) (NYSE: CHU), off 4.5 percent, and Black Box (NASDAQ: BBOX), down 3 percent.

    Top Headline
    The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit. Boeing's quarterly profit declined to $965 million, or $1.28 per share, from a year-ago profit of $1.11 billion, or $1.44 per share. Its adjusted earnings surged to $1.76 per share compared to $1.73 per share. Its revenue climbed to $20.47 billion versus $18.89 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $1.57 per share on revenue of $20.24 billion. For the full year, Boeing expects adjusted earnings of $7.15 to $7.35 per share.

  • [By Eddie Staley]

    Telecommunications services shares jumped around 1.19 percent in today’s trading. Top gainers in the sector included NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ), China Unicom (Hong Kong) (NYSE: CHU), and Partner Communications Company (NASDAQ: PTNR).

Top Low Price Companies To Own In Right Now: Volkswagen AG (VLKAF.PK)

Volkswagen AG is a Germany-based automobile manufacturer. The Company develops vehicles and components, and also produces and sells vehicles, in particular Volkswagen brand passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The Company consists of two divisions: Automotive and Financial Services division. The Automotive division is responsible for the development of vehicles and engines, the production and sale of passenger cars, commercial vehicles, trucks and buses, and the genuine parts business. The Financial services division's portfolio of services includes dealer and customer services in the field of financing, leasing, direct bank, insurance and fleet business. The Company's brands include Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, Skoda, Scania and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and each brand offers a product range from low-consumption small cars to luxury class vehicles, as well as pick ups, busses and heavy trucks in the commercial vehicle sector. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Yasir Idrees]

    Nokia has already taken its Here platform to the next level after it announced the Here Connected Driving service. The Here rebranding strategy of extending Nokia's location services has helped the company reach deals with companies like BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen (VLKAF.PK) and Connected Driving is what takes this to the next level.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Own For 2015

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Own For 2015: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:

  • [By Laura Brodbeck]

    Friday

    Earnings Expected From: Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY), Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL), Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE: COG), Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO), Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG), Shire plc (NASDAQ: SHPG) Economic Releases Expected: German consumer confidence, Italian retail sales, British GDP, U.S. new home sales

    Posted-In: Earnings News Previews Top Stories Economics Pre-Market Outlook Markets Trading Ideas Best of Benzinga

  • [By Kashafa Investment Research]

    What works in P&Gs advantage is the fact that the company is already ahead of its peers in the emerging markets. As of 2012, P&G had sales of $33 billion in developing markets as compared to $24 billion for Unilever (UL) and $10 billion for Colgate (CL). This competitive edge over peers will sustain as P&G has product quality, innovation and has a significant marketing budget given its comfortable cash position.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-5-blue-chip-stocks-to-own-for-2015.html

Friday, November 21, 2014

Best Gas Companies To Own In Right Now

Tired of the market kicking you around lately? What if there is a way to know when to floor the gas-pedal when stocks are likely to rock, and take a more conservative approach when red-lights are on the immediate horizon. According to the research of Charles V. Bilello, CMT and Michael A. Gayed, CFA, utility stocks are the crystal ball that makes it possible.

In a paper titled An Intermarket Approach to Beta Rotation: The Strategy, Signal and Power of Utilities, the duo discusses a strategy that crushes the market by investing in utility stocks or the market in general i.e. index ETF. Bilello and Gayed coined it the "Beta Rotation Strategy" (BRS).

Dating back to July 1926, BRS delivered a 13.9% annualized return; whereas, the market offered up 9.8% and utilities 9%. The outperformance adds up to a lot of extra gold coins. Ten thousand dollars invested in BRS, the market and utilities grew into $877 million, $34 million, and $17 million, respectively.

Hot Healthcare Equipment Stocks To Watch Right Now: SandRidge Permian Trust (PER)

SandRidge Permian Trust (the Trust) is a trust formed by SandRidge Energy, Inc. (SandRidge) to own royalty interests in 509 developed oil and natural gas wells located in Andrews County, Texas (the Producing Wells), and 888 oil and natural gas development wells to be drilled (the Development Wells) within an Area of Mutual Interest (AMI). The AMI consists of the Grayburg/San Andres formation in the Permian Basin in Andrews County, Texas. As of December 31, 2010, SandRidge held approximately 16,700 gross acres (15,900 net acres) in the AMI.The Underlying Properties consist of the working interest owned by SandRidge in the Permian Basin in Andrews County, Texas arising under leases and farmout agreements related to properties from which the PDP Royalty Interest and the Development Royalty Interest will be conveyed.

The royalty interest in the Producing Wells (PDP Royalty Interest) entitles the trust to receive 80% of the proceeds from the sale of production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids attributable to SandRidge's net revenue interest in the Producing Wells. The royalty interest in the Development Wells the (Development Royalty Interest) entitles the trust to receive 70% of the proceeds from the sale of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids production attributable to SandRidge's net revenue interest in the Development Wells. As of March 31, 2011, after giving effect to the conveyance of the PDP Royalty Interest and the Development Royalty Interest to the trus, the total reserves estimated to be attributable to the trust were 21.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe). This amount includes 5.8 MMBoe attributable to the PDP Royalty Interest and 16.0 MMBoe attributable to the Development Royalty Interest. The reserves consist of 96% liquids (87% oil and 9% natural gas liquids) and 4% natural gas.

SandRidge is an independent oil and natural gas company concentrating on development and production activities related to the exploitation of its significant holdings! in West Texas and the Mid-Continent area of Oklahoma and Kansas. SandRidge operates all of the Producing Wells. SandRidge owns a majority working interest in substantially all of the locations, on which it focuses to drill the Development Wells, and focuses to operate such wells. SandRidge Exploration and Production, LLC (SandRidge E&P) is a wholly owned subsidiary of SandRidge.

The Underlying Properties are located in the greater Fuhrman-Mascho field area, a region in Andrews County, Texas that primarily produces oil from the Grayburg/San Andres formation within the Permian Basin. SandRidge operates three drilling rigs within the AMI and, as of March 31, 2011, had drilled 101 wells. Within the AMI, SandRidge operates 509 wells and has 888 proven undeveloped locations as of March 31, 2011. These 888 proven locations are a combination of 5-acre, 10-acre and 20-acre infill spacing locations. As of March 31, 2011, average daily production from the Underlying Properties was approximately 3,400 barrel of oil equivalent per day (Boe/d).

Permian Basin

The Permian Basin extends throughout southwest Texas and southeast New Mexico over an area approximately 250 miles wide and 300 miles long. It is an oil producing basin in the United States. As of December 31, 2010, SandRidge operated approximately 2,600 gross producing wells in the Permian Basin, with an average working interest of 94%. In March 2011, SandRidge's average daily net production in the Permian Basin was approximately 29,600 Boe/d. SandRidge was operating 16 rigs in the basin as of March 31, 2011. SandRidge drilled 484 wells in this area during the year ended December 31, 2010.

Fuhrman-Mascho Field

The Fuhrman-Mascho field is located near the center of the Central Basin Platform in the Permian Basin. The field produces from the Grayburg/San Andres formation from average depths of approximately 4,000 to 5,000 feet. The Fuhrman-Mascho field is a producing field in the Permian Basin and! it has p! roduced approximately 142 MMBoe as of December 31, 2010. During 2010, SandRidge operated eight drilling rigs in the area and has drilled 307 wells as of March 31, 2011.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Matt DiLallo]

    The problem here is that SandRidge has been�dependent�on asset sales and its running out of assets to sell. In addition to the Permian sale, SandRidge has now taken three royalty trusts public. One consisting of Permian Basin assets, SandRidge Permian Trust (NYSE: PER  ) and two consisting of Mississippian assets, SandRidge Mississippian Trust I (NYSE: SDT  ) and SandRidge Mississippian Trust II (NYSE: SDR  ) . While SandRidge still owns a portion of each trust, it likely will continue to sell off its ownership stake in each trust as well as other assets it still owns. At some point SandRidge will need to live within its oil and gas cash flows, otherwise, its not worth owning.�

Best Gas Companies To Own In Right Now: Newfield Exploration Co (NFX)

Newfield Exploration Company (Newfield), incorporated on December 5, 1988, is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The Company�� domestic areas of operation include the Mid-Continent, the Rocky Mountains and onshore Texas. Internationally, it focuses on offshore oil developments in Malaysia and China. As of December 31, 2011, it was in the process of drilling 16 gross (9.6 net) exploitation wells and 24 gross (19.7 net) development wells domestically. As of December 31, 2011, internationally, it was drilling one gross (0.6 net) exploratory well in Malaysia. In May 2011, the Company acquired assets in the Uinta Basin of Utah.

Resource Plays

As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned an interest in approximately 825,000 net acres in the Rocky Mountains area. Its assets are oil. It is an operator in the state of Utah, consisting approximately 30% of the state�� total oil production. It has approximately 230,000 net acres in the Uinta Basin and its operations in the Basin can be divided into two areas: its legacy Monument Butte and its position in the Central Basin, located immediately north and adjacent to Monument Butte. It has approximately 1,800 oil wells in the Green River formation in its Monument Butte field. Its acquisition of acreage north of Monument Butte added approximately 65,000 net acres, including the Uteland Butte and Wasatch formations. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it had drilled approximately 20 wells in these new plays with encouraging results. As of December 31, 2011, its net production from the Uinta Basin was approximately 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The Company has approximately 65,000 net acres under development on the Nesson Anticline of North Dakota and west of the Nesson. In addition, it has about 40,000 net acres in the mature Elm Coulee field, located in Richland County, Montana. As of December 31, 2011, it had! drilled 67 wells in North Dakota with production from the Bakken formation. Its acreage is also prospective for the Sanish/Three Forks formation. As of December 21, 2011, its net production was approximately 7,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day. It has approximately 340,000 net acres in the Southern Alberta Basin of northern Montana. Its activities in the Mid-Continent have been focused on two natural gas plays - the Arkoma Woodford and the Granite Wash. As of December 31, 2011, it had approximately 480,000 net acres in the Mid-Continent and its production was approximately 330 millions of cubic feet equivalent per day.

The Company has more than 300,000 net acres in Oklahoma�� Woodford play. Approximately 170,000 net acres are in the Arkoma Woodford Basin. As of December 31, 2011, its net daily production in the Arkoma Woodford was approximately 180 millions of cubic feet equivalent per day. As of December 31, 2011, it had more than 125,000 net acres in the Cana Woodford play, located in the Anadarko Basin. The Company has approximately 50,000 net acres in the Granite Wash, located in Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. As of December 31, 2011, its net production from the region was approximately 101 millions of cubic feet equivalent per day. Its producing field in the Granite Wash includes Stiles/Britt Ranch, where it operates and owns 17,000 net acres. During 2011, it ran three to four operated rigs in the Granite Wash. It has approximately 317,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford and Pearsall shales in the Maverick Basin, located in Maverick, Dimmit and Zavala counties, Texas. As of December 31, 2011, it completed a total of 54 wells in the basin and its production was approximately 3,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The acreage includes multiple geologic horizons, including the Georgetown, Glen Rose, Pearsall, Austin Chalk and the Eagle Ford.

Conventional Plays

The Company has operations in conventional plays onshore Texas, offshore Malaysia and China and! in the G! ulf of Mexico. As of December 31, 2011, it owned an interest in approximately 147,000 net acres in conventional onshore Texas plays with net production of approximately 88 millions of cubic feet equivalent per day. Its international activities are focused on offshore oil developments in Southeast Asia and China. It has production and active developments offshore Malaysia and the People�� Republic of China. As of February 21, 2012, its net production from Malaysia was at 29,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. It has an interest in approximately 925,000 net acres offshore Malaysia and approximately 290,000 net acres offshore the People�� Republic of China.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned interests in 91 deepwater leases and approximately 275,000 net acres. As of December 31, 2011, its net production from the Gulf of Mexico was approximately 75 millions of cubic feet equivalent per day. In February 2012, production commenced from its deepwater Pyrenees development, with net daily production of approximately 3,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Matt DiLallo]

    Kodiak has been working hard to get its well costs down, but it still has a long way to go. What's important for Kodiak investors to realize is that it's not an impossible task. For example, over the past year Newfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX  ) has been able to improve its well costs significantly. While its average well cost in the first quarter of this year was $9.8 million, more recent wells have been drilled for around $8.3 million.

  • [By Johanna Bennett]

    Energy shares felt the pressure WPX Energy (WPX) fell 1.85% to $18.60, and Newfield Exploration (NFX) fell 2.8% to $29.16.

    Still, the�pact was�widely viewed as a benefit for markets here and abroad.

  • [By Matt DiLallo]

    Oil and gas producers face many risks, with weather being one that could really impact a company's results if it's focused on just one play. This is where a producer like�Newfield Exploration� (NYSE: NFX  ) , for example, can have a leg up on more focused producers. Newfield, which operates in four major U.S. basins, including the Bakken, can move its capital around if it runs into issues with the weather or prices. The plan this year is to spend about 16% of its capex budget on the Bakken, which will produce 25% oil production growth year over year. The flexibility of working in multiple basins has enabled Newfield to work around weather and infrastructure challenges in the Bakken to grow its overall oil and natural gas liquids production by 39% this year.

Best Gas Companies To Own In Right Now: Lehigh Gas Partners LP (LGP)

Lehigh Gas Partners LP, incorporated on December 2, 2011, is engaged in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels, consisting of gasoline and diesel fuel, and to own and lease real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels. It generates revenues from the wholesale distribution of motor fuels to gas stations, truck stops and toll road plazas, which it refers to as sites, and from real estate leases. It generates cash flows from the wholesale distribution of motor fuels by charging a per gallon margin. Its supply agreements with lessee dealers have three-year terms, and its supply agreements with independent dealers generally have 10-year terms. In May 2011, the Company acquired from Motiva Enterprises, LLC (Motiva) a total of 26 Shell Oil Company branded gas stations and convenience stores (Shell Locations) located in New Jersey and also acquired 56 wholesale fuel supply agreements. In September 2013, the Company announced that it has completed asset acquisition in the Knoxville, Tennessee region from Rocky Top Markets, LLC and Rocky Top Properties, LLC.

The Company generates cash flows from rental income by collecting rent from lessee dealers and Lehigh Gas-Ohio, LLC (LGO) pursuant to lease agreements. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it distributed approximately 561 million gallons of motor fuels to 570 sites. In addition, it has agreements requiring the operators of these sites to purchase motor fuels from it. As of December 31, 2011, it distributed motor fuels to the classes of businesses, including 185 independent dealers; 181 sites owned or leased by it and that will be operated by LGO following the closing of this offering; 134 sites owned or leased by it and operated by lessee dealers; and 70 sites distributed through six sub-wholesalers. In May 2012, the Company entered into a master lease agreement to lease 120 sites from an affiliate of Getty Realty Corp. Of the 120 sites, 74 are located in Massachusetts, 22 are located in New Hampshire, 15 are located in Pen! nsylvania and nine are located in Maine. The Company is focused on owning and leasing sites located in metropolitan and urban areas. It owns and leases sites located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky, New Hampshire and Maine.

Wholesale Motor Fuel Distribution

The Company purchases branded and unbranded motor fuel from integrated oil companies, refiners and unbranded fuel suppliers. It distributes motor fuel to lessee dealers, independent dealers, LGO and sub-wholesalers. The Company is a distributor of brands of motor fuel, as well as unbranded motor fuel. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it distributed approximately 561 million gallons of motor fuel. It distributes motor fuel to lessee dealers and independent dealers under supply agreements. It provides credit terms to its lessee dealers and independent dealers, which are generally one to three days.

The Company distributes motor fuel to sub-wholesalers under supply agreements. Under its supply agreements, it agrees to supply a particular branded motor fuel or unbranded motor fuel to the sub-wholesaler. Motor fuels are sold to the sub-wholesalers at rack plus. It provides credit terms to its sub-wholesalers, which are one to three days. Branded motor fuels are purchased from integrated oil companies and refiners under supply agreements. During the year ended December 31, 2011, its wholesale business purchased approximately 46%, 23%, 22% and 5% of its motor fuel from ExxonMobil, BP Products North America, Inc. (BP), Shell Oil Company (Shell) and Valero respectively.

Real Estate

The Company owns or lease 315 sites located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts and Kentucky. 186 of the sites it owns fee simple and 107 sites it leases from third-party landlords. Over 90% of its sites are located in metropolitan and urban areas. It derives its rental income from sites it owns or leases. It collects rent from the lessee dealers and! LGO purs! uant to lease agreements it has with the lessee dealers and LGO. All of its 186 owned sites are leased to lessee dealers or LGO. Its leases with the lessee dealers have three year terms. As of December 31, 2011, the average remaining lease term for owned sites it leases to lessee dealers was 1.8 years. As of December 31, 2011, it also leased 98 sites from third-parties and then sub-leased these sites to lessee dealers and LGO. As of December 31, 2011, the average remaining lease term for sites it leases from third-parties was 7.5 years. Its sub-leases with the lessee dealers have three-year terms. The average remaining sub-lease term for sites it sub-lease to lessee dealers is 4.2 years.

The rental income the Company earns from sites it owns or leases include rental income associated with the personal property located on these sites, such as motor fuel pumps. It sells sites, which it owns and then leases the sites back from the buyer. It refers to these transactions as sale-leasebacks. In these sale-leaseback transactions, it retains the environmental liabilities associated with the site. As of December 11, 2012, the Company leased 22 sale-leaseback sites. As of December 31, 2011, the average remaining lease term of these sale-leaseback sites was 17.5 years. It sub-leases its sale-leaseback sites to lessee dealers and LGO. Its sub-leases with the lessee dealers have three-year terms. As of December 31, 2011, the average remaining sub-lease term for sites it sub-lease to lessee dealers was 2.1 years. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned 186 sites.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Garrett Cook]

    Lehigh Gas Partners LP (NYSE: LGP) shares shot up 25.80 percent to $32.69 after CST Brands (NYSE: CST) announced its plans to acquire Lehigh Gas GP LLC, the general partner of Lehigh Gas Partners LP. Lehigh Gas Partners also reported its financial results for the second quarter.

Best Gas Companies To Own In Right Now: Lightstream Resources Ltd (LSTMF.PK)

Lightstream Resources Ltd, formerly PetroBakken Energy Ltd., is a Canada-based oil and gas exploration and production company. The Company�� principal operating areas include southeastern Saskatchewan where it targets the Bakken formation and conventional Mississippian reservoirs, central Alberta, where it is focused on the Cardium formation, and north-central Alberta, where it is engaged in exploring for light oil resource plays. In addition, the Company also has land holdings in the Horn River and Montney plays in northeast British Columbia. On December 31, 2012, Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. and PetroBakken Energy Ltd. announced the completion of the reorganization. The Reorganization resulted in a newly incorporated company PetroBakken Energy Ltd. (New PetroBakken). Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By MLP Trader]

    Here are the current top five companies in the list:

    CompanySymbolEV/BOEPD/NetbackPrice/NAVEV/DACFPinecrest(PNCGF.PK)53564%4.0XLightstream(LSTMF.PK)131753%4.5XNovus(NOVUF.PK)133290%4.1XZargon(ZARFF.PK)138664%5.6XTwin Butte(TBTEF.PK)155885%5.5X

    Of the larger companies, one that remains obstinately near the top of the list is Lightstream . Lightstream trades at 40% of its book value and a whopping 13.4% yield.

Best Gas Companies To Own In Right Now: Surge Energy Inc (ZPTAF.PK)

Surge Energy Inc. is an oil focused exploration and production (E&P) company. The Company has projects in Southern Saskatchewan/the Williston Basin, SE Alberta and Valhalla/Nipisi. In January 2014, Surge Energy Inc. announced the SE Saskatchewan light oil acquisition. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Value Digger]

    In late January 2013, I wrote an article about Surge Energy (ZPTAF.PK), an oil-weighted intermediate producer with operations in Canada and US. It was when the price dropped below $4. Actually, I recommended Surge Energy back then at $3.7, for the reasons mentioned here.

Best Gas Companies To Own In Right Now: Athlon Energy Inc (ATHL)

Athlon Energy Inc., incorporated on April 1, 2013, is an independent exploration and production company. The Company is a holding company and its sole assets are controlling equity interests in Athlon Holdings LP and its subsidiaries. The Company is focused on the acquisition, development and exploitation of unconventional oil and liquids-rich natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin. The Permian Basin spans portions of Texas and New Mexico and consists of three primary sub-basins: the Delaware Basin, the Central Basin Platform and the Midland Basin. The Company�� properties are located in the Midland Basin. Its drilling activity is focused on the vertical development of stacked pay zones, including the Spraberry, Wolfcamp, Cline, Strawn, Atoka and Mississippian formations, which it refers to collectively as the Wolfberry play. The Company's acreage position was 124,925 gross at May 31, 2013, which it grousp into three primary areas based on geographic location within the Midland Basin: Howard, Midland and Other and Glasscock. As of April 30, 2013, the Company operated up to eight vertical drilling rigs and has drilled 218 gross operated vertical Wolfberry wells. In February 2014, Athlon Energy Inc announced that subsidiary, Athlon Holdings LP completed the acquisition of certain oil and natural gas properties and related assets in the Midland Basin of West Texas.

As of March 15, 2013, there were 478 total rigs operating in the Permian Basin. The Company�� properties are located within the Midland Basin in areas with approximately 3,000 feet to 4,000 feet of stacked pay zones. Its vertical drilling program is targeting the Spraberry, Wolfcamp, Cline, Strawn, Atoka and Mississippian formations.

Howard

The Company operates four rigs in this area. As of May 31, 2013, the Company had 69,661 gross acres and an inventory of 1,577 gross (1,140 net) identified vertical drilling locations on 40-acre spacing and an additional 1,741 gross identified vertical drilling ! locations on 20-acre spacing. As of April 30, 2013, it had identified 506 gross horizontal drilling locations consisting of 147 gross Wolfcamp A locations, 172 gross Wolfcamp B locations, 25 gross Wolfcamp C locations, 111 gross Cline locations and 51 gross Mississippian locations.

Midland and Other

The Company operates two rigs in this area. As of May 31, 2013, the Company had 36,694 gross acres and an inventory of 424 gross (390 net) identified vertical drilling locations on 40-acre spacing and an additional 463 gross (414 net) identified vertical drilling locations on 20-acre spacing. As of April 30, 2013, it has identified 352 gross horizontal drilling locations consisting of 64 gross Wolfcamp A locations, 125 gross Wolfcamp B locations, 97 gross Wolfcamp C locations and 66 gross Cline locations.

Glasscock

The Company operates one rig in this area. As of May 31, 2013, it had 18,570 gross net acres and an inventory of 297 gross (267 net) identified vertical drilling locations on 40-acre spacing and an additional 400 gross identified vertical drilling locations on 20-acre spacing. As of April 30, 2013, it had identified 232 gross horizontal drilling locations consisting of 54 gross Wolfcamp A locations, 58 gross Wolfcamp B locations, 58 gross Wolfcamp C locations and 62 gross Cline locations.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Matt Jarzemsky var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]

    The drillers considered to be Parsley�� closest peers include Diamondback Energy Inc.(FANG), which has seen its shares rally 38% so far this year through Thursday. Athlon Energy Inc.(ATHL), another similar company, is up 43% this year and 116% since its August IPO.

Best Gas Companies To Own In Right Now: InterOil Corp (IOC)

InterOil Corporation (InterOil), incorporated on August 24, 2007, is an integrated energy company operating in Papua New Guinea and the surrounding Southwest Pacific region. InterOil operates in four segments: upstream, midstream, downstream and corporate. The upstream segment explores, appraises and develops crude oil and natural gas structures in Papua New Guinea. This segment also manages its construction business, which services the development projects underway in Papua New Guinea. The midstream segment produces refined petroleum products at Napa Napa in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea for the domestic market and for export. It is developing liquefaction and associated facilities in Papua New Guinea for the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The downstream segment markets and distributes refined products domestically in Papua New Guinea on a wholesale and retail basis.

During 2012, it sold approximately 13% of its refined petroleum products to Pacific Energy Aviation (PNG) Ltd for aviation refueling at Papua New Guinea�� international airport in Port Moresby. The corporate segment provides support to the other business segments by engaging in business development and improvement activities and providing general and administrative services and management, undertakes financing and treasury activities, and is responsible for government and investor relations. This segment also manages the Company�� shipping business, which operates two vessels transporting petroleum products for it�� and external customers, both within PNG and for export in the South Pacific region.

Upstream - Exploration and Production

InterOil�� upstream business segment focuses on the development program for the Elk, Antelope and Triceratops fields. The Elk and Antelope fields are onshore gas fields with contingent resources. As at December 31, 2012, it had interests in three PPLs and one PRL in Papua New Guinea covering 3,996,453 gross acres, all of which were operated by the Co! mpany. PPLs 236, 237 and 238 and PRL 15 are located onshore in the Eastern Papuan Basin, northwest of Port Moresby. It undertook exploration activities in its three exploration licenses, PPL 236, PPL 237 and PPL 238. These exploration activities involved a regional airborne geophysical survey, various seismic surveys across a number of prospects and preparation for drilling of its next appraisal well, Triceratops 2, which was spudded in mid-January 2012.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had a 100% working interest in PPL 236. The license consists of 53 graticular blocks covering an area of 4,502 square kilometers or 1,112,464 acres. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had a 100% working interest in PPL 237. The license consists of 34 graticular blocks covering an area of 3,238 square kilometers or 715,648 acres. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had a 100% working interest in PPL 238. The license consists of 94 graticular blocks covering an area of 7,922 square kilometers or 1,978,565 acres.

Midstream

The Company�� refinery is located across the harbor from Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea. Its refinery is the sole refiner of hydrocarbons located in Papua New Guinea. Jet fuel, diesel and gasoline are the primary products that the Company produces for the domestic market. The refining process also results in the production of two Naphtha grades and low sulfur waxy residue. Papua New Guinea is its principal market for the products its refinery produces, other than Naphtha and LSWR. Its refinery is fully certified to manufacture and market Jet A-1 fuel to international specifications and markets this product to both domestic Papua New Guinea and overseas airlines.

Downstream - Wholesale and Retail Distribution

The Company has the wholesale and retail petroleum product distribution base in Papua New Guinea. This business includes bulk storage, transportation distribution, aviation, wholesale and retail facilities! for refi! ned petroleum products. Its downstream business supplies petroleum products nationally in Papua New Guinea through a portfolio of retail service stations and commercial customers. As of December 31, 2012, InterOil provided petroleum products to 53 retail service stations with 43 operating under the InterOil brand name and the remaining 10 operating under their own independent brand. Of the 53 service stations that the Company supplies, 16 are either owned by or head leased to it, which it then sublease to company-approved operators. The remaining 37 service stations are independently owned and operated. It also provides fuel pumps and related infrastructure to the operators of the majority of these retail service stations that are not owned or leased by the Company under cover of equipment loan agreement. Its retail business accounted for approximately 15% of its total downstream sales during 2012. Its retail and wholesale distribution business distributes diesel, jet fuel, avgas, gasoline, kerosene and fuel oil, as well as branded commercial and industrial lubricants, such as engine and hydraulic oils.

The Company competes with ExxonMobil.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Del, Vecchio,]

    As energy takes on more of a global focus, so do the stocks of the companies that produce it. With the increase in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, places once thought of as flyover states are now booming industrial areas because of the new ability to uncover deep underground stores of oil and natural gas. There's a lot of room for excavation and discovery in these areas, and companies such as Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK  ) , WPX Energy (NYSE: WPX  ) , and InterOil (NYSE: IOC  ) are taking full advantage.

  • [By Eric Volkman]

    InterOil (NYSE: IOC  ) has a new name on the door of its CEO's office. The company announced that it appointed Michael Hession to be its chief executive, effective immediately.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Top 10 Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2014

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

Now, however, Solazyme is simply converging on the realizations of most other industrial biotech companies including Amyris, Pareto Biotechnologies (started with lean commercial strategy), REG Life Sciences, Metabolix, Deinove, Evolva, and others. While the market hasn't taken much interest in the long term value potential of Amyris' strategy, investors will want to educate themselves on the parallels, market realities, and timelines involved now that Solazyme is transitioning to a commercialization pathway nearly identical�to the rest of the field. Can Solazyme make a similar strategy work for its platform and two production facilities?

10 Best Cheapest Stocks To Buy Right Now: Vanguard Intermediate Term Bond ETF (BIV)

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (the Fund) seeks to track the performance of a market-weighted bond index with an intermediate-term, dollar-weighted average maturity. The Fund employs a passive management or indexing strategy designed to track the performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. 5-10 Year Government/Credit Bond Index (the Index). The Index includes all medium and larger issues of the United States Government, investment-grade corporate, and investment-grade international dollar-denominated bonds that have maturities between 5 and 10 years and are publicly issued. The Fund invests by sampling the Index, meaning that it holds a range of securities that, in the aggregate, approximate the full Index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. All of the Fund�� investments will be selected through the sampling process, and at least 80% of its assets will be invested in bonds held in the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is The Vanguard Group, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By GURUFOCUS]

    In addition to individual stocks several funds pay a monthly dividend. Below is a sampling of these:
    Monthly Bond Funds- iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Credit Bond (CSJ) | Yield: 1.29%
    - Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV) | Yield: 1.25%
    - Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV) | Yield: 2.96%
    - Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF (BLV) | Yield: 4.42%

Top 10 Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2014: Sands China Ltd (SCHYF)

Sands China Ltd. (Sands China) is an investment holding company. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, is engaged in the development and operation of integrated resorts in Macao, which contain not only gaming areas, but also meeting space, convention and exhibition halls, retail and dining areas and entertainment venues. The Company operates in five segments: The Venetian Macao, Sands Macao, The Plaza Macao, Sands Cotai Central and ferry and other operations. The Venetian Macao, the Plaza Macao and Other developments derive their revenue primarily from casino, hotel, food and beverage, mall, convention, retail and others sources. Ferry and other operations derive their revenue from the sale of ferry tickets for transportation between Hong Kong and Macau. As of December 31, 2011, its properties included 3,554 hotel rooms and suites, 74 restaurants, 1.2 million square feet of retail, 1.2 million square feet of meeting space, two permanent theaters, a 15,000-seat arena and the casino. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By MARKETWATCH]

    HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks rose early Wednesday, with the Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI) up 0.2% at 22,587.72. Hong Kong properties advanced, as the city's major developer Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. (HK:16) (SUHJY) rose 0.7%, after the company launched new luxury Riva project and saw the first batch of 64 flats sold out on the first day of sale. Sino Land Co. (HK:83) (SNLAF) rose 1.1%, Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. gained 0.9%, and Henderson Land Development Co. (HK:12) (BACHY) edged up 0.2%. Chinese auto maker Dongfeng Motor Group Co. (HK:489) resumed trading and fell 0.9%, after the company said it signed an agreement with French joint-venture partner PSA Peugeot Citroen to invest 800 million euros ($1.1 billion) for a stake in the company. Most Casino stocks were lower, after reports said Macau planned to cut the duration of operators' licenses to 5 years. Shares of MGM China Holdings Ltd. (HK:2282) (MCHVF) declined 1.6%, SJM Holdings Ltd. (HK:880) lost 1%, and Sands China Ltds. (HK:1928) (SCHYF) dropped 0.8%. On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index (CN:SHCOMP) traded flat at 2,119.77.

Top 10 Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2014: American Assets Trust Inc (AAT)

American Assets Trust, Inc. is a full-service vertically integrated and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company owns, operates, acquires and develops retail, office, multi-family and mixed-use properties primarily in Southern California, Northern California, Oregon and Hawaii. The Company operates in four business segments: retail, office, multi-family and mixed-use. As of December 31, 2011, its portfolio consisted of 10 retail shopping centers; six office properties; a mixed-use property consisting of a 369-room all-suite hotel and a retail shopping center, and four multi-family properties. As of December 31, 2011, it owned land at five of its properties that the Company classified as held for development. On January 24, 2012, it acquired One Beach Street, consisting of approximately 97,000 rentable square feet in a renovated office building located along the Embarcadero in San Francisco�� North Waterfront District. On August 30, 2011, it sold Valencia Corporate Center.

On March 11, 2011, the Company acquired First & Main, an approximately 361,000 square foot, 16-story, office building located at 100 SW Main Street, in Portland, Oregon. On July 1, 2011, it acquired the Lloyd District Portfolio, consisting of approximately 610,000 rentable square feet on more than 16 acres located in the Lloyd District of Portland, Oregon. On September 20, 2011, it acquired the Solana Beach-Highway 101 property, consisting of approximately 1.7 acres located in Solana Beach, California. On December 14, 2011, it acquired an additional 0.2 acres adjacent to such location.

The Company is the sole general partner of American Assets Trust, L.P., a Maryland limited partnership (the Operating Partnership). The Company, as the sole general partner has control of its Operating Partnership and owned 67.8% of its Operating Partnership as of December 31, 2011. At December 31, 2011, its operating portfolio had approximately 705 leases with office and retail tenants, of which s! even expired on December 31, 2011 and 15 had not yet commenced. Its residential properties had approximately 753 leases with residential tenants at December 31, 2011, excluding Santa Fe Park RV Resort. The retail portion of its mixed-use property had approximately 64 leases with retailers.

Retail

The products for its retail segment primarily include rental of retail space and other tenant services, including tenant reimbursements, parking and storage space rental. The Company�� retail properties include Carmel Country Plaza, South Bay Marketplace, Rancho Carmel Plaza, Lomas Santa Fe Plaza, Solana Beach Towne Centre, The Shops at Kalakaua, Waikele Center and Alamo Quarry Market. Its retail portfolio included 10 properties with a total of approximately three million rentable square feet available for lease as of December 31, 2011. As of December 31, 2011, these properties were 95% leased. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it signed 69 retail leases for 247,560 square feet. During 2011, the retail segment contributed 41.2%, of its total revenue.

Office

The products for its office segment primarily include rental of office space and other tenant services, including tenant reimbursements, parking and storage space rental. The Company�� office properties include Torrey Reserve, Solana Beach Corporate Centre, 160 King Street and The Landmark at One Market. Its office portfolio included six properties with a total of approximately 2.2 million rentable square feet available for lease as of December 31, 2011. As of December 31, 2011, these properties were 94.4% leased. During 2011, it signed 56 office leases for 233,213 square feet. During 2011, the office segment contributed 30.7% of its total revenue.

Multi-family

The products for its multi-family segment include rental of apartments and other tenant services. Its multi-family portfolio included three apartment properties, as well as an RV resort, with a total of 922 units! (includi! ng 122 RV spaces) available for lease as of December 31, 2011. As of December 31, 2011, these properties were 91.8% leased. Its multi-family leases, other than at its RV Resort, generally have lease terms ranging from 7 to 15 months, with a majority having 12-month lease terms. The Company�� multi-family properties include Loma Palisades, Imperial Beach Gardens, Mariner�� Point and Santa Fe Park RV Resort.

Mixed-Use Property

The products of its mixed-use segment include rental of retail space and other tenant services, including tenant reimbursements, parking and storage space rental and operation of a 369-room all-suite hotel. Waikiki Beach Walk Retail and Hotel is a mixed-use property. Its mixed-use property consists of 97,000 rentable square feet of retail space and a 369-room all-suite hotel. Revenue from the mixed-use property consists of revenue earned from retail leases, and revenue earned from the hotel, which consists of room revenue, food and beverage services, parking and other guest services. As of December 31, 2011, the retail portion of the property was 99.2% leased, and during 2011, the hotel had an average occupancy of 88.4%.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Life Sciences Report]

    AF: Kamada Ltd. (KMDA) is a relatively unknown Israeli company that is doing very well. It is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. It has an intravenous form of a drug for alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency, which causes lung and liver disease, that is partnered with Baxter International Inc. (BAX).

Top 10 Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2014: iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (EFA)

iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the MSCI EAFE Index (the Index). The Index has been developed by Morgan Stanley Capital International, Inc. as an equity benchmark for international stock performance. The Index includes stocks from Europe, Australasia and the Far East. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization.

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

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Many of Fidelity's�core offerings have extremely low bid-ask spreads of just a penny per share. But especially among funds where iShares replaced former offerings with similar new funds, bid-ask spreads are uncomfortably high in some cases. For instance, the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF has a much lower expense ratio of 0.14% than the 0.34% of the $41 billion iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEMKT: EFA  ) , but the newly commission-free fund has an average bid-ask spread of 0.1%, equating to a typical spread of more than a nickel per share. You'll find a similar phenomenon comparing the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF with the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEMKT: EEM  ) , with lower costs for the former offsetting greater liquidity for the latter. The tiny iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Small-Cap ETF has the highest average bid-ask spread of the lot, at a whopping 1.5%. With a dozen funds sporting bid-ask spreads of more than a quarter-percent, you'll pay a high price for the lack of liquidity in some of the funds iShares and Fidelity have made available.

  • [By anandjha89]

    The markets fell by some 60% from 2008 into 2009. Our balanced income portfolio - 70% bonds to 30% stocks fell by less than 10% from its pre-crash peak. Our balanced portfolio - 60% stocks to 40% bonds fell by some 20%. Our balanced growth portfolio - 75% stocks to 25% bonds fell by some 35%. Our equity portfolio was not available at that time, but certainly the stock market correction was the great equalizer bringing the U.S. (SPY), international (EFA) and Canadian (EWC) markets down by some 60%. You can use those numbers as a general barometer of how asset mix affects volatility, and to match your own risk tolerance level to the asset mix. Are you 'comfortable' with a 60% drop, a 35% drop, a 20% drop or a 10% drop? Mix and match!

Top 10 Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2014: Choice Hotels International Inc. (CHH)

Choice Hotels International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a hotel franchisor worldwide. It franchises lodging properties under its proprietary brand names, including Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Sleep Inn, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Cambria Suites, and Ascend Collection brands. As of March 31, 2011, it operated 6,128 open hotels comprising 492,733 rooms, as well as 606 hotels consisting of 49,908 rooms under construction, awaiting conversion, or approved for development in 49 states, and the District of Columbia in the United States; and approximately 40 countries and other territories. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Udovich]

    Small cap hotel stock La Quinta Holdings Inc (NYSE: LQ) just had its IPO to raise a lower than expected $650 million after being priced below its expected range, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock which�is focused on the�mid-priced hotel market along with the performance of potential benchmarks like hotel stocks Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ: MAR), Choice Hotels International Inc (NYSE: CHH) and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN).

  • [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 Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

  • [By Sean Williams]

    Don't make the wrong Choice
    I predict that 2013 will be the return of the "staycation." In the depths of the recession, instead of taking expensive getaways, consumers chose simply to take time off work and stay home or locally. I think we have the perfect confluence of factors that could make life difficult for Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH  ) , operator of Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, and a multitude of other mid-price-point hotels.

  • [By Jeremy Bowman]

    What: Shares of Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH  ) were getting picked last by investors today, falling 11% after cutting EPS guidance in its quarterly report.

Top 10 Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2014: GenMark Diagnostics Inc.(GNMK)

GenMark Diagnostics, Inc. operates as a molecular diagnostics company primarily in the United States. It focuses on the development and commercialization of multiplexed molecular diagnostic testing systems for the detection and measurement of DNA and RNA targets used in the treatment of patients. The company?s products comprise eSensor XT-8 system, an automated molecular diagnostic system, which enable reference laboratories and hospitals to perform molecular diagnostic tests; and eSensor XT-8 Cartridge that utilizes a microfluidic system to accelerate target binding and enhance time to result. It also offers IVD tests, including eSensor cystic fibrosis genotyping test, eSensor thrombophilia risk test, and eSensor warfarin sensitivity test. The company?s other multiplexed molecular diagnostic tests pipeline under development comprise eSensor 2C19 test for the multiplexed detection and genotyping of various alleles of the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) 2C19 gene locus; eSensor respiratory viral panel, a nucleic acid multiplex test for the simultaneous detection and identification of multiple respiratory virus nucleic acids and mutations that confer resistance of Influenza A to the anti-viral drug Oseltamivir (Tamiflu); and eSensor KRAS/BRAF test for the multiplexed detection and genotyping of 12 mutations in codons 12 and 13 of KRAS and the V600E mutation in BRAF. GenMark Diagnostics, Inc. is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    GenMark Diagnostics (GNMK) is a molecular diagnostics company, engages in the development, manufacturing, marketing, sale, and support of instruments and molecular tests based on its proprietary eSensor detection technology in the U.S. This stock closed up 1.7% to $9.89 in Tuesday's trading session.

    Tuesday's Range: $9.24-$9.95

    52-Week Range: $6.38-$16.00

    Thursday's Volume: 562,000

    Three-Month Average Volume: 385,008

    From a technical perspective, GNMK bounced modestly higher here with above-average volume. This stock has been trending sideways inside of a consolidation chart pattern for the last two months, with shares moving between $8.75 on the downside and $10.71 on the upside. This bounce is starting to push GNMK within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above the upper-end of its sideways trading chart pattern. That breakout will hit if GNMK manages to clear some near-term overhead resistance levels at $10.04 to $10.50 and then once it takes out more resistance at $10.71 with high volume.

    Traders should now look for long-biased trades in GNMK as long as it's trending above Tuesday's low of $9.24 or around $9 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 385,008 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then GNMK will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $12 to $13.50.

Top 10 Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2014: Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd (ENH)

Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. underwrites specialty lines of personal and commercial property and casualty insurance and reinsurance worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Insurance segment provides agriculture insurance covering traditional multi-peril crop insurance, crop hail, livestock risk protection, and other agriculture risk management products; and professional lines of insurance products, including directors� and officers� liability, errors and omissions, employment practices liability, environmental liability, and pension trust liability insurance. This segment also offers casualty and other specialty insurance products for third party liability; hospital medical professional liability; contract and commercial surety; and workers� compensation, as well as property insurance primarily for earthquake and flood coverage. The Reinsurance segment provides catastrophe reinsurance for catastrophic perils primarily for pro perty and workers� compensation business; property reinsurance for property insurance policies; and casualty reinsurance for third party liability exposures, such as automobile, professional, directors� and officers�, and umbrella liabilities, as well as for workers� compensation. This segment also offers aerospace reinsurance covering hull, aircraft liability, and aircraft products; marine reinsurance of bluewater and brownwater hull, and cargo risks; surety reinsurance for contract and commercial surety, and fidelity insurers; agriculture reinsurance for risks associated with the production of food and fiber; and personal accident and terrorism reinsurance products. The company distributes its products through independent agents, and insurance and reinsurance brokers. Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. was founded in 2001 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By cody56]

    The fund in the third quarter letter discuss its best holdings which included medical device manufacturer Natus Medical Inc. (BABY), rail road service company Trinity Industries Inc. (TRN), resort operator Vail Resorts Ince (MTN), Correction Corp Of America (CXW), and Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. (ENH).

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Equities Trading UP
    Aspen Insurance Holdings (NYSE: AHL) shares shot up 11.33 percent to $43.83 after Endurance Specialty Holdings (NYSE: ENH) offered to buy Aspen Insurance for $47.50 per share in a cash and stock deal.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Should I Buy Google Stock? 3 Pros, 3 Cons

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When Google (GOOG) got its start in the late 1990s, there was much skepticism. People wondered how a company could survive on just the search business. Shouldn't it be a portal instead?

google logo Should I Buy Google Stock? 3 Pros, 3 ConsClearly, Google proved everyone wrong. In fact, many portals eventually went away — like Excite and Lycos — or would go on to struggle, like AOL (AOL) and Yahoo! (YHOO).

Search actually turned out to be a huge money maker, as seen with the massive move in Google stock. Since its IPO in 2004, the shares are up nearly 10 times.

As for the current year, however, Google stock has been under pressure, down -2%. So, should investors jump into the stock before it races higher, or is there cause for concern? Here’s a look at the pros and cons for GOOG stock:

Google Stock Pros

Mobile: Google stock should continue to get a strong lift from mobile. Over the years, the company has made savvy bets on innovations like Android, AdMob and apps like Google Maps. Keep in mind that mobile is likely to provide much higher monetization than the desktop search business. After all, a smartphone is something that is personal to each person — it's not shared. This means it is easier to understand user behavior, which allows for more targeted ads.

Video: Video should be another strong driver for Google stock. Of course, the marque asset is YouTube, which is the world’s dominant video-sharing platform, with more than 1 billion users. YouTube also caterers to a valuable demographic for advertisers: viewers between the ages of 18 to 35. While traditional advertisers have been slow to move brand campaigns to digital formats, it seems inevitable that this will change — all in favor of GOOG stock.

Financials: There is little to argue here. Revenues continue to grow at a nice pace, up about 19% to $15.4 billion in the latest quarter. Cash flow also remains solid, coming to $4.39 billion in Q1. In all, the company has $59.38 billion in the bank. And the valuation of Google stock is fair, with the price-to-earnings ratio is 28. In comparison, Facebook (FB) has a staggering multiple of 82.

Google Stock Cons

Hardware: Very few companies have mastered both software and hardware … the prime example being Apple (AAPL). But Apple has had decades to work on its strategy, and there were many blunders along the way. While Google is top-notch with software, the move into hardware has been mostly a bust. For example, Glass has not made much of an impact (except for lots of bad PR and jokes), and the Nexus phone is bit player in the mobile market. But perhaps the biggest example of Google's hardware failure was the acquisition of Motorola, which it ended up selling to Lenovo.

Bandwidth: Google has an extremely strong culture of innovation and risk-taking. This is why the company has been able to benefit from trends like mobile, while others — such as Microsoft (MSFT) — have lagged in that arena. If anything, the innovation in the company’s DNA has been a key driver of Google stock over the years. But innovation is far from perfect, and necessarily means risk. Investors never know when that might come back to hurt GOOG stock.

Social: In its early days, Google didn’t care about having users register. Anybody could come to the site and search. That strategy boosted growth because it meant little friction. But there was a downside to this: Google missed out on the social revolution. True, the company set up its own social network, called G+. However, it has remained mostly a ghost down. The social business is too big to ignore, and Google will likely need to be a player in the market if it wants to keep up the growth rate. Ultimately, this may mean that it will need to make a mega acquisition, for a company on the scale of Twitter (TWTR) or SnapChat.

Verdict on GOOG Stock

Again, Google has had its missteps. Its forays into hardware and social networking have been failures. But hey, Google has a tremendously innovative workforce — and huge amounts of cash. So the company could still find ways to prevail.

Besides, Google already has enviable positions in must-win markets like mobile and video. These will provide lots of fuel for growth. The company should also be able to leverage the core technologies in new markets like wearables and the Internet of Things.

True, Google has many projects in the works and the company could easily get distracted. But the good news is that it has been able to find ways to manage its operations throughout the years. Investors can reasonably expect that to continue.

So should you buy GOOG stock? Yes — for investors who want to get exposure to mega markets, the company is a good bet.

Get more of my take on GOOG stock here.

Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPO Playbook. He is also the author of High-Profit IPO Strategies, All About Commodities and All About Short Selling. Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

10 Best Medical Stocks To Own Right Now

In most typical years, the stock market tends to rally in December, especially later in the month, after a bout of tax-loss selling has run its course, observes Vita Nelson in Direct Investment.

This late phenomenon is often a precursor to the ��anuary Effect,��when bargain hunters seek beaten-down stocks to ride higher in the new year.

But if we have learned anything in recent years, it may be that the typical year is not as common as it used to be. In 2013, for example, stocks sold off in August, only to rally in September and October, which are typically the weakest months of the year.

So, it would be wise to avoid the tendency to follow trends or seasonal expectations, and instead, focus on fundamentals (such as earnings and dividends) for the companies we own (or plan to own), and keep our sights on the long-term.

For example, our latest featured dividend reinvestment stock idea is Baxter International (BAX). Founded in 1931, Baxter International is a diversified medical products and services company.

Top 10 Oil Companies To Invest In Right Now: Pharmacyclics Inc (PCYC)

Pharmacyclics, Inc., incorporated on April 19, 1991, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing small-molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer and immune mediated diseases. The Company's clinical development and product candidates are small-molecule enzyme inhibitors designed to target biochemical pathways involved in human diseases. As of June 30, 2011, it had three drug candidates under clinical development and a number of preclinical lead molecules. This includes an inhibitor of Bruton�� tyrosine kinase (Btk) (PCI-32765) in Phase II studies in hematologic malignancies; a Btk inhibitor lead optimization program targeting autoimmune indications, an inhibitor of Factor VIIa (PCI-27483) in a Phase II clinical trial in pancreatic cancer, and a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor (PCI-24781) in Phase I and II clinical trials in solid tumors and hematological malignancies as of June 30, 2012.

As of June 30, 2012, the Company developed ibrutinib, which has demonstrated clinical activity and tolerability in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials in a variety of B-cell malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and a number of non-Hodgkin�� lymphoma (NHL) subtypes. CLL, mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), follicular lymphoma (FL), diffuse B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and multiple myeloma (MM) are specific indications of its current or planned Phase Ib/II and Phase III development program. had development programs for B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases. For malignant indications it has developed PCI-32765, which has demonstrated clinical activity and tolerability in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials in a range of B-cell malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and a number of non-Hodgkin�� lymphoma (NHL) subtypes. CLL, mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), follicular lymphoma (FL), diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and multiple myeloma (MM) are specific indications of its Phase II development. It has developed an assay! to measure occupancy of Btk in PBMCs using a cell-permeable fluorescently-labeled derivative of PCI-32765.

Factor VII is an enzyme that becomes activated (FVIIa) by binding to the cell surface protein tissue factor (TF), a protein found in the body that helps to trigger the process of blood clotting in response to injury. TF is over expressed in many cancers including gastric, breast, colon, lung, prostate, ovarian and pancreatic cancers. In these tumors, the FVIIa/TF complex induces intracellular signaling pathways by activating protease activated receptor 2 (PAR-2), another cell-surface protein. This in turn increases the expression of interleukin-8 (IL-8), a protein produced by white blood cells and other immune cells in response to pathogenic stimulation, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a signal protein produced by cells that stimulate the growth of blood vessels. Both proteins play an important role in tumor growth and metastases as well as angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels). FVIIa/TF complex also initiates the coagulation (a process by which blood forms clots) processes implicated in the high incidence of thromboembolic (the process by which the blood clots within a blood vessel) complications seen in patients with TF-expressing cancers. Thromboembolic events are a cause of death in patients with cancer and anticoagulant treatment has been shown to improve survival in a variety of cancers (Klerk et al. JCO. 2005).

PCI-27483 Factor VIIa Inhibitor

The Company�� Factor VIIa inhibitor PCI-27483 is a first-in-human small molecule inhibitor that selectively targets FVIIa. As an inhibitor of FVIIa, PCI-27483 has two potential mechanisms of action: inhibition of intracellular signaling involved in tumor growth and metastases and inhibition of early coagulation processes associated with thromboembolism.

Factor VIIa PCI-27483 Clinical Development Update

A multicenter Phase I/II of PCI-27483 in patients with locally a! dvanced o! r metastatic pancreatic cancer that are either receiving or are planned to receive gemcitabine therapy has completed enrollment. The Phase II portion of the study randomized patients to receive either gemcitabine alone or gemcitabine plus PCI-27483 (1.2 mg/kg twice daily). The objectives are to assess the safety of FVIIa Inhibitor PCI-27483 at pharmacologically active dose levels, to assess potential inhibition of tumor progression and to obtain initial information of the effects on the incidence of thromboembolic events. Due to a paradigm shift away from the use of gemcitabine alone for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, enrolling patients in this randomized study has been challenging. PCYC is evaluating other alternatives for development of this agent.

A multicenter Phase I/II of PCI-27483 in patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer that are either receiving or are planned to receive gemcitabine therapy has completed enrollment. The Phase II portion of the study randomized patients to receive either gemcitabine alone or gemcitabine plus PCI-27483 (1.2 mg/kg twice daily). PCI-27483 is covered by United States patents and patent applications and counterpart patents and patent applications in fourteen ex-United States territories, including Europe, Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia and Brazil.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Anders Bylund]

    And then there's cancer drug developer Pharmacyclics (NASDAQ: PCYC  ) . This stock had been trading like a roller coaster when the poison pill quietly got the kibosh, and continued to trade sideways for another couple of years. Then Pharmacyclics' cancer treatments made some headway in FDA proceedings led by leukemia drug Ibrutinib, sending the stock on a rocket ride. Pharmacyclics' returns of 2,500% since the plan change make the S&P 500's 45% jump look like dead money. And Pharmacyclics may work together with some big partners, but remains a separate business to this day.

  • [By Mani]

    Pharmacyclics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYC) is one of the best ways to play the hematology cancer drug market as its Ibrutinib is expected to transform the treatment of many blood cancers.

  • [By Sean Williams]

    What's perhaps more remarkable is the fact that Pharmacyclics (NASDAQ: PCYC  ) has three of those 23 approved breakthrough therapy designations for its lead experimental drug, ibrutinib. Ibrutinib, which is also licensed to Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  ) subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals, was designated as a breakthrough therapy for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma, and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia. The big potential indication here is CLL, which is the most common adulthood leukemia and occurs in 113,000 people in the U.S. By comparison, MCL diagnoses number about 5,000 each year.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    [The] sell-off in recent days was broad based and…affecting stocks in direct relationship to their volatility and expected duration of negative cash flow. Small and mid cap stocks were most affected (especially post-IPO stocks), and those with major uncertain events looming (MDVN) or with significant revenue upside already built into valuation (PCYC) were among the most severely affected. However, nothing changed in the environment to suggest that those events were any more or less likely to have positive outcomes yesterday, or to suggest that revenue potential was any more or less likely to be achieved than was previously expected.

10 Best Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Chromadex Corp (CDXC)

Chromadex Corporation, incorporated on June 19, 2008, is a provider of research and quality-control products and services to the natural products industry. The Company�� products are used by customers worldwide in the dietary supplement, food and beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The Company together with its subsidiaries supplies phytochemical reference standards, which are small quantities of plant-based compounds used to research an array of potential attributes, and reference materials, related contract services, technical consulting and ingredients. On December 3, 2012, ChromaDex Inc. acquired Spherix Consulting Inc. The Company�� principal subsidiaries include ChromaDex, Inc., Chromadex Analytics, Inc. and Spherix Consulting, Inc (Spherix).

The Company provides its clients in the food, supplement and pharmaceutical industries with solutions to manage potential health and regulatory risks. Its science-based solutions are for both new and existing products that may be subject to product liability and/or exposed to changing scientific standards or public perceptions; literature evaluations, and design and assessment of pre-clinical and clinical safety testing. It specializes in regulatory submissions for food and dietary supplement ingredients. For its clients involved in drug development within the pharmaceutical industry, the Company provides similar services, as well as risk-based strategies, including intellectual property data and compliance gap identification, due diligence assessments and investigational new drug writing.

Products and Services

The Company offers bulk raw materials for inclusion in dietary supplements, food, beverage and cosmetic products. Through its catalog, it supplies a range of products necessary to conduct quality control of raw materials and consumer products. The Company through Chromadex Analytics, provides a range of contract services ranging from routine contract analysis for the production of dietary sup! plements, cosmetics, foods and other natural products to elaborate contract research for clients in these industries. The Company provides a range of consulting services in the areas of regulatory support, new ingredient or product development, risk management and litigation support. With an addition of Spherix, it provides regulatory approval and scientific advisory services.

The Company competes with Sigma-Aldrich, Phytolab, US Pharmacopoeia, Extrasynthese, Covance, Eurofins, and Silliker Canada Co.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Small cap stocks Chromadex Corp (OTCMKTS: CDXC) and 22nd Century Group Inc (OTCBB: XXII) are, one way or the other, focused on natural products and have been getting some extra attention lately. Moreover, one of these stocks have been the subject of a disclosed investor awareness campaign. Keeping that in mind, are these two small cap stocks natural winners for investors? Here is a quick look:

10 Best Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc (ORMP)

Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc., incorporated on March 10, 2011, is a development-stage pharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in the research and development of pharmaceutical solutions, including an orally ingestible insulin capsule or tablet to be used for the treatment of individuals with diabetes, use of orally ingestible capsules, tablets or pills for delivery of other polypeptides. The Company owns oral dosage form drug portfolio, it is, on an on-going basis, considering in-licensing and other means of obtaining additional technologies to complement and/or expand the product portfolio. The Company�� products include ORMD-0801 - Oral Insulin Capsule and ORMD-0901 - Oral Exenatide.

The Company focuses to conduct research and development on the technology covered by the patent application Methods and Composition for Oral Administration of Proteins. Through its research and development efforts, it focuses to develop an oral dosage form that will withstand the chemical environment of the stomach and intestines and will be effective in delivering active insulin for the treatment of diabetes. It intends to conduct the clinical trials to file an Investigational New Drug (IND), application with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It also focuses to conduct research and development by deploying its drug delivery technology for the delivery of other polypeptides in addition to insulin, and to develop other pharmaceutical products.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Oramed Pharmaceuticals (ORMP) has dropped 19% to $12.11 after the company said it would sell nearly 1.6 million shares of stock for $10 a share.

    BP plc (BP) has fallen 0.7% to $47.24 after a U.S. judge refused its request to revise the way damages from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are calculated.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Oramed Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ORMP) shares moved up 21.26% to $14.20. The volume of Oramed Pharmaceuticals shares traded was 621% higher than normal. Oramed shares have jumped 187.01% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 28.75% in the same period.

10 Best Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Regulus Therapeutics Inc (RGLS)

Regulus Therapeutics Inc., incorporated on September 5, 2007, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing microRNAs to treat a range of diseases. microRNAs are naturally occurring ribonucleic acid (RNA), molecules that play a critical role in regulating key biological pathways. The Company uses its microRNA product platform to develop chemically modified, single-stranded oligonucleotides that the Company calls anti-miRs. As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� operations included acquiring and in-licensing intellectual property rights, developing its microRNA, undertaking basic research around microRNA targets and conducting preclinical studies for its initial programs.

The Company is developing RG-101 for the treatment of HCV and is advancing other microRNA therapeutics toward clinical development in several areas, including oncology, fibrosis and metabolic diseases. The Company intends to focus its resources on product opportunities in therapeutic areas where development and commercialization activities are appropriate for its size and financial resources, which the Company anticipates will include niche indications and orphan diseases.

The Company competes with Groove Biopharma, Inc., miRagen Therapeutics, Inc., Mirna Therapeutics, Inc., and Santaris Pharma A/S.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sean Williams]

    What: Shares of Regulus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RGLS  ) , a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies utilizing its proprietary microRNA product platform, saw its shares skyrocket as much as 127% at one point today after announcing the interim results for its human proof-of-concept trial for its early stage hepatitis C drug RG-101.

  • [By Sean Williams]

    A blast to the past
    It's occasionally very difficult to value biotech stocks, because of the wide range of outcomes possible given their pipelines. Other times, as in the case with Regulus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RGLS  ) , I bang my head against a table and wonder what the heck investors are thinking.

10 Best Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Euromedis Groupe SA (EMG)

Euromedis Groupe SA is a France-based company that specializes in the design, manufacture, distribution, rental and export of medical and surgical equipment and products, and services for medical home care for hospitals, clinics, retirement homes, physicians, pharmacies, and individuals. The Company's product portfolio include products, such as syringes and needles; surgical equipment, such as catheters, instrumentation and compresses; gloves; hygiene products, comprising disposable clothing, masks and paper towel products, and pharmaceutical equipment, offering cotton wool and thermometers. Euromedis Groupe SA exports its products to Europe and Africa. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

    Commodity producers increased as base metals rallied, with BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), the largest mining company, climbing 3.7 percent. Man Group (EMG) Plc soared 13 percent on a plan to redeem debt. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc dropped by the most in two months after Britain�� biggest state-owned lender reported operating profit that fell short of analysts��estimates.

  • [By Inyoung Hwang]

    Man Group Plc (EMG) advanced 3.6 percent to 85.85 pence. The world�� largest publicly traded hedge-fund manager posted its first quarterly net inflows in two years as clients added money to funds at its GLG Partners unit. Sales of Man Group�� funds totaled $4.1 billion in the third quarter, exceeding $3.4 billion of redemptions.

10 Best Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc (AGIO)

Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on August 7, 2007, is a biopharmaceutical company. The Company is intend to apply its deep understanding of metabolism, coupled with the Company�� ability to create medicines that can inhibit or activate metabolic enzymes, to fundamentally change the way cancer and inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) are treated. The Company has identified and validated novel and druggable targets in both cancer and IEMs. The Company�� two advanced cancer programs are targeting mutations in the enzymes isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2, referred to as IDH1 and IDH2. The Company�� drug candidates are selective for the mutated forms of IDH1 and IDH2 found in cancer cells versus the normal forms of IDH1 and IDH2 found in all other cells.

The Company focused on developing medicines to address IEMs, with a novel approach to these orphan diseases for which no effective or disease-modifying therapy is available. The Company has also de-validated and terminated numerous programs, including many that have been reported in scientific journals. In the Company�� IEM portfolio, it uses an equally rigorous set of validation techniques.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AGIO) got a boost, shooting up 29.08 percent to $40.84 after the company reported quarterly results.

    Stage Stores (NYSE: SSI) was also up, gaining 13.47 percent to $22.41 after the company reported Q4 results and announced the sale of its Steele's off-price division to a new retail unit of Hilco Global.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AGIO) shares touched a new 52-week low of $18.83. Agios Pharmaceuticals' trailing-twelve-month profit margin is -102.87%.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Equities Trading UP
    Sangamo Biosciences (NASDAQ: SGMO) shot up 16.32 percent to $22.81 announced the publication in the NEJM of the first-in-man study of genome editing using its ZFN technology. Shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AGIO) got a boost, shooting up 27.72 percent to $40.41 after the company reported quarterly results. BJ's (NASDAQ: BJRI) was also up, gaining 21.04 percent to $33.48 after the company was upgraded toa Buy rating at Buckingham research.

  • [By Roberto Pedone]

     

    Another stock that insiders are moving into here is Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO), which focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics in the field of cancer metabolism and inborn errors of metabolism in the U.S. Insiders are buying this stock into major strength, since shares are up big so far in 2014 by 79%.

     

     

    Agios Pharmaceuticals has a market cap of $1.4 billion and an enterprise value of $1.5 billion. This stock trades at a premium valuation, with a price-to-sales of 53.91 and a price-to-book of 11.51. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 48.1%, and for next year it's pegged at 15%. This is a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $162.27 million and its total debt is zero.

     

    A director just bought 2,300 shares, or about $100,000 worth of stock, at $43.98 per share.

     

    From a technical perspective, AGIO is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been selling off after a failed breakout attempt for the last few weeks, with shares moving lower from its high of $50.37 to its intraday low of $42.15 a share. That move is quickly pushing shares of AGIO within range of tagging its 50-day moving average of $40.27 a share.

     

    If you're bullish on AGIO, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above its 50-day at $40.27 and then once it breaks out above some near-term overhead resistance at $45 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 419,691 shares. If that breakout starts soon, then AGIO will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance level at its all-time high of $50.37 a share. Any high-volume move above that level will then give AGIO a chance to tag $55 to $60 a share.

10 Best Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Bacterin International Holdings Inc (BONE)

Bacterin International Holdings, Inc. (Bacterin), formerly K-Kitz, Inc., develops, manufactures and markets biologics products to domestic and international markets through Bacterin's biologics division. Its products are used in a variety of applications, including enhancing fusion in spine surgery, relief of back pain with a facet joint stabilization, promotion of bone growth in foot and ankle surgery, promotion of skull healing following neurosurgery and subcondral bone defect repair in knee and other joint surgeries. The Company has developed and manufacture and sell several human tissue-based products, primarily allografts, into the medical marketplace through its biologics division. In addition, it also manufactures and sells, directly under its own name and indirectly through distributors, various coating and surgical drain products through its medical devices division.

The Company�� medical devices division develops medical devices intended for use in several diverse clinical areas, including orthopedic, plastic, and cardiovascular surgery. The medical devices division also develops custom surgical instrument kits for use with allografts processed by its biologics division. The medical devices division actively develops intellectual property associated with its devices and coating platforms, for the purposes of protecting its Bacterin-branded devices and for use in alliance projects. The manufacturing and operations of the biologics and medical devices divisions are organized separately while products from both are marketed through several channels, including independent distributors, joint development projects and its direct sales network.

Biologics Division

The Company�� biologics products include OsteoSponge, OsteoSponge SC, OsteoWrap, OsteoLock and BacFast, as well as certain other allograft products, such as OsteoSponge, OsteoWrap, OsteoLock and BacFast and hMatrix. OsteoSponge is a form of demineralized bone matrix made from 100% human bone. Ost! eoSponge provides a natural scaffold for cellular in-growth and exposes bone-forming proteins to the healing environment. The malleable properties of OsteoSponge enable it to conform to, and fill, defects. Upon compressing the allograft, OsteoSponge springs back to completely fill the void. Its mechanical and biological properties make OsteoSponge an bone graft for use in various orthopedic practices, including spine, neurology, cranial/maxillofacial, trauma, plastic/reconstruction and general procedures where new bone growth is needed.

OsteoSponge SC is a form of OsteoSponge designed to be used in joint surgery. Bacterin has shown, in goat studies, the ability to re-generate cartilage in joint repair and believes that this product has the potential to significantly change the standard of care in human joint surgery. OsteoWrap is 100% human cortical bone demineralized through a process to make the graft flexible while maintaining allograft integrity. This product has various applications in orthopedic, neurological, trauma, oral/maxillofacial and reconstructive procedures. OsteoWrap can wrap around non-union fractures to assist with fusion, can act as a biologic plate or can be used in conjunction with a hardware plate system. Additionally, this product provides the surgeon with superior handling characteristics as the allograft can be easily sized using surgical scissors or a scalpel, and will withhold sutures or staples for fixation.

OsteoLock and BacFast are dowels made from human bone. BacFast HD, having the same design as OsteoLock, is optimized through its demineralization technology. OsteoLock and BacFast can be used to augment spinal procedures for mild spinal conditions. hMatrix dermal scaffold is an extension of Bacterin's core biologics technology and its third human acellular biological scaffold. hMatrix is an acellular matrix made from donated human dermal tissue that is used to replace a patient's damaged tissue. hMatrix provides a natural collagen tissue scaffold! that pro! motes cellular ingrowth, tissue vascularization and regeneration. The Company makes and sells sports allografts which are processed specifically for anterior and posterior cruciate ligament repairs, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and meniscal repair; milled allografts, which are consists of cortical bone milled to desired shapes and dimensions, also called milled spinal allografts, and traditional allografts for multi-disciplinary applications, including orthopedics, neurology, podiatry, oral/maxillofacial, genitourinary and plastic/reconstructive.

Medical Device Products

The Company�� medical devices division researches, tests and develops coatings for medical devices, particularly antimicrobial-based coatings. This division produces and distributes OsteoSelect DBM putty, an osteoinductive product used by surgeons as bone void filler in the extremities and pelvis. OsteoSelect DBM putty is engineered with the surgeon in mind. OsteoSelect can be molded into any shape and compressed into bony voids. Its medical devices division also develops custom surgical instrument kits for use with allografts processed by its biologics division. The Company sells a surgical drain series called ViaTM, which is used to drain exudate from a surgical site. Building upon the ViaTM platform, Bacterin plans on releasing a second generation product called the Elutia surgical drains, which will be performance enhanced through an antimicrobial coating to help reduce the incidence of surgical site infection.

The Company competes with Medtronic, DePuy, Synthes, Arthrex, Smith & Nephew, Nuvasive, OrthoFix, Biomet, Osteotech, Orthovita, MTF, Stryker, RTI, AlloSource, Lifenet Health, Integra, ConMed/Linvatec, Wright, Exactech, ArthroCare, Harvest and Arteriocyte.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By James E. Brumley]

    Traders may not want to get married for the long haul to any of them, but for speculators looking for a quick, profitable hit, Arca Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:ABIO), Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PSTI), and Bacterin International Holdings Inc. (NYSEMKT:BONE) may be better-than-average bets. Here's why.

  • [By Bryan Murphy]

    It may not be as big as NuVasive, Inc. (NASDAQ:NUVA), and it might not be as sexy as MiMedx Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MDXG). But, Bacterin International Holdings Inc. (NYSEMKT:BONE) offers something to investors that MDXG and NUVA don't - can't - right now... a distinct opportunity for a lot of upside in a short amount of time.