5 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2014

5 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2014: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)

McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ravagadus]

  The breakfast wars are heating up nicely in the form of a three-way challenge between McDonald's (MCD), Yum Brands (YUM) Taco Bell and Starbucks (SBUX). The fight is on to lure unsuspecting customers from One Breakfast table to another.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) traded up 1.02% today at $97.14. The company said it would offer free coffee at breakfast time for a two-week period beginning next Monday. Investors apparently like the idea that the company is responding to new competitive breakfast offerings. The 52-week range for the stock is $92.22 to $103.70. Trading volume for the shares was about 25% below the daily average of around 5.3 million shares traded.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/5-best-blue-chip-stocks-to-invest-in-2014.html

Friday Links

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -

A weekly collection of design, data and interactive links.

Design/Data viz
Commoditized Warfare | Part of Yosuke Ushigome's Commoditised Warfare series.
Confusion of the Stars | Soviet Lithuanian children's book illustration.
Patatap | Visualize sounds with your keyboard.
Cyber Warfare | Real-time map.
Flipboard Design Process | A look at how Flipboard automates its layouts.

Photo/Video
Romain Laurent | Animated photography.
Nintendo History | A look at Nintendo's 124-year history.
Point Cloud City | Google Street View depth map and openFrameworks.
Crazy Furniture | Making classroom furniture go crazy.

See last week's links

Have a nice weekend!
@dubly and @talyellin

OptionsHouse Strategist Steve Claussen Explains Options Strategies

OptionsHouse's Chief Investment Strategist Steve Claussen dropped by for a chat on the Benzinga PreMarket Prep show on Wednesday, March 26. Claussen is always eager to share his knowledge of the market that is backed up by his career spanning over 25 years.

Top 10 Heal Care Companies To Own In Right Now

When asked if a retail investor should be investing in options instead of equities, Claussen first cautioned that with any investment, rule number one is not to invest with funds that an investor can't afford to lose.

So with that emphasized, is equities the best choice available to investors?

“That might be the case,” said Claussen. “You might say, hey, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), good stock. Not going anywhere, I'm going to buy $10,000 worth of stocks. And that's OK, they pay a decent dividend.”

Related: Axiom Capital's Gordon Johnson Discusses Solar Stocks, U.S. Steel

However, an investor completing this transaction has essentially concentrated exposure to one stock, which is what Claussen calls a “concentration risk.” If an investor is exposed too much to one holding, they run the risk of not being able to maximize their return and outperform the major indices.

This is where options comes in.

“Options can allow a $10,000 portfolio to spread that around five different companies, or five different ETFs, or five geographical ETFs,” Claussen argued. He added that an investor who holds an option at the end of the day has the right, but not the obligation, to own the stock. This strategy is best utilized by investors who at the end of the day may have an objective of owning the stock at some point in the future.

As is the case with any investment, options do come with risk.

An options holder in theory can see a 100 percent loss to their position.

“In options, one of the main advantages is you are spending less for the leverage you get versus buying the outright stock,” said Claussen.

Claussen is referring to the fact that options are leveraged, meaning an investor can stretch their money even further by buying options, which on a dollar-per-dollar basis is cheaper. He offered an example to show how options offer leverage using a stock that he holds in his family portfolio, Disney (NYSE: DIS).

If an investor bought 100 shares at $80, it would cost $8,000. Alternatively, an investor could purchase a call option for $75 per share, thereby gaining the same exposure to any rise in Disney shares while paying less.

Naturally, it is important to consider that options, unlike stock, have an expiry date. Once an option expires, it no longer has any value.

Timing is critically important, according to Claussen. In the Disney example, an investor who purchases an $82.50 out of the money call option would need shares of Disney to trade above $82.50 (known as the ‘strike price') mark to earn a profit.

Many novice investors would foolishly invest in and out of the money option chain only to see their investment lose value as shares fail to rise above the strike price.

Claussen's advice to new options trader is to create an options position that acts very much like a stock and its movement is more predictable. This is typically done by buying an in-the-money call option has both an intrinsic and extrinsic value.

Intrinsic value refers to the difference between the stock's price and the option's strike price. As an example, if a call options strike price is $15 and the stock is trading at $20, the intrinsic value of the call option is $5.

Related: Kor Group Founders Christopher Nagy & Dave Lauer Talk Market Structure, High Frequency Trading

Extrinsic value is the amount that an option's price is greater than the intrinsic value. This value declines as the expiration date draws closer.

“Out of the money options are 100 percent extrinsic value, they are a 100 percent wasting asset. In the money options, the portion that is in the money is not a wasting asset,” Claussen argued.

A popular strategy that investors are utilizing would be replacing their stock holdings with an option that has a delta of 0.7. A delta of 0.7 implies for every $1 the stock increases, the call options will increase by $0.70. If the stock continues to appreciate, the delta on the option will increase. By doing so, an investor is making less money as they would with owning the stock, but the investor has minimized his total liabilities by purchasing options for a cheaper price.

What if an investor doesn't want to sell their stock, but incorporate options to protect a profitable position or limit downside?

According to Claussen, an investor could keep their long position and reduce their exposure by selling a call option to collect a premium. Claussen gave a hypothetical example of selling an out-of-the-money (OTM) call option at a price that the stock may not reach. In the event that the stock in fact does not reach this price point, the investor keeps the entire premium received.

Selling an option involves substantial risk and should only be performed by sophisticated investors. Less sophisticated investors could consider buying a put option, which locks in a buying price for the investor to sell their stock at in the future.

Posted-In: disney Microsoft options Optionshouse PreMarket Prep Steve ClaussenNews Options Markets Interview Best of Benzinga

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  Most Popular UPDATE: BofA Announces $4B Buyback Plan, Raises Qtr. Dividend from $0.01 to $0.05/Share UPDATE: Facebook to Acquire Oculus VR for About $2B Advanced Cannabis Solutions Temporarily Gets CANN-ed Federal Reserve Board announces approval of capital plans of 25 bank holding companies participating in the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review Spotify Vs. Pandora Vs. Google Music Vs. iTunes Radio Vs. Xbox Music UPDATE: Bank of America Announces Settlements With Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and New York Attorney General Related Articles (MSFT + DIS) OptionsHouse Strategist Steve Claussen Explains Options Strategies Bank of America Says Structural Issues Could Pressure Microsoft's EPS Next 2-3 Years Microsoft Announces Expansion of Cloud Services for Mobile Scenarios ETFs Shrugging Off The Selling (DHS, SMH, IGF, INTC) GameStop Misses on Q4 Earnings - Analyst Blog Buying Into Oversold ETFs (BJK, SOCL, PBS, FB, GOOG) Around the Web, We're Loving...

Darden Restaurants: Breakup Battle Heats Up

The gloves are off. Barington Capital Group, which first proposed restructuring Darden Restaurants (DRI) by working with management, has changed course and asked Darden's independent directors to name an independent chairman and consider hiring a new CEO.

Bloomberg

Barington, which previously reported that it controlled more than 2% of Darden shares, also announced its support of Starboard Value's push to allow shareholders to vote on the company's proposed Red Lobster separation. See the details in this morning's press release.

The news comes in the wake of a number of moves by Darden that could be seen as less than shareholder friendly. Earlier this month the company replaced its investor day meeting with individual meetings with shareholders and analysts. Then last week Darden amended its corporate bylaws. The company's SEC filing said the amendments were made as part of its regular corporate governance review and the bylaws were updated to address current market practices.

5 Best Undervalued Stocks To Buy For 2014

The amendments require shareholders proposing director nominations or additional business at a shareholder meeting to hold their shares through the date of the meeting. They also have to make additional disclosures regarding their interest in the company, the business being proposed and/or their relationship with the shareholder nominees. Those being nominated for director must also make additional disclosures.

"As we have said previously, our focus is on doing what is in the best interest of all Darden shareholders and the Board is confident in the actions the Company is taking to deliver on this responsibility," the company said in an email. "We have been speaking directly with our shareholders and look forward to continuing that dialogue."

ISS Corporate Services has given Darden's corporate governance a QuickScore of 10 out of a range of 1 (low governance risk) to 10 (high governance risk). ISS highlights fact that the chairman and CEO roles have not been separated that and that 45% of the non-executive board members have lengthy tenure.

Darden shares rose slightly on the Barington news. They’re up 0.3% to $50.86 at 2:09 p.m. today, as by now it's likely a far gone conclusion that the battle over Darden's future is likely to be heated.

How to Value a Stock Using the Income Statement

Valuing a stock — and buying below the estimated value — is the key to successful investing.  In How to Read a Corporate Balance Sheet, I discussed how shareholder’s equity (i.e., book value) on the balance sheet can be used as rock-bottom liquidation value for a company. Deep value investors like Benjamin Graham liked to buy stocks below book value, but such opportunities are extremely rare these days except in the high-risk areas  of deeply-troubled, illiquid U.S. microcap stocks and Chinese stocks with questionable accounting. 

Ben Graham (Balance Sheet) vs. Philip Fisher (Income Statement)

In his early days, Warren Buffett followed the “cigar butt” deep-value quantitative approach of his Columbia Business School professor and mentor Graham, but Buffett’s investment approach began to evolve closer to growth with the 1958 publication of Philip Fisher’s book Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits. Unlike stodgy Graham who was born in the “old world” of London, England and worked most of his adult life in New York City, Fisher was a free-wheeling Californian from San Francisco who took an adventurous and optimistic view of stock investing, not focused on current assets but future growth.

Unless a company plans to liquidate, which is rare, measuring a stock’s value based on book value is arguably irrelevant. A company that plans on continuing in business as a going concern will never sell its productive assets, so the proper way to value a company is on its current cash-generating ability and potential to grow that ability in the future. Although the future is unknowable, Fisher analyzed qualitative “scuttlebutt” (e.g., management expertise and integrity, along with the company’s competitive position) to make educated guesses. Consequently, whereas Graham focused on the “here and now” balance sheet, Fisher focused on the &! #8220;forward-looking” income statement, which measured changes and trends in the balance sheet.

Buffett is from Nebraska — the middle of the country — so he was used to looking both ways and was perfectly willing to mold his investment philosophy from the best of both the east (Graham) and west (Fisher) coasts. It didn’t hurt that Buffett’s business partner since 1978 — Charlie Munger — has lived in California for most of his life (born in Omaha just like Buffett, however) and was a Fisher devotee.  For many years, Buffett characterized his investment style as “85% Graham and 15% Fisher,” but recently he has stated that Graham’s approach doesn’t work with the huge investment size required to move the performance needle in Berkshire Hathaway’s $105 billion stock portfolio:

It has less and less application as you get  into bigger and bigger companies with larger sums of money. Moving much more towards Fisher now and less Ben Graham because we are working with larger sums. With smaller sums, we would be looking at better margins/cheaper stocks.

One could argue that Buffett’s investment style is now 85% Fisher and 15% Graham! Adding a qualitative component requires good judgment and is more difficult to do well than Graham’s numbers-based approach, but the rewards are much higher because few investors get the qualitative part right, which leads to market inefficiencies that can be exploited by smart people like Buffett.

Discounted Cash Flow is Theoretically Ideal, But Offers False Certainty

So, in honor of Philip Fisher and growth investing, let’s take a look at the income statement as a source of stock valuation for companies that are ongoing concerns and have no plans to liquidate. In theory, the best way to value a stock is to estimate all of its future free cash flows on an annual basis and discount  them at an appropriate annual interest rate to reach a net present value. Most DCF model! s calcula! te free cash flows for the next 10 years (based on a constant or slowly-declining growth rate) and then add a large terminal value based on a multiple of the 10th-year free cash flow to simulate in one final number the net present value of all future cash flows in perpetuity from year 11 to infinity. However, as I wrote in Value Investing and Value Traps: Separating Winners from Losers:

Performing a full-fledged discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis is not only time consuming, but requires an endless number of input assumptions that are likely to turn out to be wrong.Many legendary value investors feel the same way about DCF. For example, Jean-Marie Eveillard said in a 2008 interview:

We never use discounted cash flows. Buffett does not consider discounted cash flow either, because the way things work, after 10 years you have a residual value which is often about half the net present value. So not only do you pretend to know what is going to happen over the next 10 years but even beyond. So we never do discounted cash flow, which I think is garbage. It's as bad as the efficient market hypothesis.

Similarly, David Winters said in 2007:
I think of DCF as garbage-in, garbage-out. Conceptually it's right, but the ability of anybody to make accurate estimates is low. Somebody showed me a DCF model last week and I looked at it and I was pretty skeptical. They had a terminal growth rate of 2%, and I asked, "What happens if it becomes 5%?" The value went up by 100%.Valuation Requires Humility and a Margin of Safety

Not only is future cash-flow growth uncertain, but so is the appropriate interest rate used to discount that future growth. In his classic investment book Margin of Safety, value investor Seth Klarman argued that calculating a  stock’s value requires “predicting the future, yet the future is not reliably predictable.” Consequently, one should be humble and conservative in one’s predictions and then discount those predictions by a substantial margin of ! safety in! case the prediction is overly optimistic.

How large a margin of safety depends on the stock; for small-cap stocks with a limited financial history, a 30-40% discount makes sense whereas a discount of only 15-20% would be reasonable for a large-cap blue-chip stock with decades of financials. Considering the macro-economic backdrop is also important, especially today when interest rates are near record lows and corporate profit margins are near record highs. Stock valuations get crushed when interest rates rise and/or earnings fall. If your financial adviser claims that he doesn’t need a margin of safety, he is engaging in counterproductive “future babble” and I suggest that you find another adviser! As financial blogger Barry Ritholtz recently wrote:

Investing is about making probabilistic decisions with limited information about an unknowable future. The variables are well known, as are the possible outcomes. Anyone who claims to know the future, who says they can tell you what the economy will do, what earnings will be and, therefore, where the stock market is going is lying to you. Understanding the variables and valuation should help you make better investing decisions.

P/E Multiples are Simpler and Commonly Used for Stock Valuation

A much-simpler valuation method than DCF is to skip over the estimate of 10 years of free cash flows and just use a multiple of today’s free cash flow (or earnings or book value) to calculate a stock’s value. In essence, a multiple-based valuation just calculates a terminal value from the get-go, where one takes a “snapshot” value from the current year’s income statement and assigns a multiple to it to get the stock price.

For example, if a company’s earnings per share are $1.00 and the multiple of earnings you choose is 10, then the stock value would be $10 ($10 * $1.00). This begs the question how you determine what the proper multiple should  be. One possibility is to look to the past for gu! idance ab! out the future. One could look at the average multiple of earnings the company or the industry has sold for in the past, but a company’s future could look very different from its past and a particular company’s business prospects could be very different from the industry average. 

Another possibility is to use the multiplier formula for the terminal value in a DCF analysis:  1/(cost of equity capital – growth rate). But, again, borrowing from a DCF analysis requires us to estimate cost of capital and a terminal growth rate, which is guesswork. Still, at least the formula illustrates the two factors that go into choosing an earnings multiple. Cost of equity is the rate of return demanded by investors to compensate them for business risk. The average cost of equity is around 10% (page 3) and the average long-term annual growth rate in earnings per share is around 3.8%. 

It makes sense that the higher the cost of generating equity returns, the lower the value of that equity (i.e., lower P/E ratio), and the higher the rate at which equity can grow earnings, the higher the P/E ratio. So, if you subtract average EPS growth of 3.8% from the average 10% cost of equity, the result is 6.2% and the reciprocal (1/0.62) is 16, which just so happens to be the long-term average P/E ratio of the stock market.

Reasonable P/E Multiple Depends on Both Growth Rate and Business Risk

Average figures don’t tell you much about the P/E ratios of individual stocks, and calculating the cost of equity of individual industries and stocks can be a pain, so legendary fund manager Peter Lynch offered up a shortcut in his book One Up on Wall Street:

The P/E ratio of any company that’s fairly priced will equal its growth rate.

That’s simple! In essence, Lynch is arguing that a P/E ratio-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 1.0 is the correct definition of a stock’s intrinsic value. So, if a company is projected to grow its earnings at 40% annually, its P/E ratio should be 4! 0, wherea! s if its earnings are projected to growth only 10%, its P/E ratio should be 10. This suggests that if a stock is trading at a P/E ratio below its growth rate the stock is an undervalued buy and if it is trading at a P/E ratio above its growth rate it is a sell. Keep in mind that the inverse of the P/E ratio is the earnings yield, which is a measure of investment return. A stock with a P/E ratio of 12 means that the company generates $1.00 of earnings per $12 of stock value, or a snapshot rate of return on investment of 8.33% (1/12). Similarly, a stock with a P/E ratio of 20 means that the company generates $1.00 of earnings per $20 of stock value, or a snapshot rate of return on investment of 5.00% (1/20).  An investor in the higher-PE stock is willing to accept a 3.33% (8.33-5.00) lower initial rate of return because over time the 8% (20-12) higher annual growth rate will enable him to catch up in total return and even surpass the total return of the investor in the lower-PE stock (assuming the higher growth actually occurs, which is one of the risks).

In any event, no matter how high a company’s current earnings growth rate, it’s unwise to pay a stock price equal to a P/E ratio of more than 40. Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel studied the stock performance of the "Nifty Fifty" large-cap growth stocks from the market peak in 1972 until 1998, and concluded that on average a P/E of 40 times was around the highest justifiable price to pay for a good growth stock. A few growth stocks like Coca-Cola and Merck were worth paying a P/E ratio of more than 70, but that is very rare in hindsight and impossible to predict ex-ante (i.e., before the fact). Over the 27-year period of Siegel’s study, Coke and Merck generated annualized total returns of around 16% and grew earnings each year by only 13.5% and 15.1%, respectively, both of which are much-lower numbers than the 70-plus P/E ratios that Siegel says were “warranted” in 1972.

These P/E ratio and earnings! -growth f! igures do not indicate long-term PEG ratios of 4-plus (70/16) that conflict with Lynch’s recommended 1.0 PEG ratio. First, Lynch measured the PEG ratio (both P/E ratio and earnings growth rate) as a snapshot at the time of purchase in 1972 and it’s inconsistent to measure the P/E ratio only at the start but measure earnings growth as a long-term average over a 27-year period. The snapshot earnings growth rates of Coke and Merck were probably much higher than 13.5% and 15.1% back in 1972 when Siegel’s study began, so their snapshot PEG ratios in 1972 could have been closer t0 1.0. The snapshot 1.0 PEG criterion assumes that both earnings growth and the P/E ratio will decline over time, so that a 1.0 PEG ratio in later years will based on a much-lower P/E ratio than what existed at the start. Second, Coke and Merck turned out to be super growth stocks that could sustain high earnings growth for a much longer period of time than the vast majority of stocks, so they proved the exception to the general rule of high earnings growth being unsustainable. No basic valuation model should be expected to accurately value freakish outliers.

Using a P/E Ratio for Stock Valuation Only Works for Companies with Reliable Earnings

In reality, Lynch’s valuation method is too simplistic because it assumes all companies with equal growth rates have equal business risk and that is not the case. One company currently growing earnings at 30% may face a high likelihood of an earnings deceleration in the near future,whereas another company growing at 30% may easily be able to maintain a high growth rate for the foreseeable future. Both companies would be valued the same even though one company’s earnings growth was much more sustainable and that wouldn’t make sense.

Such is the flaw of using a snapshot multiple.

So, I would only consider using a P/E ratio on stable stocks with a prolonged operating history and a modicum of earnings-growth reliability. For value investor Joel ! Greenblat! t, reliable earnings are critical to his stock-valuation methodology:

I care very much about long term earnings power, not necessarily so much about the volatility of that earnings power but about my certainty of "normal" earnings power over time. My goal is to buy a company at a low multiple to normal earnings power several years out and that the company earns good returns on capital at that level of normal earnings. I usually just look at a simple multiple to normalized earnings. If I can buy something at a very low multiple and I have confidence in the earnings stream, I don't have to calculate a DCF to know whether I want to buy it.

“Normal” Earnings Per Share

Now that we’ve established some guidelines for the proper P/E multiple to assign to a company’s “normal” earnings per share, the next issue to be addressed is how to read an income statement to determine what “normal” earnings per share for a company actually are. Often, the earnings per share reported by a company are not normal and must be adjusted before a P/E ratio is applied and a stock value determined.  Stay tuned for Part 2 of How to Value a Stock Using the Income Statement, coming in a few weeks.

A 22% return in one week

When one values a stock correctly and waits for an opportunity to buy the stock at a substantial discount to its intrinsic value, it can be a beautiful thing. Last week, a specialty chemical company recommended in my Roadrunner Stocks small-cap investment service rose 22% on “better-than-expected” earnings. That is, “better than expected” by the analysts on Wall Street! It came as no surprise to me or my Roadrunner subscribers.

My stock-valuation methodology is based on a little-known and proprietary system, similar to the one that made Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch and others rich. It’s taken me 20 years to perfect and the system is complicated, but the results are crystal clear. You can get all of my latest research by clicking here.

3 Things You Need to Know to Get the Child Care Tax Credit

Yellowdog Productions/Flickr Child-care expenses can be a huge part of a family's budget, especially for single parents or in households where both parents work. But the Internal Revenue Service helps millions of Americans by offering a credit to offset some of your child-care expenses in order to help you work. Here are three things you need to know to claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit on your tax return. How to Qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit The rules are structured to make the credit available only in situations where the care is needed in order to help the claiming parent or parents work or look for work. For joint filers, both parents must have earned income from wages, salaries or other compensation, including self-employment. Full-time students are also treated as having earned income for purposes of claiming the credit. Moreover, the care must be directly connected to allowing you to work, rather than off-hours babysitting for personal reasons. This requirement leads to some important distinctions, with one example being that the cost of summer day camps qualifies for the credit, but overnight camps don't. In most cases, children must be age 12 or younger to qualify for the credit. Certain exceptions exist for other individuals who aren't able to care for themselves. The credit also has a number of technical rules. For instance, in cases involving divorce, the custodial parent can take the credit, while noncustodial parents can't, even if they would otherwise qualify to treat the child as a dependent. How Much the Credit Can Pay You The amount of the credit depends on two things: the number of qualifying children you have and your gross income. Those with one qualifying child can claim up to $3,000 per year toward determining the credit amount, while those with two or more qualifying children have a $6,000 annual limit. Calculating the credit requires taking your actual expenses or the maximum limit, whichever is less. For those with incomes of $15,000 or less, the credit is 35 percent of the child-care expenses, which comes out to a maximum of $1,050 for those with one qualifying child or $2,100 for those with two or more qualifying children. Above $15,000, the credit drops by 1 percentage point for every $2,000 of extra income, hitting a minimum of 20 percent for those who earn $43,000 or more in adjusted gross income. In addition, if you get partial reimbursement of expenses from a state agency or other source, then you're not entitled to take the credit on the reimbursed amount. Instead, you have to deduct the reimbursement and calculate the credit based on the net amount that you paid. What Documentation You Should Get to Claim the Credit In order to claim the credit, you need to fill out IRS Form 2441. On the form, you'll need to provide the name, address and Social Security number or Employer Identification Number of the provider. By doing so, the IRS can match your claim against the records that some child-care organizations are required to provide. It can also check to make sure that whoever you pay to provide child-care services reports those payments as income and pays taxes. There's one exception for having to provide an Employer Identification Number. If a tax-exempt organization provides the care for your child, then you only need to write in "tax-exempt" in the box on Form 2441 that asks for an EIN. For details, check out Publication 503 at the IRS website.

Consumer Sentiment Edges Lower in March

Craig Warga/Bloomberg via Getty Images WASHINGTON -- U.S. consumer sentiment weakened in early March as an unusually harsh winter appeared to dim views on the economy's prospects. The preliminary Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment fell to 79.9 in March from 81.6 the prior month, a survey showed Friday. Analysts had expected sentiment to improve, and the weak tone of the report could be a sign that severe weather had put consumers in the doldrums. That would back the view that the U.S. economy was only temporarily stuck in a soft patch and would resume stronger growth once the weather improves. "Most of the decline ... can be attributed to the unseasonably bad weather," said Amna Asaf, an economist at Capital Economics in Toronto. Parts of the United States have suffered colder-than-normal temperatures and blizzards over the winter, which may have contributed to several months of weak hiring. If weather is the culprit, then the Federal Reserve can feel more confident about continuing the winding down of a bond-buying stimulus program. The Fed started trimming monthly bond purchases in January. The sentiment index was at its lowest level since November. It was largely dragged down by a drop in consumer expectations for future growth. There were some signs of strength in the report. Those polled expected the highest rate of annual income gains since November 2008. "Expectations of income gains were ... consistent with a tightening labor market," said Cooper Howes, an economist at Barclays Capital in New York. A separate report from the Labor Department pointed in the opposite direction with regard to inflation, as a decline in U.S. producer prices in February suggested little building of inflationary pressure. The government's seasonally adjusted producer price index for final demand dropped 0.1 percent last month. On its own, the price data would make policymakers feel more comfortable holding interest rates near zero for many more months. "There is nothing in this report that raises any concerns about inflation," said John Canally, economist and investment strategist at LPL Financial in Boston. "The economy is running too far below capacity for that to happen. U.S. inflation has held at a very low level in recent years because of a persistently high unemployment rate. The value of the U.S. dollar slipped against the yen following the price data's publication, suggesting investors felt the report buttressed the view that the Fed would hold interest rates extremely low into next year. Prices for U.S. stocks and yields on U.S. government debt fell on heightened tensions over a possible U.S.-European response against Russia if a referendum in Ukraine's Crimea region goes ahead. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a slight increase in prices received last month by businesses such as factories, retailers and wholesalers. The price index had risen 0.2 percent in January. Final demand for goods rose 0.4 percent in February. Final demand for services dropped 0.3 percent. The Labor Department said about 80 percent of the decline in its services index was due to lower margins for retailers of apparel, footwear and accessories. In the 12 months through February, producer prices increased 0.9 percent, the smallest one-year gain since May 2013. Producer prices excluding volatile food and energy costs fell 0.2 percent. Another gauge of core producer prices -- final demand less foods, energy, and trade services -- nudged up 0.1 percent.

Best Sliver Companies For 2014

Stability is something that's arguably not at the forefront of investors' minds at the moment. With 2013 being such a great year for the stock market, it seems as though many market participants are very much in "risk-on" mode and are keeping both eyes firmly fixed on growth prospects and whether a company can hit that all-important double-digit growth rate.

However, the large fall in the S&P 500 on Friday could be a timely reminder that markets don't always go up, and, as such, it could be the case that investors begin to seek out one or two more stable companies in case the market trades sideways or experiences a further dip.

So what is stability? Of course, different investors will have different viewpoints on what defines a stable company, but it could be reasonably expected that a stable company has a good track record of delivering profits, because this could indicate that it is more likely to continue to have a healthy bottom line -- even if economic conditions worsen in future years.

Best Sliver Companies For 2014: Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd (PBEGF.PK)

Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. (Petrobank) is engaged in the exploration and development of oil and natural gas in western Canada. The Company operates in two segments: the Heavy Oil Business Unit (HBU) and PetroBakken Energy Ltd. (PetroBakken). Its operations are conducted through its HBU, as well as its technology subsidiary, Archon Technologies Ltd. The HBU operates its heavy oil projects using Petrobank�� THAI heavy oil recovery process in the field. In addition, Petrobank owns 59% of its subsidiary, PetroBakken. Whitesands Insitu Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, owns heavy oil leases in Alberta and oil sands and heavy oil licenses and leases in Saskatchewan, and operates the Kerrobert Project. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Petrobank completed the Kerrobert Project, with all 10 expansion well pairs drilled. On February 28, 2012, Petrobank completed the sale of May River Property. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Dube]

  Peace River's most notable producers:

  PennWest Exploration (PWE), see article here.Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A), see article here.Baytex (BTE), see article here.Strata Oil and Gas (SOIGF.PK), see article here.Petrobank Energy & Resources (PBEGF.PK), see article here.

  Cold Lake's most notable producers:

Best Sliver Companies For 2014: Ishares Msci Singapore Ews (EWS)

iShares MSCI Singapore Index Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the Singaporean market, as measured by the MSCI Singapore Index (the Index).

The Index seeks to measure the performance of the Singaporean equity market. 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 in the Index, which has a similar investment profile as the Index. iShares MSCI Singapore Index Fund's investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Doug Fabian]

  The country seems to have been boosted by an unexpected rise in manufacturing and gains in the service sector. One way to invest in Singapore is through the iShares MSCI Singapore ETF (EWS).

Best Biotech Stocks For 2014: Dex Media Inc (DXM)

Dex Media, Inc., incorporated on August 17, 2012, is a provider of social, local and mobile marketing solutions for local businesses. The Company provides marketing solutions that include Websites, print, mobile, search engine and social media solutions. The Company�� brands include Dex One and SuperMedia. Through both brands, it delivers a range of social, mobile, and print solutions.

The Company's consumer services include the Dex Knows.com and Superpages.com online and mobile search portals and applications and local print directories. On April 30, 2013, Dex One Corporation and SuperMedia Inc. announced the completion of their merger, creating Dex Media, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Dex Media (DXM) is a provider of marketing solutions that include Web sites, print, mobile, search engine and social media solutions for local businesses, through its Dex One and SuperMedia Marketing Consultants. This stock closed up 5.6% at $10.25 in Thursday's trading session.

  Thursday's Volume: 471,000
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 280,277
  
  Volume % Change: 105%

  From a technical perspective, DXM spiked sharply higher here right above some near-term support at $9 with above-average volume. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last four months, with shares plunging lower from its low of $23.86 to its recent low of $8.85. During that move, shares of DXM have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of DXM have started to see its downside volatility stop as the stock has rebound off oversold levels. This stock got so oversold that its relative strength index reading recently dipped below 20. Shares of DXM are now starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if DXM manages to take out its 200-day moving average at $11.61 with high volume.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in DXM as long as it's trending above some key near-term support levels at $9 or $8.85 and then once it sustains a move or close above Thursday's high at $10.51 and its 200-day at $11.61 with volume that's near or above 280,277 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then DXM will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 50-day moving average of $13.72.

Best Sliver Companies For 2014: Proofpoint Inc (PFPT)

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

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

Proofpoint Enterprise Protection

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

Proofpoint Enterprise Privacy

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

Proofpoint Enterprise Archive

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

Proofpoint Enterprise Governance

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

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

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

Best Sliver Companies For 2014: BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.(BMRN)

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. develops and commercializes biopharmaceuticals for serious diseases and medical conditions in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and rest of the world. The company?s commercial products include Naglazyme, a recombinant form of N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfatase enzyme used for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) VI; Kuvan, a proprietary synthetic oral form of 6R-BH4 used to treat patients with phenylketonuria (PKU), a metabolic disease; Aldurazyme used for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis I, a genetic disease; and Firdapse used to treat Lambert Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome, an autoimmune disease. It develops GALNS, an enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of MPS IVA, a lysosomal storage disorder; PEG-PAL, an enzyme substitution therapy that is under Phase II clinical trial to treat PKU; BMN-673, a Phase I/II clinical trial product for the treatment of cancer; BMN-701, an enzyme replacement therapy, which is under Phase I/II clinical trials for Pompe disease, a glycogen storage disorder; and BMN-111, a peptide therapeutic that is under Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of achondroplasia. The company sells its Naglazyme, Kuvan, and Firdapse products to specialty pharmacies and end-users, such as hospitals and foreign government agencies, which act as retailers; and Naglazyme products to distributors and pharmaceutical wholesalers. It has a collaboration agreement with Genzyme Corporation for the manufacture of Aldurazyme; and an agreement with Merck Serono S.A. for the further development and commercialization of Kuvan and other products containing 6R-BH4 and PEG-PAL for PKU. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Novato, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Clovis isn't the only one developing a PARP inhibitor, though. BioMarin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BMRN  ) presented data at ASCO for BMN673, where 82% of patients with BRCA mutations had a clinical benefit. There were 28 patients in that part of the trial, so the data could be more reproducible than rucaparib's seven out of seven. BioMarin also has solid data for breast tumors with BRCA mutations. Shares of BioMarin actually fell a little today, but I think the data were widely expected to be positive, so there's likely a little "sell the news" going on.

• [By John Udovich]

  Bubble talk, biotech IPO setbacks plus news�about small cap biotechs like Intrexon Corp (NYSE: XON) and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB) have dominated biotech news this week or in recent weeks. Just consider the following news:

  Why There is No Biotech Bubble & Where to Look for Value in Biotech. Marshall Gordon, the Director and senior health-care analyst of ClearBridge Investments, was recently interviewed by Barron�� where he stated his belief that there is no biotech bubble because biotech stocks have delivered new drugs and have shown an ability to innovate. With that said, he added that the sector got ahead of itself while some biotechs suffered setbacks plus hedge funds decided to trim risk from their portfolios. Nevertheless, Marshall likes or is watching mid cap biotechs BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc (NASDAQ: BMRN) and Pharmacyclics, Inc (NASDAQ: PCYC) along with small cap biotechs�Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: PCRX) and Clovis Oncology Inc (NASDAQ: CLVS). He also added that recent biotech IPOs have been lesser quality names than earlier offerings. A Trio of Biotech�IPO Setbacks. FierceBiotech has�summarized how a trio of biotech IPO have suffered setbacks. Specifically, Relypsa (NASDAQ: RLYP), a late-stage biotech developing a treatment for hyperkalemia,�slashed its asking price on 6.9 million shares to $12 a share to raise $82 million�from a range of $16 to $19 a share while�Xencor (NASDAQ: XNCR), a biotech developing antibodies for severe autoimmune/allergic diseases and cancer,�has dropped its IPO price to $7 a share to raise $75 million from a range of $14 to $16. Meanwhile, Celladon, which is developing a first-in-class gene therapy for patients with systolic heart failure, has postponed its IPO citing poor market conditions. Coming�Biotech IPOs. Nevertheless, FierceBiotech has noted that GeNO Healthcare (NASDAQ: GNO) is looking to raise $50 million for its�new, patient-friendly approach for delivering inhaled nitric oxide on the
• [By Lauren Pollock]

  BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.(BMRN) said a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended approval of the company’s enzyme-replacement therapy for patients with a rare inherited disorder that can hinder growth. In premarket trading, shares rose 5.7% to $70.75.

Best Sliver Companies For 2014: Clearwire Corporation(CLWR)

Clearwire Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides fourth generation wireless broadband services in the United States. The company builds and operates mobile broadband networks that offer high-speed mobile Internet and residential Internet access services. It serves retail customers through its CLEAR brand. The company markets its products and services directly to consumers, as well as through cellular retailers, consumer electronics stores, satellite television dealers, and computer sales and repair stores; and through company-operated retail outlets. As of December 31, 2011, it had approximately 1.3 million retail and 9.1 million wholesale subscribers. The company is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. Clearwire Corporation is a subsidiary of Sprint HoldCo LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Caroline Bennett]

  Telecom company Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR  ) recently revealed its latest budget spreadsheet, and after lackluster results, this may be the company's final quarter among Wall Street stock picks. Clearwire and its largest shareholder, Sprint (NYSE: S  ) may soon be great investment opportunities... for another company.

Best Sliver Companies For 2014: Euro/Swiss(RF)

Regions Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for Regions Bank that provides a range of commercial, retail, and mortgage banking services in the United States. It offers various deposit products, including savings and transaction accounts; demand deposit accounts; money market accounts; and time deposits, such as certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts. The company?s loan portfolio comprises commercial loans, such as commercial and industrial, and owner occupied commercial real estate mortgage and construction loans; investor real estate loans, including commercial real estate mortgage and construction loans; and consumer loans, which consist of residential first mortgage, home equity, indirect, consumer credit card, and other consumer loans. Regions Financial Corporation, through other subsidiaries, also provides regional brokerage and investment banking products and services, such as securities brokerage, trust, asset management, finan cial planning, mutual funds, securities underwriting, sales and trading, and investment banking services for individual and institutional investors; and insurance brokerage services for various lines of personal and commercial insurance comprising property, casualty, life, health, and accident. In addition, the company offers credit-related insurance, including title, term life, credit life, environmental, crop, and mortgage insurance; debt cancellation products; and equipment financing products primary for commercial clients. As of December 31, 2011, it operated approximately 2,100 ATMs and 1,726 banking offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Online banking is about to get easier at Regions Bank (NYSE: RF  ) .

  On Tuesday, the regional banker, which does business in 16 states throughout the American South, Midwest, and Texas, announced it's inked a deal with online banking software Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV  ) to revamp its online banking and bill-pay system to enhance the customer experience.

Best Sliver Companies For 2014: MB Financial Inc.(MBFI)

MB Financial, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for MB Financial Bank, N.A. that provides various financial services to small and middle market businesses, and individuals in the United States. It offers commercial banking products and services, including credit products, comprising working capital loans and lines of credit, accounts receivable financing, inventory and equipment financing, industrial revenue bond financing, business acquisition loans, and owner occupied real estate loans, as well as financial, performance, and commercial letters of credit. The company?s commercial banking products and services also consists deposit treasury management products, such as Internet banking products, investment sweep accounts, zero balance accounts, automated tax payments, ATM access, telephone banking, lockbox, automated clearing house transactions, account reconciliation, controlled disbursement, detail and general information reporting, wire transfers, vault services for currency and coin, international banking services, capital markets products, and checking accounts, as well as provides various credit, deposit, and treasury management services for real estate operators and investors. In addition, it offers retail banking products and services; and wealth management solutions, which include banking, investment management, custody, personal trust, financial planning, wealth advisory services, estate settlement, guardianship, tax deferred exchange services, and retirement plan services. The company provides its services through operating 87 banking offices in Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area; and 1 banking office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. MB Financial, Inc. was founded in 1911 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Looking to expand its banking business in the Windy City, MB Financial (NASDAQ: MBFI  ) jointly announced with Taylor Capital (NASDAQ: TAYC  ) that it was buying the�holding company of�Cole Taylor�Bank, a Chicago-based commercial bank with $5.9 billion in assets, $3.3 billion in loans, and $3.7 billion in deposits.

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of Taylor Capital (NASDAQ: TAYC  ) , the holding company of Cole Taylor Bank, a commercial and consumer lending and financial services company located in the Chicago area, skyrocketed as much as 22% after agreeing to be purchased by MB Financial (NASDAQ: MBFI  ) .

Wal-Mart expands video game trade-ins to stores

Wal-Mart's got game.

The world's largest retailer on Tuesday announced plans to seriously expand its video game trade-in program to its stores. Customer who bring in used video games can receive store credit -- but not cash -- at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores beginning March 26.

Until now, Wal-Mart offered trade-ins on a much more limited basis online.

For Wal-Mart, like most major retailers, it's about about driving more customers into the store and boosting revenue. Retailers like Wal-Mart and McDonald's that more widely appeal to lower-income customers have faced a tough time battling back from the economic downturn. These customers face bleaker employment prospects and many don't have extra money to spend.

Best Oil Stocks To Watch Right Now

"Gaming continues to be an important business for us and we're actively taking aim at the $2 billion pre-owned video game opportunity," said Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising and marketing officer for Wal-Mart U.S.

In a call with journalists, Wal-Mart executives said CE Exchange, the company that partnered with them on their trade-in program for smartphones and tablets launched in the fall, will also be in charge of the new video game program.

The value for each trade-in video game will vary by the title, console and age of the game. The amount will range from just a few dollars for older games to $35 and more for newer ones.

Amazon, Target, Best Buy, GameStop and others also offer video game trade-in programs that offer store credit or cash for video games.

Later this year, Walmart customers will also be able to purchase pre-owned video games in stores and on Wal-Mart.com. The video games will be labeled "Certified Pre-Owned" which means the product is fully refurbished and in like-new condition.

"While new releases will remain the focus of our gaming business, we're glad to give our customers the option to bu! y pre-owned games," added Mac Naughton.

Contributing:Associated Press

Top 10 Heal Care Companies To Own In Right Now

Top 10 Heal Care Companies To Own In Right Now: Seaspan Corporation(SSW)

Seaspan Corporation owns and operates the containerships that are engaged in the deep-sea container transportation business in Hong Kong. The company charters its containerships pursuant to long-term, fixed-rate time charters to various container liner companies. As of December 31, 2009, it owned and operated a fleet of 42 containerships. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Majuro, the Marshall Islands.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The stock market suffered another up-and-down day, again finishing on the losing end as investors saw their fear levels rise dramatically after the Fed's latest minutes were released. With less clarity than ever about the Fed's eventual plans to end its quantitative easing program, investors are justifiably concerned. But big losses for Seaspan (NYSE: SSW  ) , voxeljet (NYSE: VJET  ) , and Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3x (NYSEMKT: NUGT  ) showed how vulnerable some investments are to the uncertainty. Let's look more closely at what happened to push these share prices down.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Seaspan Corp.(SSW) said it plans to offer 3.5 million Class A common shares, and expects to use the proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include funding vessel acquisitions. The containership owner recently had about 64.9 million shares outstanding, according to FactSet. Shares fell 8% to $21.55 premarket.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading DOWN Shares of Seaspan (NYSE: SSW) were down 9.82 percent to $21.13 after the company priced 3,500,000 equity offering at $22.00 per share.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-heal-care-companies-to-! own-in-right-now.html

Top 5 China Stocks To Own Right Now

Top 5 China Stocks To Own Right Now: Bona Film Group Limited(BONA)

Bona Film Group Limited distributes films in the People?s Republic of China. It distributes films to movie theaters, as well as to non-theatrical distribution channels, including DVD and Blu-ray and other home video products; Internet and digital distribution; in-flight entertainment; and cable, satellite, and broadcast televisions. The company also invests in the production of Chinese and Hong Kong films in order to obtain the distribution rights for movie theaters and non-theatrical channels. In addition, Bona Film Group operates six movie theaters in five cities of the People?s Republic of China; operates a talent agency business that represents artists; and involves in film advertising and television production businesses. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  With just a quick glance at the chart, Bona Film Group Ltd (NASDAQ:BONA) doesn't look like anything other than an erratic mess. When you take a step back and take a look at the longer-term chart of BONA, however, you can see the last several weeks have ushered in a major bullish change of direction for the stock... meaning now's a great time to start wading into a position.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-china-stocks-to-own-right! -now.html

Best Safest Companies To Watch In Right Now

Best Safest Companies To Watch In Right Now: National Western Life Insurance Company(NWLI)

National Western Life Insurance Company provides life insurance products for the savings and protection needs of policyholders and annuity contracts for the asset accumulation and retirement needs of contract holders. Its life products include universal life insurance and interest-sensitive whole life, as well as traditional products, such as term insurance coverage; and annuity products comprise flexible premium and single premium deferred annuities, fixed indexed annuities, and single premium immediate annuities. The company markets and distributes its insurance products primarily through independent national marketing organizations to residents of various countries in central and South America, the Caribbean, the Pacific Rim, eastern Europe, and Asia. It also engages in small real estate, nursing home, and other investment operations. The company was founded in 1956 and is based in Austin, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Merkel]

  The two stocks in question are Stancorp Financial (SFG) and National Western Life Insurance (NWLI). The short cases for both are based on a naive view of how insurance companies work.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, life insurance company National Western Life Insurance Company (NASDAQ: NWLI  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-safest-companies-to-watch-in-right-now.html

'Candy Crush' maker sets IPO price range

The maker of the hit mobile game Candy Crush Saga says it plans to offer more than 22 million shares for its initial public offering priced between $21-$24 per share.

King says it will offer more than 15 million shares, while shareholders will add an extra 6.7 million, according to an amendment to its F-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.

King believes it could raise nearly $613 million in an initial public offering.

Last month, King attracted 144 million daily active users who played their games 1.4 billion times per day. Candy Crush Saga comprises the overwhelming majority of those figures, with 97 million daily active users and just over 1 billion plays in February.

But that one game has become a huge driver of King's revenue. According to financial information in its IPO filing, the company raked in $568 million in profit off $1.9 billion in total revenue last year. In 2012, the year Candy Crush Saga was introduced, King generated $164 million in revenue and $7.8 million in profit.

Shares of King will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KING.

Contributing: Associated Press

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @bam923.

Best Asian Stocks To Invest In 2014

Best Asian Stocks To Invest In 2014: Canadian Mining Co Inc (CNG)

Canadian Mining Company Inc. (Canadian Mining) is engaged in the evaluation, acquisition, exploration, development and operation of mineral properties in British Columbia, Arizona, the United States and Sonora, Mexico. The Company's projects include Bullard Pass Property, and Raquel 3 Concession. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Company had interests in two mineral properties located in British Columbia: Sun Group and Bromley Creek. In British Columbia, the Company's principal property interest is its Bromley Creek zeolite project, which consists of a total of one mineral lease and six mineral claims. The Company has contiguous claim, number 305975, located in the Similkameen Mining District of British Columbia. The total claim area includes 843.468 hectares. During fiscal 2012, Canadian Mining completed phase one of a drilling program in Bullard Pass Gold Property. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Laundon]

  It has a vision of building America's Natural Gas Highway. The project consists of a compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel-station network connecting 48 states.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-asian-stocks-to-invest-in-2014.html

Hot Penny Stocks For 2014

Hot Penny Stocks For 2014: BGC Partners Inc.(BGCP)

BGC Partners, Inc. operates as a financial intermediary to the financial markets specializing in the brokering of various financial products. It provides electronic marketplaces, including government bond markets, spot foreign exchange, foreign exchange options, corporate bonds, and credit default swaps in various financial markets through its eSpeed- and BGC Trader- branded trading platform which can be accessed through its high speed data network, over the Internet, or third party communication networks. The company?s brokerage services include trade execution, broker-dealer services, clearing, processing, information, and other back office services, as well as cover various products, including fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, equities, equity derivatives, credit derivatives, commodities, futures, and structured products. It also provides financial technology solutions, market data, and analytics related to financial instruments and markets . In addition, the company offers customized screen-based market solutions, which enables its clients to develop a marketplace, trade with their customers, issue debt, trade odd lots, access program trading interfaces, and access its network and intellectual property. Further, it licenses intellectual property portfolio and software solutions to various financial markets participants; and provides software development, software maintenance, customer support, infrastructure, and internal technology services to support electronic trading platforms. The company serves banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds, governments, investment firms, professional trading firms, futures commission merchants, and other professional market participants and financial institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and other Americas. The! company was founded in 1999 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Finally, Tudor Investment's biggest closed positions included Apple and the iShares MSCI Emerging Market Index Fund ETF. Other closed positions of interest include Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: FTR  ) and BGC Partners (NASDAQ: BGCP  ) . Frontier, recently yielding more than 9%, is a rural telecom specialist. It's weighed down with considerable debt, and is shifting its business focus, favoring business customers more. It's been posting declining revenue lately, though, and its credit rating took a hit in recent months, also. Some worry that its acquisition of landline business from Verizon may not be as lucrative as expected, and fear a dividend cut.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  BGC Partners (NASDAQ: BGCP  ) is waxing optimistic about its current quarter. The company updated its previously issued guidance, indicating that its nearly complete Q2 will come in at the higher end of the range for revenues and EPS. The former was for distributable earnings revenue of $435 million-$465 million, while the latter anticipated pre-tax distributable earnings of $42 million-$53 million.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-penny-stocks-for-2014.html

Top Food Stocks To Own Right Now

Top Food Stocks To Own Right Now: Amira Nature Foods Ltd (ANFI)

Amira Nature Foods Ltd., incorporated on February 20, 2012, is a provider of packaged Indian specialty rice, with sales in over 40 countries. It generates the majority of its revenue through the sale of Basmati rice, a long-grain rice grown only in certain regions of the Indian sub-continent. The Company sells its products, primarily in emerging markets, through a distribution network. It sells its Amira brand in more than 25 countries. The Company sells its Amira branded products to Indian retailers such as Bharti Wal-Mart, Big Bazaar, Metro Cash & Carry, Spar, Spencer's Retail, Star Bazaar (Tesco in India) and Total and retailers, such as Carrefour, Costco, Jetro Restaurant Depot, Lulu's and Smart & Final, and through the foodservice channel. It participates across the entire rice supply chain from the procurement of paddy to its storage, aging, processing into rice, packaging, distribution and marketing. In June 2013, the Company announced that it has launched Amira bra nded products in the United Kingdom. In January 2014, Amira Nature Foods Ltd acquired Basmati Rice GmbH.

The Company operates an automated and integrated processing and milling facility that is located in the vicinity of the key Basmati rice paddy producing regions of northern India. The facility spans a covered area of 310,221 square feet, with a processing capacity of 24 metric tons of paddy per hour. During the year ended March 31, 2012, 34% of its revenue was derived from sales in India, and 50.3% was derived from sales in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, or EMEA, 14.3% was derived from sales in the Asia Pacific region, and 1.4% was derived from sales in North America.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  A consumer goods player that's starting to trend within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Amira Nature Food! s (ANFI), a global provider of packaged Indian specialty rice, with sales in over 40 countries. This stock has been in play with the bulls over the last three months, with shares up 25%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Amira Nature Foods, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last five months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $7.44 to its recent high of $17.41 a share. During that uptrend, shares of ANFI have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. Shares of ANFI have started to break out above some key near-term overhead resistance levels today at $15.92 to $16.25 a share. That move is quickly pushing shares of ANFI within range of triggering another big breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ANFI if it manages to break out above its all-time high of $17.41 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 226,387 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ANFI will set up to enter new all-time-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $25 to $27 a share.

  Traders can look to buy ANFI off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day at $15.03 a share or around more key near-term support at $14.72 a share. One could also buy ANFI off strength once it starts to clear $17.41 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Tom Bishop]

  Steve Halpern: One of your recent recommendations is a company that, really, was probably unknown to most investors. It's called Amira Nature Foods (ANFI) , which is a maker of premium rice. Can you tell us briefly about that?

• [By Will Ashworth]

  Amira Nature Foods (ANFI) went public last October at $10 per share ! — a! nd now the stock is trading around 40% higher than that offer price. Compared to IPOs in general, however, the past year’s been anything but smooth. ANFI dropped 19% on its first day of trading and didn’t rise above its offering price until early September.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Amira Nature Foods (NYSE: ANFI  ) were looking rotten today, falling as much as 12% after reporting earnings this morning.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-food-stocks-to-own-right-now.html

Zoe’s Kitchen Files For IPO

Zoe’s Kitchen is coming public. The casual dining restaurant chain has filed its paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct an initial public offering. Filing amounts may change by the time IPOs come to market, but the food chain filed to sell up to $80.5 million. The company has applied to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock ticker “ZOES.”

Jefferies, Piper Jaffray, and Baird are the lead underwriters. Co-managers were listed as William Blair, Stephens Inc., and Stifel in the filing.

Zoes Kitchen was founded in 1995 by Zoe and Marcus Cassimus in Birmingham, Alabama. The company has grown from 21 restaurants across seven states (including five franchised locations) in 2008 to 111 restaurants across 15 states (including six franchised locations) as of February 24, 2014. The filing said,

Best Casino Stocks To Own Right Now

“Our Company-owned restaurants have generated 16 consecutive fiscal quarters of positive comparable restaurant sales growth, due primarily to increases in customer traffic, which we believe demonstrates our growing brand equity. We have grown our Company-owned restaurant AUVs from approximately $1.1 million in 2009 to approximately $1.5 million in 2013, representing an increase of 32.9% over that time period. From 2009 to 2013, our total revenue increased from $20.8 million to $116.4 million and Adjusted EBITDA increased from $0.9 million to $10.9 million. We generated a net loss of $2.8 million and $3.7 million in 2009 and 2013, respectively.”

24/7 Wall St. did not name Zoe’s Kitchen as one of its top ten IPOs to watch in 2014, but it is still one we will watch. This may have some hallmarks similar to the Potbelly IPO which investors bid up through the roof. It has over 300 shops.

salesforce.com, inc. (CRM) Q4 Earnings Preview: What To Expect?

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), one of the world's leading customer relationship management platform, will issue its fiscal 2014 fourth quarter results on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, after the close of the market. The company will host a conference call at 2:00 p.m. (PST) / 5:00 p.m. (EST) to discuss its financial results with the investment community.

Wall Street expects San Francisco, California-based Salesforce to earn 6 cents a share, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The consensus estimate implies a decrease of 53.8 percent from 13 cents it earned last year. The company estimates a GAAP net loss of 24 to 25 cents a share while non-GAAP EPS is expected to be in the range of 5 to 6 cents.

[Related -Oracle Corporation (ORCL): Can Oracle Survive The Cloud Battle?]

Salesforce earnings have managed to beat Street view twice in the past four quarters. The consensus estimate remained flat over the past 90 days, and one analyst has raised the profit view in the last 30 days.

Best Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now

However, quarterly revenues are estimated to increase 35.4 percent to $1.13 billion from $834.68 million last year while the company sees revenue of $1.124 billion to $1.129 billion, an increase of 35 percent year-over-year.

Billings growth continues to be one of the best ways to gauge CRM's business. BMO Capital Markets analyst Joel Fishbein expects billings of $1.834 billion, up 30.5 percent from the prior year.

For a company like Salesforce, deferred revenue is another key metric to watch. Deferred revenue on the balance sheet as of Oct. 31, 2013 rose 34 percent to $1.73 billion, benefited in part by the acquisition of ExactTarget.

[Related -Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ) Q1 Preview: Can HP Report Earnings Upside?]

Current deferred revenue increased 38 percent to $1.69 billion, and non-current deferred revenue fell 26 percent to $48 million. Unbilled deferred revenue, representing business that is contracted but unbilled and off balance sheet, ended the third quarter at approximately $4.20 billion, up 40 percent from last year.

Meanwhile, the market will look for any improvements in the expenses front as the company's past results have been negatively impacted by higher costs. For the third quarter, costs of goods sold rose 25 percent and operating expenses climbed 38 percent.

Investors will look for further updates from Salesforce over its recent deal with HP. Further, they may want additional color on the marketing cloud business. Salesforce.com may need to continue to acquire companies in this area so as to remain current with the latest marketing trends. More updates on this front would be welcomed.

In November, the company unveiled Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud, the customer platform for 1:1 marketing. The ExactTarget Marketing Cloud combines ExactTarget's digital marketing apps and platform with salesforce.com's social marketing products – Buddy Media, Radian6 and Social.com. The Street would like to hear about the traction of this product.

Salesforce is betting on higher enterprise adoption of mobile apps that is expected at 20 percent and is projected to go to 90 percent by 2017. The recently introduced Salesforce 1 could help the company with its mobile ambitions. The new platform, which should be available in the first half of 2014, is built for developers, independent software vendors (ISVs), end users and admins.

In January, the company announced soaring adoption of Salesforce1, its new social, mobile and cloud customer platform. In its first month, there was a 96 percent increase in Salesforce1 mobile app active users and a 46 percent increase in active users of custom mobile apps. The Street will look for further updates on Salesforce1.

The market would also be focusing on the outlook for both the first quarter and full year. An upside/downside versus consensus view may decide the course of share movement. Revenue for the company's full fiscal year 2015 is projected to be in the range of $5.15 billion to $5.20 billion and the company will provide EPS expectations when it announces its fourth quarter results.

For the third quarter, Salesforce posted a net loss of $124.4 million or 21 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $220 million or 39 cents a share last year. Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were 9 cents a share. Quarterly revenue rose to $1.08 billion from $788 million last year.

CRM stock has gained 15 percent since its last quarterly results and climbed 56 percent in the last one year. Shares of the company have traded between $36.09 and $64.65 during the past 52-weeks.

Wall Street, in general, have a positive opinion on the stock, with 38 out of the 45 analysts covering CRM giving a "buy" or "strong buy" rating. Three analysts rate the stock as "hold," while 4 have a "sell" rating on the stock.

Pentagon Awards $10.33 Billion in Defense Contracts Friday

The Department of Defense awarded 12 separate defense contracts Friday, worth $10.33 billion in total. The vast majority of these funds, however, were awarded in just a single award -- a monster $10 billion firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for "support of special operational equipment tailored logistics support program."

Only five privately held firms will participate in this two-year contract (extendable up to five years). No publicly traded firms at all were chosen to participate -- but publicly traded firms did still win a few of the day's smaller contracts, among them:

A $76.1 million contract modification awarded to the Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, a joint venture between Textron  (NYSE: TXT  ) and Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) , which instructs the JPO to delivery one single additional CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft to the U.S. Air Force by December 2016. A $39.4 million fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for Sysco (NYSE: SYY  ) to provide "prime vendor food and beverage support" to the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Job Corps in Florida through April 16, 2019. A $32.3 million option exercise for NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE: NS  ) subsidiary Shore Terminals LLC to provide "petroleum storage services" to the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps through Nov. 30, 2016. A $7.7 million undefinitized contract modification compensating Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT  ) for "non-recurring sustainment activities" performed on behalf of the government of the United Kingdom, related to the latter's purchase of F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets. This contract has a completion date of June 2014.

Top 5 Casino Stocks To Own For 2015

Trading in the financial markets is stimulating, exciting and engrossing. But one can become addicted, just like with actual casino gambling or illegal drugs. Like any severe addiction, this can cost you your job, relationships and, of course, your financial resources. In this article we will consider what causes such addiction, the symptoms and how to break out of the downward spiral. Our focus is on the brain and understanding how its reward systems can literally train you to trade compulsively and dangerously.

German financial psychologist Norman Welz works constantly with these issues, as well as with the people affected, and his input and recommendations are reflected below.

The Temptations of Trading
You can make a lot of money from trading. And you can do it more or less on your own whenever you like, without a boss or being embedded in a company, both of which may be driving you around the bend. There are lots of ways to make money by trading, irrespective of whether markets rise, fall or stagnate. Also, you can do it fast, thanks to leveraging. In theory (sadly, far more so than in practice), you could become financially independent, which is a dream for so many employees. But this dream of fast cars and luxury is statistically likely to remain just that. The stats tell us that over 90% of amateurs lose pretty consistently. The fundamental problem is that this is a risky, speculative business, and the leveraging goes downward just as fast and as much as it goes upward. If it goes sour on you, you can lose your proverbial shirt and a whole lot more.

Top 5 Casino Stocks To Own For 2015: Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc (DDE)

Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc., incorporated in December of 2001, is a premier gaming and entertainment resorts. The Company�� operations consist of: Dover Downs Casino, a 165,000-square foot casino complex featuring table games, including craps, roulette and card games, such as blackjack, Spanish 21, baccarat, 3-card and pai gow poker, the latest in slot machine offerings, multi-player electronic table games, the Crown Royal poker room, a Race & Sports Book operation, the Dover Downs' Fire & Ice Lounge, the Festival Buffet, Doc Magrogan's Oyster House, Frankie's Italian restaurant, as well as several bars, restaurants and four retail outlets; Dover Downs Hotel and Conference Center, a 500 room AAA Four Diamond hotel with a full-service spa/salon, conference, banquet, ballroom and concert hall facilities, and Dover Downs Raceway, a harness racing track with pari-mutuel wagering on live and simulcast horse races. All of its operations are located at its entertainment complex in Dover. Its two wholly owned subsidiaries include Dover Downs, Inc. and Dover Downs Gaming Management Corp.

Dover Downs Casino

The Company's casino had approximately 2,539 slot machines as of December 31, 2011. It is open for business around the clock. During the year ended December 31, 2011, that the facility was visited by approximately 2.6 million patrons. Its slot machines range from penny machines to $100 machines in the Premium Slots area and include games found in the country's major gaming jurisdictions. The Company operates with 40 tables, including blackjack, craps and roulette tables. The Crown Royal poker room has 12 poker tables. It has its Race and Sports Book operation featuring parlay sports wagering on NFL games and pari-mutuel wagering on live and simulcast horse races. Dover Downs, Inc. is authorized to conduct video lottery, sports wagering and table game operations. The Company's Capital Club, a slots players club and tracking system, allows it to identify customers and t! o reward their level of play through various marketing programs.

Dover Downs Hotel

The Company's luxury hotel facility, the Dover Downs Hotel and Conference Center, connects to the Company's casino. The facility includes 500 rooms, including 11 luxury spa suites, a multi-purpose ballroom/concert hall, a fine dining restaurant, swimming pool and a luxurious 6,000 square-foot full-service spa. It offers a range of entertainment options to its patrons, including concerts featuring prominent entertainers, live boxing, gourmet dining, spa facilities, trade shows and conferences. During 2011, hotel occupancy averaged 90%.

Dover Downs Raceway

The Company�� Dover Downs Raceway conducts live harness races from November until April and is simulcast to more than 300 tracks and other off-track betting locations across North America on each of the Company's more than 120 live race dates. The Company's harness racing track is a 5/8-mile track that is located on DVD's property and is on the inside of its one-mile motorsports superspeedway. Additional amenities include the Winners Circle Restaurant overlooking the horse racing track. Within the Company's Race & Sports Book operation is the simulcast parlor where the patrons can wager on harness and thoroughbred races received by satellite into its facility year round from numerous tracks across North America. Television monitors throughout the area provide views of all races simultaneously and the betting windows are connected to a central computer allowing bets to be received on all races from all tracks.

The Company has an agreement with the Delaware Standardbred Owner's Association, Inc. (DSOA) effective September 1, 2010 and continuing through August 31, 2014. DSOA's membership consists of owners, trainers and drivers of harness horses participating in harness race meetings at its facilities and elsewhere in the United States and Canada. Under the DSOA agreement, the Company is required to distrib! ute as pu! rses for races conducted at its facilities a percentage of its retained share of pari-mutuel revenues.

The Company competes with Harrington Raceway and Delaware Park.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Stocks on the move: Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ: VOD) is up 8.1% at $31.80 on reports of discussions with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) that would result in the sale of Vodafone�� 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to the controlling shareholder. Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: DDE) is up 10.8% at $1.54 after Wednesday�� launch of its online casino games that will soon be available to state residents to play for real money.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  The REIT is expected to spend as much as $500 million in acquisitions in 2014, according to Barron��, and some potential acquisition targets include Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLE) which has a market cap of around $323 million or Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: DDE) with a market cap of around $47 million.

Top 5 Casino Stocks To Own For 2015: Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.(PNK)

Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. owns, develops, and operates casinos, and related hospitality and entertainment facilities in the United States. It operates casinos, such as L'Auberge du Lac in Lake Charles, Louisiana; River City Casino and Lumiere Place in St. Louis, Missouri; Boomtown New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana; Belterra Casino Resort in Vevay, Indiana; Boomtown Bossier City in Bossier City, Louisiana; and Boomtown Reno in Reno, Nevada. The company also operates River Downs racetrack in southeast Cincinnati, Ohio. As of May 26, 2011, it operated seven casinos and one racetrack. The company was formerly known as Hollywood Park, Inc. and changed its name to Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. in February 2000. Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. was founded in 1935 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Radovsky]

  Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE: PNK  ) has reached an agreement in principle with the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission that would allow the company to complete its proposed acquisition of Ameristar Casinos (NASDAQ: ASCA  ) , Pinnacle announced today.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) has gained 56% this year; Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has climbed 38%. And Deutsche Bank has nice things to say about both today.

  Bloomberg

  First Pinnacle. Deutsche Bank’s Carlo Santarelli ponders the stock’s big move and comes away still seeing value in its shares. He writes:

  When we upgraded PNK in April, our thesis centered on the FCF strength of the combined entities [Pinnacle completed its acquisition of Ameristar Casinos on Aug. 14], a handful of favorable catalysts, easing regional gaming comps, & an inexpensive relative valuation. Given the shares’ sizeable move since then, we believe it is worth revisiting the investment case. Post the announcement of several asset sales and the closing of the transaction, we are adjusting our estimates, raising our PT to $30 from $24, and maintaining our bullish view at current levels given what we still believe to be an attractive free cash flow valuation, meaningful potential synergy realization beyond the $40 mm of announced benefits, and a free option on a lagging regional recovery.

  Santarelli also revisited Las Vegas Sands and there too, he likes what he sees. He writes:

  With…LVS at [a share price level] that have been challenging to break from over the last year plus, we believe this time is different and hence we see continued upward momentum…In the case of LVS, we see; 1) meaningful mass market strength continuing through year end, setting the stage for upward company and market estimate revisions for 2014, 2) continued cash flow appreciation and capital returns serving as downside protection and positive catalysts, and 3) continued shared gains, largely driven by table optimization and mass market strength, driving both estimates and sentiment.

  He also likes Wynn Resorts (WYNN), despite its 34% gain.�Santarelli writes:

  As for WYNN, we believe near-term estimates continue to take a back seat to capital return

• [By Sean Williams]

  Time to make the switch
  If I could name a sector that I'd certainly tread lightly around considering that consumers are tightening their wallets, it would be the casino sector. Casino companies rely on loose wallets and vacations to drive profits. This is why I feel it could be the time to say goodbye to casino and race track operator Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE: PNK  ) near its 52-week high.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of Ameristar Casinos (NASDAQ: ASCA  ) and Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE: PNK  ) fell as much as 11% today after the government brought into question the merger of the two companies.

Top Biotech Stocks For 2015: Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PLC (BPTY)

bwin.party digital entertainment plc (bwin.party) is a holding company. The Company is an online gaming company. It operates in five segments: sports betting, casino & games, poker, bingo; and other (including network services, World Poker Tour, InterTrader.com, WIN.com, software services and the payment services business). Its sport betting segment includes bwin, betoto, Gamebookers, Gioco Digitale and PartyBets. It�� Casino & games segment includes PartyCasino, bwin and GD Casino. Its poker segment includes PartyPoker, bwin and GD Casino. Its Bingo segment includes Foxy Bingo, Cheeky Bingo, Gioco Digitale and Binguez. The Company�� subsidiaries include BES SAS, bwin Argentina SA, bwin Italia S.r.l., bwin.party Games AB and Cashcade Limited. Its subsidiaries are engaged in management and information technology (IT) services, marketing services, online gaming, transaction services, customer support services, marketing support services and Land-based poker events. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Plc (BPTY) plunged 14 percent to 110 pence, the biggest drop since April 2011, after the online gaming company said 2013 sales will be 14 percent to 17 percent lower than last year�� figures. Analysts on average had forecast a sales drop of 9.2 percent.

Top 5 Casino Stocks To Own For 2015: Caribbean International Holdings Inc (CIHN)

Caribbean International Holdings Inc., formerly Caribbean Casino and Gaming Corporation, incorporated on February 12, 2009, is focused in the gaming and entertainment company. The Company has a gaming casino, located in the city of Sousa, in the Dominican Republic. In April 2012, it acquired exclusive rights to distribute Bionic Products' Energy Drinks throughout the Caribbean, South and Central America.

The Sosua Bay Grand Casino provides the gaming and entertainment experience to the Domincan Republic. It is equipped with a state of the art lighting and sound system.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Caribbean International Holdings (OTCMKTS: CIHN), Blue Water Global Group Inc (OTCBB: BLUU) and Metrospaces Inc (OTCMKTS: MSPC) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters and all three have focused their activities in the Caribbean or South America. However, all three have been the subject of paid promotions which have helped to get them mentions in various investment newsletters. With that in mind, will bets on the Caribbean or South America pay off big for these three small cap stocks and their investors? Here is a quick reality check:

  Caribbean International Holdings (OTCMKTS: CIHN) is All About Wings, Mechanical Bulls and Stem Cells

  Formerly known as Caribbean Casino & Gaming Corp, small cap Caribbean International Holdings operates as a holding company. On Friday, Caribbean International Holdings rose 8.39% to $0.0369 for a market cap of $315,400 plus CIHN is up 985.3% over the past year and up 7,280% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

Top 5 Casino Stocks To Own For 2015: Wynn Resorts Limited(WYNN)

Wynn Resorts, Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, ownership, and operation of destination casino resorts. The company owns and operates Wynn Las Vegas casino resort in Las Vegas, which includes approximately 22 food and beverage outlets comprising 5 dining restaurants; 2 nightclubs; 1 spa and salon; 1 Ferrari and Maserati automobile dealership; wedding chapels; an 18-hole golf course; meeting space; and foot retail promenade featuring boutiques. Wynn Las Vegas casino resort also features approximately 147 table games, 1 baccarat salon, private VIP gaming rooms, 1 poker room, 1,842 slot machines, and 1 race and sports book. It also owns and operates an Encore at Wynn Las Vegas resort, a destination casino resort located adjacent to Wynn Las Vegas that features a 2,034 all-suite hotel, as well as a casino with 95 table games, 1 sky casino, 1 baccarat salon, private VIP gaming rooms, and 778 slot machines. In addition, the company operates Wyn n Macau casino resort located in the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People?s Republic of China. Wynn Macau casino resort features approximately 595 hotel rooms and suites, 410 table games, 935 slot machines, 1 poker room, 1 sky casino, 6 restaurants, 1 spa and salon, lounges, meeting facilities, and retail space featuring boutiques. Further, it operates Encore at Wynn Macau resort located adjacent to Wynn Macau. Encore at Wynn Macau resort features approximately 410 luxury suites and 4 villas, as well as casino gaming space, including a sky casino consisting of 60 table games and 80 slot machines, 2 restaurants, 1 luxury spa, and retail space. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Cotai continues to be the growth engine of Macau. The Macau Peninsula, where Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN  ) and MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM  ) are located, have been holding steady but the growth is on Cotai, and that's why investors are willing to pay a premium for Melco Crown and Las Vegas Sands.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  His largest new buys in the first quarter are: Penn Virginia Group Holdings LP (PVG), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN), Methanex Corp. (MEOH), Solutia Inc. (SOA) and Georgia Gulf (GGC). Of his top eight stocks, five are from the chemicals industry.

Top 5 Casino Stocks To Own For 2015: Penn National Gaming Inc.(PENN)

Penn National Gaming, Inc. and its subsidiaries own and manage gaming and pari-mutuel properties in the United States. It operates approximately 27,000 gaming machines; 500 table games; and 2,000 hotel rooms in 23 facilities in 16 jurisdictions, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ontario. The company was formerly known as PNRC Corp. and changed its name to Penn National Gaming, Inc. in 1994. Penn National Gaming, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) completed on Monday the spin-off of its real-estate holdings into a new REIT, Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. (G&LP) (NASDAQ: GLPI). The spin-off was first announced a year ago. Shares in GLPI are trading at around $46.51 after opening at $45.76 this morning.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Stocks on the Move: BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) is down 16.4% at $6.50 after announcing that no buyout bid will be forthcoming. Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) is down 76.7% at $13.75 after spinning-off its real-estate holdings into a REIT. Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) is up 15.5% at $1.53 following the acquisition of its major operations in Wuxi.

Top 5 Casino Stocks To Own For 2015: MGM Resorts International(MGM)

MGM Resorts International, through its subsidiaries, primarily owns and operates casino resorts in the United States. The company?s resorts offer gaming, hotel, dining, entertainment, retail, and other resort amenities. It also owns and operates golf courses and a golf club. As of December 31, 2010, the company owned and operated 15 properties located in Nevada, Mississippi, and Michigan; and has 50% investments in 4 other casino resorts in Nevada, Illinois, and Macau. In addition, MGM Resorts International has an agreement with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns and operates a casino resort in Connecticut, to carry the ?MGM Grand? brand name. The company was formerly known as MGM MIRAGE and changed its name to MGM Resorts International in June 2010. MGM Resorts International was founded in 1986 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  MGM Resorts International (MGM)

  Paulson�� fifth largest position is in MGM Resorts International. The guru holds on to 34 million shares of the company�� stock, representing 3.5% of his total portfolio and 6.94% of the company�� shares outstanding.

Top 5 Casino Stocks To Own For 2015: Caesars Entertainment Corp (CZR)

Caesars Entertainment Corporation, incorporated on November 2, 1989, is a diversified casino-entertainment provider. The Company�� business is primarily conducted through a wholly owned subsidiary, Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc. (CEOC), although certain material properties are not owned by CEOC. As of December 31, 2012, it owned, operated, or managed, through various subsidiaries, 52 casinos in 13 United States states and seven countries. The majority of these casinos operate in the United States, primarily under the Caesars, Harrah��, and Horseshoe brand names, and in England. In November 2012, the Company sold its Harrah's St. Louis casino to Penn National Gaming, Inc. In December 2012, the Company purchased all of the net assets of Buffalo Studios, LLC, a social and mobile games developer and owner of Bingo Blitz.

The Company�� casino entertainment facilities include 33 land-based casinos, 11 riverboat or dockside casinos, three managed casinos on Indian lands in the United States, one managed casino in Cleveland, Ohio, one managed casino in Canada, one casino combined with a greyhound racetrack, one casino combined with a thoroughbred racetrack, and one casino combined with a harness racetrack. The Company�� land-based casinos include nine in England, two in Egypt, one in Scotland, one in South Africa and one in Uruguay. As of December 31, 2012, its facilities had an aggregate of approximately three million square feet of gaming space and approximately 43,000 hotel rooms. In southern Nevada, Caesars Palace, Harrah�� Las Vegas, Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, Bally�� Las Vegas, Flamingo Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, The Quad Resort & Casino (formerly the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino), Bill�� Gamblin��Hall & Saloon, and Hot Spot Oasis are located in Las Vegas and draw customers from throughout the United States. Harrah�� Laughlin is located near both the Arizona and California borders and draws customers primarily from! the southern California and Phoenix metropolitan areas and, to a lesser extent, from throughout the United States through charter aircraft. In northern Nevada, Harrah�� Lake Tahoe and Harveys Resort & Casino are located near Lake Tahoe and Harrah�� Reno is located in downtown Reno. These facilities draw customers primarily from northern California, the Pacific Northwest, and Canada.

The Company�� Atlantic City casinos, Harrah�� Resort Atlantic City, Showboat Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City, and Bally�� Atlantic City, draw customers primarily from the Philadelphia metropolitan area, New York, and New Jersey. Harrah�� Philadelphia (formerly Harrah's Chester) is a combination harness racetrack and casino located approximately six miles south of Philadelphia International Airport and draws customers primarily from the Philadelphia metropolitan area and Delaware. The Company�� Chicagoland dockside casinos, Harrah�� Joliet in Joliet, Illinois, and Horseshoe Hammond in Hammond, Indiana, draw customers primarily from the greater Chicago metropolitan area. In southern Indiana, it owns Horseshoe Southern Indiana, a dockside casino complex located in Elizabeth, Indiana, which draws customers primarily from northern Kentucky, including the Louisville metropolitan area, and southern Indiana, including Indianapolis. In Louisiana, the Company owns Harrah�� New Orleans, a land-based casino located in downtown New Orleans, which attracts customers primarily from the New Orleans metropolitan area. In northwest Louisiana, Horseshoe Bossier City, a dockside casino, and Harrah�� Louisiana Downs, a thoroughbred racetrack with slot machines, both located in Bossier City, cater to customers in northwestern Louisiana.

The Company owns the Grand Casino Biloxi, located in Biloxi, Mississippi, which caters to customers in southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, and northern Florida. Harrah�� North Kansas City dockside casino draws customers from the Kansas City metropolitan ar! ea. Harra! h�� Metropolis is a dockside casino located in Metropolis, Illinois, on the Ohio River, drawing customers from southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and central Tennessee. Horseshoe Tunica, Harrah�� Tunica, and Tunica Roadhouse Hotel & Casino, dockside casino complexes located in Tunica, Mississippi, are approximately 30 miles from Memphis, Tennessee and draw customers primarily from the Memphis area and, to a lesser extent, from throughout the United States through charter aircraft. Horseshoe Casino and Bluffs Run Greyhound Park, a land-based casino and pari-mutuel facility, and Harrah�� Council Bluffs Casino & Hotel, a dockside casino facility, are located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, across the Missouri River from Omaha, Nebraska. At Horseshoe Casino and Bluffs Run Greyhound Park, the Company owns the assets other than gaming equipment, and leases these assets to the Iowa West Racing Association (IWRA), a nonprofit corporation, and it manages the facility for the IWRA under a management agreement expiring in October 2024. The license to operate Harrah�� Council Bluffs Casino & Hotel is held jointly with IWRA, the qualified sponsoring organization.

The Conrad Resort & Casino located in Punta Del Este, Uruguay (the Conrad), draws customers primarily from Argentina and Uruguay. In November 2012, the Company announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Enjoy S.A. (Enjoy) to form a strategic relationship in Latin America. Under the terms of the agreement, Enjoy will acquire 45% of Baluma S.A., its subsidiary, which owns and operates the Conrad, and the Company will become a 10% shareholder in Enjoy upon consummation of the agreement. Upon the closing of the transaction, which is subject to certain conditions, including the receipt of all regulatory and governmental approvals, Enjoy will assume primary responsibility for management of the Conrad. Enjoy will have the option to acquire the remaining stake in Baluma S.A. between years three and five following closing. The cl! osing of ! the transaction remains subject to a number of conditions, including regulatory and governmental approvals in both Uruguay and Chile.

The Company owns four casinos in London: the Sportsman, the Golden Nugget, The Playboy Club London, and The Casino at the Empire. Its casinos in London draw customers primarily from the London metropolitan area, as well as international visitors. The Company also owns Alea Nottingham, Alea Glasgow, Alea Leeds, Manchester 235, Rendezvous Brighton, and Rendezvous Southend-on-Sea in the provinces of the United Kingdom, which primarily draw customers from their local areas. Pursuant to a concession agreement, it also operates two casinos in Cairo, Egypt, The London Club Cairo (which is located at the Ramses Hilton) and Caesars Cairo (which is located at the Four Seasons Cairo), which draw customers primarily from other countries in the Middle East. Emerald Safari, located in the province of Gauteng in South Africa, draws customers primarily from South Africa. It owsn and operates Bluegrass Downs, a harness racetrack located in Paducah, Kentucky.

The Company owns three casinos for Indian tribes: Harrah�� Phoenix Ak-Chin, located near Phoenix, Arizona, Harrah�� Cherokee Casino and Hotel, and Harrah�� Rincon Casino and Resort, located near San Diego, California. The Company manages Caesars Windsor, located in Windsor, Ontario, which draws customers primarily from the Detroit metropolitan area, Horseshoe Cleveland casino in Ohio, which it manages for Rock Ohio Caesars LLC (ROC), a venture with Rock Ohio Ventures, LLC (Rock Gaming), in which it has a 20% equity interest, and the Horseshoe Cincinnati casino in Ohio for ROC for a fee under a management agreement that will expire in March 2033. It also has a minority interest in Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, LLC (Suffolk Downs), which owns a horse-racing track in Boston, Massachusetts, and the right to manage a future gaming facility. The Company also owns ans operates a golf course on 175 acres of prime real! estate t! hrough a land concession on the Cotai strip in Macau.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Paula Deen has seen her future earnings prospects dim after her admission of using a racial slur. She lost her show. Several retailers have stopped stocking the celebrity chef's products. However, Deen has also lost lucrative endorsements with casino operator Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR  ) and packaged pork products producer Smithfield Foods (NYSE: SFD  ) .

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Caesars Entertainment (CZR) is a casino-entertainment provider and a diverse U.S. casino-entertainment company. This stock closed up 4.2% at $18.36 in Friday's trading session.

  Friday's Volume: 1.55 million
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 636,136
  
  Volume % Change: 205%

  From a technical perspective, CZR jumped higher here and broke out into new all-time high territory above $18.37 with heavy upside volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last two months, with shares moving higher from its low of $11.90 to its intraday high on Friday of $18.73. During that move, shares of CZR have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CZR as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $17.39 or above more near-term support at $16, and then once it sustains a move or close above its all-time high at $18.73 with volume that's near or above 636,136 shares. If we get that move soon, then CZR will set up to enter new all-time-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $22 to $25.

Top 5 Casino Stocks To Own For 2015: NanoTech Entertainment Inc (NTEK)

NanoTech Entertainment, Inc. (NanoTech), formerly Aldar Group, Inc., is a provider of gaming technology for the coin-op arcade, casino gaming and consumer gaming markets. The Company operates as a manufacturer, developing technology and games, and then licensing them to third parties for manufacturing and distribution. As of June 30, 2009, the Company�� products included MultiPin, Xtreme Rally Racing, NanoNET Online System, Pinball Wizard, Mot-Ion Adapter, Opti-Gun Adapter and Retr-IO Adapter. In April 2009, the Company acquired NanoTech Entertainment, Inc. In July 2013, NanoTech Entertainment Inc completed the acquisition of Clear Memories, Inc. of Napa California. Effective August 9, 2013, NanoTech Entertainment Inc acquired Worldwide Global Entertainment, a developer of prepackaged software.

The Company�� physics engine and motion sensors allow MultiPin to accurately recreate the experience of a mechanical pinball machine, while providing players with a variety of classic and modern pinball games to choose from. Xtreme Rally Racing is a driving machine that features three modes of game play: Xtreme Off-Road-Race Head to Head against other players and the computer to checkpoints while driving anywhere on the map with no preset course; Timed Rally Stages-Classic Rally Racing on real world courses. Players will be able to race in five different countries on real world rally courses, and Xtreme Stadium Racing-Custom Stadiums designed for Xtreme racing, including a figure eight multi-lap course with huge jumps. NanoNET Online System is remote operator control of machines, including diagnostics, accounting reports, and automatic software updates and enhancements downloaded over the net.

The Company has created the input device designed to give the pinball players a way to experience real pinball controls on their personal computer. Based on the technology developed for the MultiPin product it has built a controller that lets people play pinball using traditional controls and! the ability to shake and nudge the table. The Mot-Ion adapter is a universal serial bus (USB) adapter that allows do it yourself Pinball enthusiasts to build their own cabinet using real pinball controls providing analog inputs for nudging and bumping. The OptiGun adapter is a USB adapter that allows players to connect Arcade Light Guns to any USB based system. The Retr-IO adapters provide a standard JAMMA interface for USB based systems.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Nyxio Technologies Corp (OTCMKTS: NYXO), COREwafer Industries Inc (OTCMKTS: WAFR) and NanoTech Entertainment, Inc (OTCMKTS: NTEK) are three small cap stocks in some very diverse industries. In fact, one of these stocks just bought a 3D ice sculpture business. So will investors see their investment melt with that small cap stock�along with the other two? Here is a closer look to help you decide for yourself:��

Top 5 Casino Stocks To Own For 2015: Boyd Gaming Corporation(BYD)

Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the company owned and operated 1,042,787 square feet of casino space, containing approximately 25,973 slot machines, 655 table games, and 11,418 hotel rooms. It also owned and operated 16 gaming entertainment properties located in Nevada, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and New Jersey. In addition, the company owns and operates a pari-mutuel jai-alai facility located in Dania Beach, Florida, as well as a travel agency in Hawaii. Further, it holds a 50% controlling interest in the limited liability company that operates Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Boyd Gaming Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Even if a federal bill does pass, there's no guarantee Zynga would win. Online poker is all about gaining a critical mass of users, and it's a uphill battle. MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM  ) and Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD  ) have already partnered with bwin.party for a U.S. online gaming venture. Bwin.party is one of the largest real-money online poker companies in the world, and with PokerStars likely shut out of the U.S. in the near future, this would be a formidable opponent. Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR  ) has also had its eyes on online poker for some time, and with the World Series of Poker brand, it has a big draw for players. Caesars thinks so much of online poker that it's spinning off its "growth" assets, and online games are a key part of the new company.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The real question is whether Zynga can hold off experienced casino operators if online gambling becomes a reality. Already, alliances are forming, with Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD  ) and MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM  ) having linked up with bwin.party -- the same company Zynga tapped for its real-money Zynga Poker -- to help Boyd take advantage of newly legal online gambling in New Jersey. Zynga has the obvious edge with its social savvy, but established casino companies will have huge incentives to defend their turf if Zynga starts to make a serious dent in the industry.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One gaming player that's rapidly moving within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Boyd Gaming (BYD), which owns and operates gaming entertainment facilities located in Nevada, Mississippi, Illinois, Louisiana and Indiana. This stock has been blazing a trail to the upside so far in 2013, with shares up sharply by 115%.

  If you look at the chart for Boyd Gaming, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong over the last month and change, with shares moving sharply higher from its low of $11.27 to its intraday high of $14.38 a share. During that move, shares of BYD have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of BYD into breakout territory above resistance at $13.79 a share, and it's quickly pushing the stock within range of another big breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in BYD if it manages to break out above its 52-week high at $14.50 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 2.34 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then BYD will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $18 to $20 a share.

  Traders can look to buy BYD off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some near-term support at $13 a share. One can also buy BYD off strength once it takes out $14.50 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD  ) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Boyd Gaming met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.