Why This Apparel Company Is Still a Great Investment

Gap (NYSE: GPS  ) continues to be an impressive apparel retailer, one that investors should take note of -- especially since shares are still flat year to date. The very cold winter has forced February and March same-store sales growth into negative territory. But given its potential growth opportunities, this could be a great chance to buy.

There are still plenty of growth opportunities available
Something investors should be excited about is online growth. Gap is turning to omnichannel sales to capture market share. Although Gap's annual revenue of $16 billion is more than impressive, there's still plenty of the apparel market to be captured. The global apparel market is worth more than $1.4 trillion.

Gap is also making China a bigger part of its future growth story. It'll be diffusing its Old Navy brand in China over the coming years (it currently only has one Old Navy store in China). This, and store growth of its Gap brand, should help China account for more than $1 billion of its sales in less than three years. All of Asia currently only comprises slightly more than $1 billion in Gap's annual revenue.

Gap is a growth story in an industry filled with turnarounds
Gap continues to win on a number of fronts. This includes being able to compete with lululemon athletica with its Athleta brand, with Guess?  (NYSE: GES  ) thanks to its strong jean offering, and the various teen retailers, such as Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF  ) and Aeropostale.

The problem with Abercrombie & Fitch is that its customer base is largely teens. And teens are fickle, especially when teen unemployment remains above decade highs. But one of the biggest issues for Abercrombie & Fitch has been the rise of fast-fashion retailers, such as Forever 21. However, a big positive for Abercrombie & Fitch investors is that the company is looking to tap into the fast-fashion market. There's talk that the company could be looking to turn its Hollister brand into a fast-fashion brand.

Thus, Abercrombie & Fitch could be the best investment among the teen retailers. It trades at a mere 13 P/E based on next year's earnings estimates. Something else you wouldn't expect from Abercrombie & Fitch is a 2.2% dividend yield. Its yield has been pushed up to attractive levels after the stock price has fallen by more than 20% within the past year.

Europe remains a tough operating environment
Guess? is still a dominant force in the jean market, but its shares have largely underperformed due to a weak January-ended quarter; shares are down more than 12% year to date. For the fiscal fourth quarter, Guess? managed to post earnings of $0.83 a share, which is well below the $0.95 for the same quarter last year.

However, it's worth noting that Guess? is heavily levered to Europe--it generates more than 35% of its revenue from Europe. Compare that to the 5% of revenue (as a percentage of total revenue) that Gap gets from Europe. And Europe has been a tough place to invest over the last couple years. Any rebound in the European economy over the next few years will be a big positive for Guess?. In addition, Guess? is looking to tap some newer, faster-growing markets, including Russia and Brazil.

Why Gap is the best bet
Gap continues to be one of the best investments from a valuation standpoint, trading at a 14 P/E. Meanwhile, Guess? trades at a P/E of 15, Abercrombie & Fitch at a 54 P/E, Urban Outfitters is at 19, and American Eagle's is 26. Don't forget that Gap pays a 2%-plus dividend yield. Gap also remains one of the largest and most geographically diverse apparel retailers on the market.

Its current P/E is slightly below its 10-year average of 15. However, its return on investment is at decade highs, coming in at 28%, which suggests that Gap should be trading at a higher valuation.

Bottom line
Gap is still one of the largest apparel retailers around. This is a big positive in an industry that's fairly fragmented. The other key to Gap is that it has three strong brands (Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic) that allow it to compete with nearly every fashion retailer. Its focus on China and e-commerce helps make the company a growth story. For investors who need a retailer in their portfolio, it's hard to go wrong with Gap.

The biggest thing to come out of Silicon Valley in years
If you thought the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad were amazing, just wait until you see this. One hundred of Apple's top engineers are busy building one in a secret lab. And an ABI Research report predicts 485 million of them could be sold over the next decade. But you can invest in it right now... for just a fraction of the price of AAPL stock. Click here to get the full story in this eye-opening new report.

Does Hertz Have a Bright Future?

With shares of Hertz (NYSE:HTZ) trading around $20, is HTZ an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Hertz engages in the car and equipment rental businesses around the world. The company operates in two segments: Car Rental and Equipment Rental. The Car Rental segment rents and leases various car models on an hourly, daily, weekend, weekly, monthly, or multi-month basis. This company operates car rental locations at or near airports, in central business districts, and suburban areas of cities, as well as retail used car sales locations, provides car-sharing services, and fleet leasing and management services worldwide. Hertz also sells and rents earthmoving equipment, material handling equipment, aerial and electrical equipment, air compressors, generators, pumps, small tools, compaction equipment, and construction-related trucks.

Hertz reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations, partially due to the success of its purchase of the discount car rental chain Dollar Thrifty. Hertz's earnings of 73 cents a share beat analyst expectations of 71 cents and revenue rose 22 percent to $3.1 billion, topping expectations of $3.06 billion according to analysts from Thomson Reuters. Still, Hertz reaffirmed its lower full-year guidance, but said it has been seeing improvement in sales at its Hertz locations post-government shutdown.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart Are Mixed

Hertz stock has been steadily rising over the last several years. The stock is currently trading slightly below highs for the year and looks set to continue. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Hertz is trading below its rising key averages, which signal neutral to bearish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Hertz options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Hertz Options	37.58%	16%	14%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a minimal amount of call and put options contracts as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
December Options	Steep	Average
January Options	Steep	Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and high demand by put buyers or low demand by put sellers, all neutral to bearish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a minimal amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bearish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Hertz’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Hertz look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q3	2013 Q2	2013 Q1	2012 Q4
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	4.38%	28.57%	130.77%	-180.30%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	21.99%	22.00%	24.25%	15.13%
Earnings Reaction	N/A	-2.45%	0.45%	1.65%

Hertz has seen increasing earnings and revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have been pleased with Hertz’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Weak Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Hertz stock done relative to its peers, Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR), United Rentals (NYSE:URI), Amerco (NASDAQ:UHAL), and sector?

	Hertz	Avis Budget Group	United Rentals	Amerco	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	34.66%	58.27%	45.69%	63.45%	51.51%

Hertz has been a poor relative performer, year-to-date.

Conclusion

Hertz is involved in the vehicle and equipment sale and rental business all around the world. The company recently reported earnings that impressed the markets. The stock has been steadily rising over the last several years and is now trading slightly below highs for the year. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenue figures have been rising, which has generally pleased investors. Relative to its peers and sector, Hertz has been a poor year-to-date performer. Look for Hertz to OUTPERFORM.

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (SRPT): $54 Approved By JMP Securities

It's not every day that a stock is up 40% but still might have another 50%+ to go. However, that is the case with Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT).

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc., formerly AVI BioPharma, Inc., biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of ribonucleic acid (RNA)-based therapeutics for the treatment of rare and infectious diseases. Its product candidates include Eteplirsen, AVI-6002, AVI-6003, and AVI-7100.

From what we can gather online:

AVI-6002 is for the Ebola virus AVI-6003 is for Marburg hemorrhagic fever (MHF) AVI-7100 is for H1N1 (swine flu).

[Related -Stock End 1 Pct Higher On Earnings, Gold; Coca-Cola (KO) Jumps]

Al the hubaloo today is due to Eteplirsen. Earlier today, the company announced it plans to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the end of 2014 for the approval of eteplirsen for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Eteplirsen is Sarepta's lead exon-skipping drug candidate in development for the treatment of patients with DMD who have a genotype amenable to skipping of exon 51.

Chris Garabedian, president and chief executive officer says, "As we announce our plan to submit an eteplirsen NDA by the end of 2014, we are very pleased with the detailed guidance that the FDA has provided us on a potential eteplirsen approval pathway and their support of a historically controlled eteplirsen confirmatory study. We also appreciate that the FDA shares our urgency in dosing a broader base of eteplirsen patients and has encouraged us to begin the clinical program with our follow-on exon-skipping drugs as soon as possible."

[Related -Stock Upgrades And Downgrades: CHRW, DWA, ODFL, PXD, S, SRPT, TMO]

As such, management plans to initiate several additional clinical studies with eteplirsen later this year in exon-51 amenable genotypes.

A pair of research firms upped their opinions on SRPT on the FDA news. William Blair and JMP Securities moved to an "outperform" rating from "market perform." JPM put a price tag of $54 – upside potential of 58.82% to target.

According to the CDC, "Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder that causes muscles to gradually weaken over time. A person with DMD will eventually lose the ability to walk and will have problems with breathing and his or her heart. It most often affects boys and occurs among all races and cultures. Sometimes this disorder affects other members of a person's family, but in many cases it is new to a family."

The Muscular Dystrophy Associations (MDA) says, "DMD is the most frequently occurring and one of the most rapidly progressive of the childhood neuromuscular disorders. It affects approximately 1 in 3500 live male births throughout the world. DMD affects only boys (with extremely rare exceptions)."

The CDC reports roughly 4 million babies are born in the US per year. Slightly more than half are boys, meaning a little more than 2 million "It's a Boys" annually. Using the MDA's 1 in 3,500 figure, we arrive at about 570 babies born a year with the condition.

At the moment, SRPT has a market cap of $1.28 billion on trailing twelve month (TTM) revenue of $14.22 million – 64.82 times sales is a steep price to pay.

The average biotech trades at 16 times sales. Now, if Sarepta Therapeutics captured 100% of the potential market for the next decade, they would have to charge $14,000 per year to generate enough revenue to meet the current market cap using the average price-to-sales ratio. That doesn't include any revenue sources beyond eteplirsen. At JPM's $54, the cost would have to be $22,314 per year to trade at the peer average P/S ratio.

Overall: In our opinion, Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT) is more likely to get to $54 compliments of a short squeeze as 40% of the float (stock available for trading) is sold, than from eteplirsen driven fundamentals. 

Ex-Bank of America CFO to Pay $7.5M Fine to New York

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said Friday that former Bank of America (BAC) CFO Joe Price agreed to a $7.5 million fine and to be barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 18 months in order to settle the state’s lawsuit against him.

The deal concerns the bank’s actions in 2008 when it began its merger with Merrill Lynch.

According the attorney general’s office, “Despite its top executives’ specific knowledge of mounting losses at Merrill Lynch that were forecast at more than $9 billion, Bank of America failed to disclose that information to shareholders prior to their vote on the proposed merger,” it said in a press release.

Schneiderman also alleged former-BofA CEO Kenneth D. Lewis and Price “misrepresented to shareholders the impact that the merger with Merrill would have on Bank of America’s future earnings.”

A month ago, Lewis agreed to a $10 million settlement with the attorney general, and BofA agreed to a $15 million settlement concerning Lewis’ actions during the merger. He is barred from work on public-company boards for three years.  

“This [Price] settlement is one more step in our effort to hold top financial executives accountable for their actions,” said Schneiderman, in a statement Friday.

5 Best Construction Stocks To Watch Right Now

“As with our settlement last month with CEO Ken Lewis, today’s action sends a message that conduct harming investors, shareholders, and the public will not go unpunished. I’m pleased to close the final chapter in our litigation over Bank of America’s merger with Merrill, and I will continue to hold individuals — as well as corporations — accountable for their actions,” the attorney general explained.

Bank of America declined to comment on the matter. 

United Loses $609 Million in 1Q; Fares Don't Cover Costs

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images United Airlines is the one U.S. carrier that can't seem to get its act together. While all the other major airlines made money in the first quarter, United lost $609 million during the first three months of this year. United attributed $200 million of its loss to the "historic severe" winter weather that impacted much of the U.S. this past winter. But by comparison, Delta Air Lines (DAL) made $213 million in the same quarter while dealing with the same ice and snow storms. Chicago-based United (UAL) is still struggling to combine systems and see financial benefits following its 2010 merger with Continental Airlines. In the first quarter, its cost for each mile passengers flew rose 1 percent but its related revenue fell 2 percent. It simply isn't able to charge high enough airfares. United lost $1.66 a share, worse than the $1.26 a share it lost during the same period last year. Excluding special items, the loss was $1.33 a share, barely beating the $1.35 loss expected by Wall Street analysts surveyed by FactSet. United's revenue slipped 0.3 percent to $8.7 billion, just short of the $8.71 billion Wall Street analysts had expected. The one bright spot for United was that it paid less for fuel: $3.18 a gallon, down from $3.28 during last year's first quarter. Considering that the airline used 916 million gallons during the period, that added up to $133 million in savings. "While we are not pleased with our first-quarter financial results, we are building a strong foundation that will result in improved financial performance," John Rainey, chief financial officer for United Continental Holdings, Inc., said in a statement. United also lost $21 million during the quarter due to an exchange rate loss in Venezuela. Approximately $100 million of the company's unrestricted cash balance was held as Venezuelan bolivars as of March 31, 2014. All international airlines flying there have struggled with a quickly devaluing currency and have billions of dollars tied up in bolivars that can't be quickly converted because of Venezuelan currency controls.

10 Best New Stocks To Own Right Now

With shares of Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) trading around $120, is TM an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Toyota Motor is a Japan-based company mainly engaged in the automobile business and financial business. The company operates through three business segments: Automobile, Finance, and Others. Through its segments, Toyota Motor designs, manufactures, and sells vehicles as well as related parts and accessories; offers financial services related to the sale of its products; and is involved in the design, manufacture, and sale of housing, information, and communication businesses. Vehicles and related products are seeing increased innovation and Toyota Motor is at the head of this trend. Toyota has been dominating the competition and has been first to provide new technologies so look for this to continue.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

10 Best New Stocks To Own Right Now: OriginOil Inc (OOIL)

OriginOil, Inc., incorporated on June 1, 2007, is a technology company. The Company is primarily involved in research and development activities, and sales of pilot and demonstration equipment. The Company has developed an energy production process for harvesting algae and cleaning up oil and gas water. To develop the energy and ancillary markets, the Company sells smaller-scale equipment, such as the Algae Appliance. The Company�� process, CLEAN-FRAC, represents a generation of water treatment that is chemical free. The Company's water cleanup technology, Electro Water Separation (EWS), is a chemical-free process that extracts organic contaminants from large quantities of water. Its products include EWS Algae, EWS Algae A4, EWS Algae A60, EWS Algae A200, EWS Petro P160, and EWS Aqua Q60.

The Company intends to embed its technology into larger systems through licensing and joint ventures. The Company is in the process of pursuing secondary licensing opportunities outside of energy, including aquaculture. EWS Algae A4 is an entry-level algae harvester designed to make it easier and faster for producers and researchers to try and buy the Company's harvesting technology. EWS Algae A60 is a pilot scale algae harvester providing a low energy, chemical-free, continuous flow wet harvest system to dewater and concentrate the microalgae. EWS Petro Model 160 is designed to remove organics, such as crude oil, and suspended solids and bacteria from process water, such as produced or frac flowback water at a continuous flow rate of one barrel per minute or 160 liters per minute in continuous, chemical free operation. EWS Aqua Q60 is a commercial fish farming pond water treatment system, designed to clean pond water of ammonia, bacteria and aquatic animal pathogens in a continuous loop.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, OOIL�has shed (-3.12%) down -0.01 at $.31 with 95,929 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 2:04PM�EDT October 15, 2013).

  OriginOil, Inc. previously reported it has signed its first pay-per-barrel agreement with Industrial Systems, Inc. (ISI) for a water treatment system integrating OriginOil�� process as the first stage of treatment.

  Delta, Colorado-based ISI has agreed that it will operate the Model P160 as part of its overall frac flowback water cleanup service, and pay OriginOil a fee for each barrel processed.

10 Best New Stocks To Own Right Now: HyperSolar Inc (HYSR)

Hypersolar, Inc., incorporated on February 18, 2009, is developing renewable hydrogen using sunlight and any source of water, including seawater and wastewater. Unlike hydrocarbon fuels, such as oil, coal and natural gas, where carbon dioxide and other contaminants are released into the atmosphere when used, hydrogen fuel usage produces pure water as the only byproduct. The Company�� technology includes HyperSolar H2Generator. Its nano-size particle is designed to mimic photosynthesis and contains a solar absorber that generates electrons from sunlight, as well as integrated cathode and anode areas to readily split water and transfer those electrons to the molecular bonds of hydrogen.

The HyperSolar H2Generator consists of the following primary stages: Reactor Vessels, Hydrogen Compressor and Hydrogen Storage. The reactor vessels resemble transparent rectangular boxes containing water and billions of nanoparticles suspended in solution. When exposed to sunlight, hydrogen gas will bubble up into an air gap on top for separation and collection. Produced hydrogen gas will be compressed for space efficient storage. Hydrogen can be stored in compressed gas tanks or chemical canisters depending on the application. The HyperSolar H2Generator will be a self-contained renewable hydrogen production system that requires only sunlight and any source of water.

The Company competes with Air Products and Chemicals Inc. and Air Liquide.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap hydrogen fuel stocks Hydrogenics Corporation (NASDAQ: HYGS), FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ: FCEL), HyperSolar Inc (OTCMKTS: HYSR) and HydroPhi Technologies Group, Inc (OTCMKTS: HPTG) are some of the lesser known small caps that are�working with hydrogen fuel or hydrogen fuel cell related technology. I should say that small cap hydrogen stocks are not for risk adverse investors as there are considerable unanswered questions about hydrogen fuel related technology and whether it can be a viable green technology given the fueling infrastructure needed along with the�energy and expense involved in creating hydrogen�(Note: None of these small cap�stocks are profitable at ). But any new technology will pose the same types of risks for early stage investors���especially if its so-called green technology.�

Best High Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Building Turbines Inc (BLDW)

Building Turbines Inc (BTI), incorporated on November 17, 1997, is engaged in the designing and manufacturing rooftop mounted wind turbines. The patented BTI�� design is ideal for commercial applications and creates reliable, cost-effective, clean and on-site renewable electricity. The Company offers a different, patented wind turbine product that can bring the dream of clean, affordable wind energy to a reality. The turbine is mounted on a steel frame, it has a low profile, low maintenance needs, and creates almost no noise or vibration.

The Company�� design possesses these exemplary and robust structural, mechanical and electrical characteristics that are particularly important when mounting a renewable energy system onto a building's roof. The turbine can help office buildings, schools, warehouses, distribution centers, airports, hotels, and a variety of other buildings offset electricity purchased from the grid by creating it on-site from the wind. The turbine creates reliable, cost-effective and clean renewable electricity with little building modification required.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap green stocks Essential Innovations Technology Corp (OTCBB: ESIV), Building Turbines Inc (OTCMKTS: BLDW) and Kleangas Energy Technologies Inc (OTCMKTS: KGET) have all been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters ��either because they were sinking, because of paid promotions or a combination of both. However, there aren�� many green stocks out there that have actually produced some green for investors in the form of profits. With that in mind, here is a quick reality check about all three green small cap stocks to help you decide whether any have the potential for long-term success:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap green stocks Building Turbines Inc (OTCMKTS: BLDW), Virtual Sourcing, Inc (OTCMKTS: PGCX) and Unseen Solar, Inc (OTCMKTS: PCWT) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters in part because some ��reen�� is being paid out in the form of paid promotions or investor relation activity. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed paid promotions, but you do need to remember that small cap stocks (especially those in new ��reen�� industries) already come with risk. With that in mind, here is a quick reality check about these three green small cap stocks and whether you can expect to see some green in the form of profits:

  Building Turbines Inc (OTCMKTS: BLDW) Has Secured a $5 Million Line of Credit

  Small cap Building Turbines Inc is focused on the design and manufacture of patented rooftop wind turbines as well as vertically integrating them into other renewable energy solutions to complete a total ��reen Energy Solution��for any urban environment. Building Turbines Inc�� subsidiary, Green City Planet, is also a premier provider of LED lighting and environmentally sound industrial solutions. On Friday, Building Turbines Inc fell 9.76% to $0.0370 for a market cap of $8.71 million plus BLDW is up 51% over the past year and down 87.2% since June 2011 according to Google Finance.

10 Best New Stocks To Own Right Now: SunPower Corp (SPWR)

SunPower Corporation, incorporated in April 1985, is a vertically integrated solar products and services company that designs, manufactures and delivers solar electric systems worldwide for residential, commercial, and utility-scale power plant customers. The Company operates in two business segments: the Utility and Power Plants (UPP) Segment and the Residential and Commercial (R&C) Segment. The UPP Segment refers to its solar products and systems business, which includes power plant project development and project sales, turn-key engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for power plant construction, and power plant operations and maintenance (O&M) services. UPP Segment also sells components, including huge volume of sales of solar panels and mounting systems to third parties, sometimes on a multi-year, firm commitment basis. The R&C Segment focuses on solar equipment sales into the residential and small commercial market through its third-party global dealer network, as well as direct sales and EPC and O&M services in the United States and Europe for rooftop and ground-mounted solar power systems for the new homes, commercial and public sectors. In May 2012, K Road Power Holdings, LLC (K Road) and SunPower Corp announced that K Road acquired the 25-megawatt (AC) McHenry Solar Project, which the Company designed. In January 2013, the Company MidAmerican Solar acquired the 579-megawatt Antelope Valley Solar Projects (AVSP), two co-located projects in Kern and Los Angeles Counties in Calif from SunPower.

In January 2012, the Company completed its acquisition of the wholly owned Total SA subsidiary Tenesol SA, a global solar provider. In September 2011, NRG Energy Inc. acquired 250 megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch (CVSR) project from SunPower. In June 2011, the Company introduced SunPower E20 Series Solar Panel (E20) series. The Company�� customers in its UPP Segment include investors, financial institutions, project developers, electric utilities, and independent po! wer producers in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In its R&C Segment, the Company primarily sells its products to commercial and governmental entities, production home builders, and its third-party global dealer network serving residential owners and small commercial building owners.

Solar Cells

The A-300 solar cell is a silicon solar cell with a specified power value of 3.1 watts and a conversion efficiency averaging between 20.0% and 21.5%. The Company�� A-330 solar cell delivers 3.3 watts with a conversion efficiency of up to 22.7%.

Solar Panels

The Company�� SunPower solar panel series include solutions, such as SunPower E18 Series Solar Panel (E18), SunPower E19 Series Solar Panel (E19), and SunPower E20 Series Solar Panel (E20). Available in a 72-cell configuration, the E18 series panel uses its A300 all back-contact solar cells and delivers a total panel conversion of 18.1% to 18.5%. Available in a 72, 96, and 128-cell configuration, the E19 series panel uses its A300 all back-contact solar cells and delivers total panel conversion of 19.3% to 19.7%. Available in a 96-cell configuration, the E20 series panel uses its A-330 all back-contact solar cells and delivers total panel conversion of up to 20.1%.

Inverters

The Company sells a line of SunPower branded inverters. The inverters are manufactured by third parties.

Roof Mounted Products

The roof mounted products include SunPower T-5 Solar Roof Tile System (T-5), SunPower T-10 Commercial Solar Roof Tiles (T-10), PowerGuard Roof System (PowerGuard) and SunTile Roof Integrated System (SunTile). Tilted at a 5-degree angle, the T-5 roof tile is a non-penetrating photovoltaic rooftop product that combines solar panel, frame, and mounting system. The T-5 solar roof tile systems are primarily sold through its R&C Segment.

Tilted at a 10-degree angle, the T-10 commercial solar roof tiles is a non-penetrating panel interlock system! . Dependi! ng on geographical location and local climate conditions, this can allow for the generation of up to 10% more annual energy output than traditional flat roof-mounted systems. The T-10 commercial solar roof tile is primarily sold through its R&C Segment.

PowerGuard is a non-penetrating roof-mounted solar panel that delivers electricity while insulating and protecting the roof membrane from ultraviolet rays and thermal degradation. The PowerGuard roof system is primarily sold through its R&C Segment. SunTile solar shingles are designed to replace multiple types of roof panels, including the common concrete flat, low and high profile S tile and composition shingles. The SunTile roof system is also sold through its R&C Segment.

Ground Mounted Products

The ground mounted products include SunPower T-0 Tracker (T-0) & SunPower T-20 Tracker (T-20), SunPower Oasis Power Plant (SunPower Oasis), SunPower C-7 Tracker (C-7), and Fixed Tilt and SunPower Tracker Systems for Parking Structures. The T-0 and T-20 trackers are single-axis tracking systems that automatically pivot solar panels to track the sun's movement throughout the day. This tracking feature increases the amount of sunlight that is captured and converted into energy by up to 30% over flat or fixed-tilt systems, depending on geographic location and local climate conditions. A single motor and drive mechanism can control 10 to 20 rows, or more than 200 kilo watts of solar panels. The T-0 and T-20 trackers have been installed in a range of geographical markets principally in the United States, Germany, Italy, Portugal, South Korea, and Spain. The T-0 and T-20 trackers are sold through both its UPP and R&C Segments.

The Oasis is a solar power block that scales from 1 mega watts distributed installations to central station power plants. Oasis provides a way to deploy utility-scale solar power systems, streaming the development and construction process while optimizing the use of available land. The SunPow! er Oasis ! is sold through its UPP Segment. The C-7 combines a horizontal single-axis tracker with rows of parabolic mirrors, reflecting light onto linear arrays of its solar cells. The C-7 tracker is sold through its UPP Segment. SunPower has developed designs for solar power systems for parking structures in multiple configurations. These dual-use systems typically incorporate solar panels into the roof of a carport or similar structure to deliver onsite solar power while providing shade and protection. They are suited for parking lots adjacent to facilities. Fixed Tilt and SunPower Tracker Systems for parking structures are sold through both its UPP and R&C Segments.

Other System Offerings

SunPower�� metal roof system is designed for sloped-metal roof buildings, which are used in some winery and warehouse applications. This solar power system is designed for rapid installation. It also offers other architectural products, such as day lighting with translucent solar panels.

Balance of System Components

Balance of system components are components of a solar power system other than the solar panels. It includes SunPower branded inverters, mounting structures, charge controllers, grid interconnection equipment, and other devices depending on the specific requirements of a particular system and project.

The Company competes with Canadian Solar Inc., JA Solar Holdings Co., Kyocera Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, Q-Cells AG, Sanyo Corporation, Sharp Corporation, SolarCity Corporation, SolarWorld AG, Sungevity, Inc., SunRun, Inc., Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd., Trina Solar Ltd., Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd., Abengoa Solar S.A., Acconia Energia S.A., AES Solar Energy Ltd., Chevron Energy Solutions, EDF Energy plc, First Solar Inc., NextEra Energy, Inc., OPDE Group, NRG Energy, Inc., Recurrent Energy, Sempra Energy, Skyline Solar, Inc., Solargen Energy, Inc., Solaria Corporation, SolFocus, Inc., SunEdison and Tenaska, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

  17. Construction began just a few days ago on one of those projects, the 579 Megawatt Antelope Valley Solar joint venture with�SunPower Corporation� (NASDAQ: SPWR  ) . When all is said and done, it will have provided 650 jobs and more than $500 million in regional economic impact over the course of its three-year construction period, and should�provide enough energy to power around 400,000 average California homes.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Investing in energy
  If you're even more ambitious than making these small changes there are a few other ways to you can save money, or even make money when energy costs are high. The first is by going solar. Sunrun, SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR  ) , and SolarCity (NASDAQ: SCTY  ) have wide networks of installers that will install solar panels on your roof for $0 down and at a lower cost than your electricity rate. In short, for nothing more than some rooftop space you can save money on your electricity bill every month.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  While ReneSola doesn�� build and operate massive solar farms like solar stocks FSLR and SunPower (SPWR), its modules are becoming the choice for smaller independent power producers due to their efficiency and price. That�� given SOL stock an edge on other solar stocks, too. Recent projects for SOL include supplying 2 MW of solar modules to the Uenohara-shi solar farm in Japan and 1 MW worth of modules to Hecate Energy for a project in Georgia.

10 Best New Stocks To Own Right Now: KiOR Inc (KIOR)

KiOR, Inc. (KiOR), incorporated on July 23, 2007, is development- stage company. KiOR is a renewable fuels company engaged in producing cellulosic gasoline and diesel from abundant non-food biomass. Cellulosic fuel is derived from lignocellulose found in wood, grasses and the non-edible portions of plants. The Company generates hydrocarbons from renewable sources . Its end products are fungible hydrocarbon-based gasolines and diesels that can be used as components in formulating finished gasoline and diesel fuels, rather than alcohols or fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) such as ethanol or biodiesel. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company commenced construction of its initial-scale commercial production facility in Columbus, Mississippi, designed to process 500 bone dry ton per day (BDT) of feedstock per day, As of December 31, 2011, the Company had not generated any revenues.

The Company has developed a process that converts non-food lignocellulose into gasoline and diesel that can be transported using the existing fuels distribution system for use in vehicles on the road. Its biomass-to-cellulosic fuel technology platform combines catalyst systems with fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) processes that have been used in crude oil refineries to produce gasoline. The biomass fluid catalytic cracking (BFCC) process operates at moderate temperatures and pressures to convert biomass in a matter of seconds into the renewable crude oil that can be processed using standard refining equipment into its cellulosic gasoline and diesel. In its demonstration unit the Company varies its volume output of gasoline from 37% to 61%, diesel from 31% to 55% and fuel oil from 8% to 9% from its renewable crude oil. The Company focuses on its commercialization efforts with respect to its gasoline and diesel. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 76 pending original patent application families containing over 2,300 pending claims.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  KiOR (Nasdaq: KIOR) is one of three advanced biofuel companies that venture capitalist Vinod Khosla took public in 2011. The other two were Amyris (Nasdaq: AMRS) and Gevo (Nasdaq: GEVO). Each of these companies has seen its share price drop sharply since the IPO. While KiOR is one of the few companies to have produced advanced biofuel for sale, the volumes have consistently come in below company guidance, and I expect production costs to remain above the sales price for the foreseeable future.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of renewable fuel company KiOR (NASDAQ: KIOR  ) fell 10% today after reaching an operational milestone.

  So what: The company has made its first shipment of cellulosic gasoline and diesel and has been operating for 30 days. The company's first shipment since March was made on June 28, and now we should see continuous shipments going forward. �

10 Best New Stocks To Own Right Now: Ceres Inc (CERE)

Ceres, Inc. (Ceres), incorporated in March 1996, is an agricultural biotechnology company selling seeds to produce renewable biomass feedstocks that can enable the large-scale replacement of petroleum and other fossil fuels. The Company�� large-scale commercial products are sweet sorghum varieties that can be used as a drop-in feedstock to extend the operating season of Brazilian sugarcane-to-ethanol mills. Its products include sweet sorghum, high biomass sorghum, switchgrass, miscanthus and row crops. Its energy crops can also be used for the production of second-generation biofuels and bio-based chemicals, including cellulosic ethanol, butanol, jet fuel, diesel-like molecules and gasoline-like molecules, from non-food biomass. Baseload utility scale electric power can also be generated from the biomass feedstocks grown from its seeds. Ceres has started marketing sweet sorghum seeds in Brazil and has sold switchgrass and high biomass sorghum seeds in the United States under its brand, Blade Energy Crops (Blade). In January 2010, the Company incorporated a subsidiary, Ceres Sementes do Brasil Ltda.

The Company generates its revenues from government grants, research and development collaboration agreements and from product sales. Product sales primarily consists of sales of seeds. Collaborative research revenues consist of payments for research and development activities for specific projects. Government grant revenues consist of payments from government entities. Ceres markets its seeds and traits directly to ethanol mills, utilities, independent power producers, cellulosic biofuel companies, individual growers and grower cooperatives. It also works with technology providers and other market participants, such as equipment manufacturers and enzyme or fermentation technology companies. The Company markets its products to biorefineries and biopower facilities.

Ceres�� activities in cellulosic biofuels encompass a range of activities, including field trials, co-evolution agr! eements, and commercial sales. Its products have been tested in the conversion processes of EdeniQ, Inc., Choren USA LLC, Gruppo M&G, ICM, Inc., and UOP, LLC (a Honeywell company), among others. The Company has also conducted joint trials with, or sold seed to, AGCO Corporation, EdeniQ, Inc. and Hawai�� BioEnergy, LLC, among others. It has begun collaboration with Valero Services, Inc. to further evaluate feedstock supply strategies with energy crops. Ceres also works with refining technology companies to optimize feedstock for their refining processes. These collaborators include Novozymes North America, Inc. and ThermoChem Recovery International, Inc.

Drop-in Products

The Company�� products are drop-in solutions as they can be planted, harvested and processed using existing agricultural equipment with little or no modification and are being developed to be drop-in for all conversion technologies using sugarcane or biomass feedstocks, facilitating their rapid adoption. In collaboration with Boa Vista/Nova Fronteira, which is a joint venture of ethanol producers Grupo Sao Martinho, S.A. and Petrobras Biofuels, the Company has completed a commercial-scale trial on approximately 250 hectares of its sweet sorghum, which was planted and harvested using existing planting and harvesting equipment, fermented into ethanol without retrofitting or altering the existing mill and the remaining biomass combusted for electricity production, using existing boilers. It has also conducted smaller trials using its other energy crops with numerous industry participants engaged in cellulosic biofuels and biopower production. The Company�� products have been tested in the conversion processes of Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc., Choren USA LLC, EdeniQ, Inc., Gruppo M&G, ICM, Inc., Novozymes North America, Inc., ThermoChem Recovery International, Inc. and UOP, LLC (a Honeywell company), among others. DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC (DDCE) also plans to validate the Company�� products in th! eir conve! rsion process.

Sweet Sorghum

Sweet sorghum is a type of sorghum that accumulates free sugars in its stalk. It is sown by seed, and requires less water and nitrogen fertilizer to grow to harvestable maturity. Sweet sorghum plants can be harvested in 90 to 140 days after sowing. Because sweet sorghum is an annual crop, multiple harvests or crop rotations may be possible during the season.

High Biomass Sorghum

High biomass sorghum is a type of sorghum, which is primarily developed for biomass yield. As such, high biomass sorghum is suited for the generation of renewable electric power and the creation of cellulosic biofuels. High biomass types are seed propagated, and requires less water and nitrogen fertilizer. As an annual crop, sorghum is harvested the year it is planted. This provides bioenergy facilities with a growing and flexible source of biomass, and a complementary feedstock to perennials, such as sugarcane or switchgrass. The Company�� ES 5200 and ES 5201 products contains its Skyscraper trait. These hybrids, developed through its partnership with Texas A&M University, are designed for single-cut production systems.

Switchgrass

Switchgrass is a perennial grass indigenous to North America that offers high biomass yield potential. It requires less water and nitrogen fertilizer, and can grow under semi-arid conditions. Switchgrass is seed propagated. As a perennial, switchgrass is not harvested for sale during the first year when the crop is being established. A properly managed stand of switchgrass may persist for a decade. During the year ended December 31, 2010, it introduced three products: EG 1101, EG 1102 and EG 2101. These high-yielding varieties is developed through its partnership with The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.

Miscanthus

Miscanthus x giganteus is a tall perennial grass that grows well in cooler climates. It is vegetatively propagated. It has been used as an energy crop on ! a small s! cale across Europe. The Miscanthus genus includes several perennial species that has energy crops. The variety adopted in the United States and Europe, miscanthus x giganteus, is a sterile hybrid of M. sinensis and M. sacchariflorus. This miscanthus hybrid requires about the same water as corn, but up to two-thirds less nitrogen depending on crop management practices. As a perennial crop, miscanthus is not harvested for sale during the first year when the crop is being established. Ceres is also working on extending the region of adaptation. To these ends, the Company is collaborating with the Institute of Biological, Environmental, and Rural Sciences of Aberystwyth University in Wales, the United Kingdom.

The Company competes with Advanta India Limited, The Dow Chemical Company, Monsanto Company, Pioneer Hi-Bred (DuPont), KWS and Syngenta.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Shares of energy crop developer Ceres (NASDAQ: CERE  ) surged more than 100% from the opening bell Monday to early trading on Thursday. In fact, over one-third of the total outstanding shares traded hands on Thursday. Even with the move the company is trading for "only" $100 million. With some of the biggest names in industrial biotech on its side -- such as Syngenta (NYSE: SYT  ) , Petrobras, Amyris, Valero, Novozymes, Gruppo M&G, and Mascoma, to name a few -- this must be a good buy right? Not so fast.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Despite the fact that markets are right around breakeven levels for Wednesday, there are relatively few stocks that are up today, and even fewer that are up on strong volume. For the NYSE, 54% of its listed equities are in the red this morning, and 58% of the total volume seen so far has been bearish volume. That's what makes Ceres Inc. (NASDAQ:CERE) so interesting early Wednesday. As one of the few tickers that's not only up, but up on higher volume, CERE is a standout worth a closer look. And, that closer look reveals something even more compelling about the way things are coming together for this small cap stock.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another renewable energy player that looks ready to trigger a big breakout trade is Ceres (CERE), which sells seeds to produce renewable biomass feedstocks that can enable the large-scale replacement of petroleum and other fossil fuels. This stock has been hammered by the bears so far in 2013, with shares off sharply by 66%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Ceres, you'll notice that this stock has just started to trend back above its 50-day moving average of $1.45 a share with heavy upside volume flows. Volume so far today has already registered over 1.15 million shares, which is well above its three-month average action of 670,538 shares. This spike back above its 50-day is now quickly pushing shares of CERE within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CERE if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $1.67 to $1.68 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 670,538 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CERE will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $2 to $2.50 a share. Shares of CERE could even tag $3 if this breakout triggers with strong volume.

  Traders can look to buy CERE off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below $1.40 a share. One could also buy CERE off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

10 Best New Stocks To Own Right Now: Green Technology Solutions Inc (GTSO)

Green Technology Solutions Inc (GTSO), incorporated on February 22, 1991, is in the business of identifying and acquiring rights in early stage, green technologies, with the plan to develop these technologies into marketable products. The Company has identified several technology endeavors.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company has identified the advancement of mining technologies, with an emphasis on rare earth and precious metals mining applications, the development of additional markets for existing paint products that are being marketed in the United States, and smart grid technology. GTSO has also identified additional joint venture in China and South America.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, GTSO surged (+0.32%) up +0.0001 at $.0309 with 12,300 shares in movement thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 10:31AM EDT June 20, 2013).

  Green Technology Solutions, Inc. previously reported it has finalized a joint venture agreement with leading Latin American e-waste recycler Chilerecicla.

  Latin America is a key emerging market in the booming the global e-waste recycling and reuse services industry, which Transparency Market Research predicts accounted for more than $9 billion in 2012. The firm expects the worldwide e-waste market to reach $18 billion in 2017, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 13.2 percent from 2012 to 2017.

• [By CRWE]

  Today, GTSO surged (+10.29%) up +0.0035 at $.0375 with�55,329 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 12:20PM EDT August 27, 2013).

  Green Technology Solutions, Inc. is negotiating a potentially lucrative spot transaction with joint venture partner Chilerecicla to export a large quantity of e-waste to one of the largest smelters in the world.

  According to the terms of the spot transaction, GTSO joint venture partner Chilerecicla will collect several metric tons of e-waste from suppliers based in Bolivia and Chile, and then ship materials to a smelter overseas. The buyers consist of the world�� largest smelter, who has meticulously screened Chilerecicla to become one of its suppliers. The smelter has noted that its capacity to purchase e-waste from Chilerecicla exceeds our partner�� current e-waste forecast for the near and present future.

• [By CRWE]

  Today, GTSO surged (+13.33%) up +0.0040 at $.0340 with�43,370 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 12:18PM EDT September 20, 2013).

  With heightened tensions in the Middle East expected to push oil prices to their highest levels in years, Green Technology Solutions, Inc. (OTCBB: GTSO) is aggressively looking into the more economical option of advanced biofuels.

  A potential military strike by the United States against Syria is expected to elevate oil and gasoline prices to unprecedented heights. GTSO, an environmentally conscious company with an ongoing interest in delivering ��reen friendly��solutions to a global market, is exploring the option of comparatively inexpensive biofuels, assets that have the potential to figure prominently once again amidst current global chaos.

10 Best New Stocks To Own Right Now: Ameresco Inc (AMRC)

Ameresco, Inc. incorporated in April 2000, is a provider of energy efficiency solutions for facilities throughout North America. The Company�� services include upgrades to a facility's energy infrastructure and the construction and operation of small-scale renewable energy plants. Its principal service is the development, design, engineering and installation of projects that reduce the energy and operations and maintenance (O&M) costs of its customers' facilities. These projects include a variety of measures customized for the facility and designed to improve the efficiency of major building systems, such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting systems. It also serves certain customers by developing and building small-scale renewable energy plants located at or close to a customer's site. Ameresco, Inc. provides its services primarily to governmental, educational, utility, healthcare and other institutional, commercial and industrial entities. The Company operates in four segments: U.S. federal, central U.S. region, other U.S. regions and Canada. In August 2011, the Company acquired APS Energy Services Company, Inc. from Pinnacle West Capital Corporation. In December 2011, it acquired the xChange Point and energy projects businesses, including automated demand response, of Energy and Power Solutions, Inc. In August 2012, the Company acquired FAME Facility Software Solutions Inc. In February 2013, it purchased all of the assets of Ennovate Corporation. In June 2013, Ameresco Inc acquired ESP, an energy management consulting company consisting of the Energy Services Partnership and ESP Response, located in Castleford, United Kingdom.

Ameresco, Inc. offers a set of services that includes the design and installation of upgrades to a facility�� energy infrastructure, the design and construction of renewable energy plants, the sale of other renewable energy products and the arranging of financing for customer projects. In September 2010, the Company acquired Quantum Engineer! ing and Development, Inc. In July 2011, the Company acquired Applied Energy Group.

Energy Efficiency Services

The Company�� services includes the design, engineering and installation of, and the arranging of financing for, equipment to improve the efficiency, and control the operation, of a building�� heating, ventilation, cooling and lighting systems. In certain projects, it also designs and constructs a central plant or cogeneration system providing power, heat and/or cooling to a building. Its projects generally range in size and scope from a one-month project to design and retrofit a lighting system to a more complex 30-month project to design and install a central plant or cogeneration system.

Renewable Energy Projects and Products

The Company�� services offering includes the development, construction and operation of, and the arrangement of financing for, small-scale renewable energy plants, as well as the sale and integration of solar energy products and systems. It has constructed and is designing and constructing a range of renewable energy plants using landfill gas (LFG), wastewater treatment biogas, solar, wind, biomass, food waste, animal waste and hydro sources of energy. As part of its renewable energy offering, it also distributes and integrates solar energy products manufactured by several vendors. Ameresco, Inc. is a distributor of photovoltaic (PV) panels, solar regulators, solar charge controllers, inverters, solar powered lighting systems, solar powered water pumps, solar panel mounting hardware and other system components. It also integrates its PV products and system components into solar solutions designed specifically for customers. It provides solar energy solutions for both on- grid applications where the solar power is used in a building connected to a utility distribution system, and for off-grid applications where the power is used directly in the device using the electricity, such as traffic signs.

Amere! sco, Inc.! also designs and constructs renewable energy plants based on wind power. In many parts of the country, available wind resources, utility net metering and local incentives can make on-site wind generation a viable solution for meeting a portion of customers' energy needs. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had completed two projects that included a wind turbine. In addition, it has constructed and was constructing, small-scale renewable energy plants based on biomass.

As of December 31, 2010, Ameresco, Inc. had constructed more than 28 renewable energy projects, and owned and operated 22 small-scale renewable energy plants. Of the owned plants, 19 are renewable LFG plants, two are waste water biogas plants and one is a solar PV installation. These 22 small-scale renewable energy plants have the capacity to generate electricity or deliver LFG producing an aggregate of 106 megawatts (MW) or megawatt-equivalents (MWE). As of December 31, 2010, the Company had signed contracts for the construction, operation and ownership of an additional six LFG plants, two biomass power and cogeneration plants and five biomass boiler projects.

The Company competes with Chevron Energy Solutions, Constellation Energy, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Siemens Building Technologies and TAC Energy Solutions.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, energy efficiency technologist Ameresco (NYSE: AMRC  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

• [By Sara Murphy]

  Ameresco (NYSE: AMRC  ) is one of the few large, independent energy efficiency service providers. The company's principal service is the development, design, engineering and installation of projects that reduce the energy and operations and maintenance costs of its customers' facilities. Ameresco has seen declining revenues recently because of unusually long lag times in getting its projects funded, but this seems a temporary setback.

10 Best New Stocks To Own Right Now: Zinco Do Brasil Inc (ZNBR)

Zinco do Brasil Inc., formerly TurkPower Corporation, incorporated on November 4, 2004, has been a Turkish-American consulting and service operations firm and junior mining company. TurkPower offered its domestic and international clients consulting services and plans to act as a full service operator for wind, hydro, solar, coal and geothermal energy parks in Turkey.

In November 2011, the Company ceased all operations in Turkey. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2012 (fiscal 2012) the Company impaired its entire mining company investment.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap mining stocks Discovery Minerals Ltd (OTCMKTS: DSCR), Zinco Do Brasil Inc (OTCMKTS: ZNBR) and Amalgamated Gold and Silver Inc (OTCMKTS: BCHS) have been getting some extra attention lately as one stock surged last Friday while the other two are or have been in the past, the subject of paid promotions. It goes without saying though that small cap mining stocks tend to be riskier than your average stock. But do these three small cap mining stocks have what it takes to produce a mother lode for investors? Here is a deeper dig into all three:

10 Best New Stocks To Own Right Now: Solar Thin Films Inc (SLTZ)

Solar Thin Films, Inc. is engaged in the business of designing, manufacturing and installation of thin-film amorphous silicon (a-Si) photovoltaic manufacturing equipment. The equipment is used in plants that produce photovoltaic thin-film a-Si solar panels or modules. The Company operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Kraft Elektronikai Zrt (Kraft). Kraft is engaged in the design, development, manufacture, and installation of a-Si photovoltaic manufacturing equipment. The primary buyers of photovoltaic thin-film manufacturing equipment are businesses, as well as investment partnerships, engaged in the production of photovoltaic thin-film modules. In May 2010, the Company acquired Atlantis Solar LLC. In May 2013, Solar Thin Films Inc acquired Quality Resource Technologies Inc. In October 2013, Solar Thin Films Inc announced the sale of all of its ownership stake of Hungarian subsidiary, Kraft, R.t. (Kraft), to GJR Collectibles LLC.

Kraft has been providing equipment that is incorporated into a single manufacturing line capable of manufacturing a-Si solar modules that produce approximately 5megawatt (MW) of solar power annually. The Company focuses, directly and through joint ventures or alliances with other companies or governmental agencies, to sell equipment for and participate financially in solar power facilities using thin film a-Si solar modules or metallurgical and other crystalline solar modules as the power source to provide electricity to municipalities, businesses and consumers.

The Company competes with Applied Materials and Oerlikon.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Alliance Creative Group Inc (OTCMKTS: ACGX), Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure Inc (OTCMKTS: DJRT), Inscor Inc (OTCMKTS: IOGA) and Solar Thin Films Inc (OTCMKTS: SLTZ) have all been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters and it should come as no surprise that two out of four of these stocks have been the subject of paid promotions ��which tend to benefit traders. However, two out of four of these stocks also have pretty good financials for being small cap OTC stocks and that might make them attractive to investors with a long term time horizon. So which of these stocks might make traders some profits in the short term and investors some profits over the longer term? Here is a closer look to help you decide:

3 Distributors Stocks to Buy Now

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This week, three distributors stocks are improving their overall rating on Portfolio Grader. Each of these rates an “A” (“strong buy”) or “B” overall (“buy”).

Edgen Group Inc. Class A () is bettering its rating of C (“hold”) from last week to a B (“buy”) this week. Edgen Group is a holding company which distributes specialty products to the energy sector. In Portfolio Grader’s specific subcategory of Equity, EDG also gets an A. .

This week, United Rentals, Inc.’s () ratings are up from a C last week to a B. United Rentals is an equipment rental company that serves construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and government entities. With a price of $93.25, it is above the 50-day moving average of $89.22. .

Top 5 Recreation Stocks To Watch Right Now

Aircastle Limited () is seeing ratings go up from a C last week to a B this week. Aircastle is engaged in acquiring, leasing, and selling commercial jet aircrafts to passenger and cargo airlines throughout the world. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

Why the Street Should Love SEI Investments's Earnings

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

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

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

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, SEI Investments generated $245.0 million cash while it booked net income of $228.8 million. That means it turned 23.9% of its revenue into FCF. That sounds pretty impressive.

All cash is not equal
Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn't immune from nonsense, either. That's why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and replicable in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don't appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).

For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it's ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.

So how does the cash flow at SEI Investments look? Take a peek at the chart below, which flags questionable cash flow sources with a red bar.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. TTM = trailing 12 months.

When I say "questionable cash flow sources," I mean items such as changes in taxes payable, tax benefits from stock options, and asset sales, among others. That's not to say that companies booking these as sources of cash flow are weak, or are engaging in any sort of wrongdoing, or that everything that comes up questionable in my graph is automatically bad news. But whenever a company is getting more than, say, 10% of its cash from operations from these dubious sources, investors ought to make sure to refer to the filings and dig in.

SEI Investments's issue isn't questionable cash flow boosts, but items in that suspect group that reduced cash flow. Within the questionable cash flow figure -- here a negative-- plotted in the TTM period above, adjustments for gains owed to asset sales constituted the biggest reversal. Overall, the biggest drag on FCF came from changes in accounts receivable, which represented 14.4% of cash from operations.

A Foolish final thought
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' cash flow. I think that's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home-run stocks that provide the market's best returns.

Looking for alternatives to SEI Investments? It takes more than great companies to build a fortune for the future. Learn the basic financial habits of millionaires next door and get focused stock ideas in our free report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." Click here for instant access to this free report.

We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service.

Add SEI Investments to My Watchlist.

Samsung slugs it out with Apple for consumers

SEOUL — In the South Korean industrial town of Gumi, about a 45-minute helicopter ride southeast of here, Samsung Electronics factory workers, nearly all of them young women, are methodically applying the finishing touches on Galaxy S5s.

The launch of Samsung's newest flagship smartphone on April 11 was a little over a week away, and though most of the Galaxy S5 manufacturing process in the factory is automated, workers on this day were putting the backs of AT&T Galaxy S5 phones on or manually removing the stickers on certain tiny components.

Not far away on the Gumi campus, Samsung's very first mobile phone, the SH-100, is on display. A monstrously large and heavy contraption compared to today's models, it launched during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Samsung pays homage to its remarkable mobile past at Gumi, where walls of about 1,800 phones introduced by the Korean electronics giant are encased behind glass and displayed by year.

Could 2014 be the year Samsung KOs rival Apple in its dogged pursuit of the mantle as top consumer-tech brand? Silicon Valley's marquee heavyweight bout is all the buzz in tech.

Best Long Term Stocks To Buy Right Now

In this escalating slugfest, Samsung has become tech's Joe Frazier to Apple's Muhammad Ali, less flashy but tenacious in battering its opponent with a flurry of new products. Apple's product arsenal remains select — by design.

They compete on the airwaves, with clever take-downs of each other's products. They trade legal barbs in courtrooms, over complicated legal patent disputes. They were principal combatants after a record-breaking selfie from Ellen DeGeneres. But they mostly compete in showrooms, where nothing less than the $300 billion worldwide smartphone industry is at stake. Samsung sold 314 million smartphones last year — twice that of Apple. But iPhone and iPad remain dominant in the U.S., cultural icons that many consumer! s are reluctant to abandon.

It won't be easy. Apple still commands the loyalty of its customers who re-buy its highly regarded products at an industry-high rate, and it still can make or break a market with one product. (See iPhone, iPad and — perhaps? — iWatch.) Innovation remains a hotly contested battleground, in markets and in court, between Apple and Samsung.

"Apple's approach is much more sustainable," says Ben Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies. "IPhone is still dominant in the U.S.; Apple's hardware and software are highly differentiated from what else is in the market; and it has incredible brand loyalty."

What the Korean electronics giant is attempting to do is nothing short of a sea change in tech: upend the competitive and innovative landscape, and displace Apple as the go-to choice for consumer-electronics devices.

Apple may be the main event, but it's also worth watching to see how Samsung contends with other tech heavyweights, notably longtime Android partner Google. On its newest smartwatch, Samsung dumped Android in favor of the software it has its own vested interest in called Tizen. But Samsung has also pledged support for Android Wear, Google's own emerging new wearable computing initiative.

The launch of the S5 and three new wearable devices underscores Samsung's relentless pursuit of not just consumers and big business but the most coveted of commodities in Silicon Valley: attention.

It has spent the better part of two years flooding the market with cereal spoon-dropping gadgets and blitzing the airwaves with ads in an audacious bid to cajole consumers weaned in the age of iPhone and iPad. Samsung has stolen market share from Apple in smartphone and tablet sales, both worldwide and in the U.S.

At the same time, it is climbing Fortune's annual Most Admired Companies list, and is now No. 21, still far off from Apple, which has topped Fortune's list for seven straight years.

Going where Apple is absent

Samsung's ! stated go! al is to hit revenues of $400 billion by 2020, up from $217 billion, and be a top-five global brand by then. By any measure, Samsung is already an international powerhouse, a status Chairman Lee Kun-Hee set in motion as far back as 1993, when he declared that Samsung would have to "change everything except your wife and children."

This month, the company offered USA TODAY unfettered, behind-the-scenes access to its testing and design labs here. It outlined its product plans and a glimpse into its highly regimented business culture. (USA TODAY paid for airfare and hotel.)

It's nearly lunchtime at Samsung's sprawling Digital City headquarters in Suwon, outside Seoul. The spacious Delacourt (Delicious & Delightful Court) cafeteria is teeming with employees. A sign on the wall, in English, reads "Eat Love Work." The atmosphere is collegial.

Some employees skip the food: They're swimming in a gigantic indoor pool, jogging along an indoor track or exercising in a health club facility. Someone explains the hours are restricted during the day. Folks are expected back at work.

Samsung has out-flanked Apple by venturing to parts of the market where the Silicon Valley company is absent — with larger phones, larger tablet displays, smartwatches and aggressive pricing — says Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

The strategy has worked swimmingly. Between 50% and 60% of all Android phones branded worldwide are Samsung. "There was a jump ball (a few years ago) for which hardware manufacturer would compete with Apple: Nokia, BlackBerry, Motorola and HTC," says Gene Munster, senior analyst at investment bank Piper Jaffray. "Samsung was not part of the discussion then. Now, it is a ball hog."

"When we introduced the Galaxy Note in 2011, we raised some eyebrows, but we knew the larger screen would enhance the consumer's experience," says Gregory Lee, CEO of Samsung North America. "We won consumers over with the large-screen smartphone and ultimately started the tr! end for o! ther manufacturers to follow."

The Next Big Thing (and bet)

Samsung's Sisyphean quest to unseat Apple rests, in part, on the success or failure of its latest flagship, the Galaxy S5. That will be among the biggest story lines of the intensifying rivalry this year. So will Samsung's deeper push into wearable technology, with the Gear Fit, Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches that arrived just as the new phone did, and ahead of whatever Apple has up its sleeve in the wearable computing category. Samsung's first smartwatch was a dud.

Samsung competes in other areas where Apple is a mere bystander, notably household appliances such as refrigerators and washer-dryers. It envisions health and medical equipment as an area of future growth.

But the fuller narrative is about how the Korean electronics giant cultivates its relationship with consumers worldwide. The products are there, but is a loyal, long-standing audience, asks Munster. He points to 90% repeat buy-rates for Apple products.

Samsung invests heavily in R&D, to the tune of $13.6 billion or about 6.3% of annual sales last year. Indeed, more than 69,000 Samsung employees globally, a fourth of its workforce, are dedicated to R&D or focused on future products.

"There is a philosophy in Samsung that says we start from the consumer and incorporate the future in (them)," Samsung Executive Vice President Donghoon Chang said in an interview in Seoul.

Shifting its center of gravity

What Samsung also intends to offer consumers is a new business wrinkle. The company is making a "lifestyle play," as it did when Academy Awards host DeGeneres crashed Twitter with a selfie that was retweeted a record 3.4 million times. (To be fair, DeGeneres tweeted from an iPhone backstage.)

So-called "organic moments" as those not only highlight Samsung products — a Note 3 phone in Ellen's case — but resonate with consumers, says Todd Pendleton, chief marketing officer of Samsung Telecommunications America.

! "The Elle! n selfie was one of those moments you can't plan or orchestrate," Pendleton says. "It was a true moment of capturing joy among some of the most famous people in the world."

Apple under Steve Jobs famously chose the products it thought best for the customer. Samsung takes a near polar opposite approach, relying heavily on customer input and market research.

Apple, which has been noticeably quiet this year, declined to comment for this report.

Analysts say Apple's silence merely masks an ambitious new product lineup in the works, led by the long-rumored iWatch, larger-screen iPhone 6, iPad Air 2 and Apple TV.

Apple's possible product road map highlights the impact Samsung has had on it and the rest of the tech industry.

The technological showdown comes against a backdrop of legal jousting. While Samsung says it received 4,676 patents in the U.S. in 2013 — second only to IBM — Apple and Samsung resumed their patent battle in federal court in San Jose, Calif., this month, with claims and counter-claims of ripping off smartphone and tablet designs and features.

The court contretemps adds to a battle that could linger for years, given the size and market prowess of each company.

On a cool April afternoon, a Samsung helicopter lands in Gumi on Samsung's Smart City campus. Inside an assembly plant, the room is well lit. A wall adjacent to the factory floor shows pictures of workers who found time to volunteer their time — it is labeled the Corridor of Volunteer Activity. But it's all business now. The women are laser-focused on the delicate tasks at hand.

In the slug fest against Apple and others, there is apparently still too much to be done at Samsung.

Baig reported from Seoul, Swartz from San Francisco.

Why Are So Many Boomers Working Longer?

Market watchers — or at least those pundits who are required to provide a reason for why the markets go up or down on a given day — love to speculate beforehand on the monthly employment figures, and then react quickly when the Department of Labor releases them. Those pundits, and their audiences, might be better served by looking at longer ranges of data on employment, such as the recently released Labor-force Participation Rates of the Population Ages 55 and Older, 2013, by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

That report was written by EBRI’s Craig Copeland and considers data from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, along with EBRI’s own Retirement Confidence Survey. It concludes that labor force participation rates have increased for older Americans from the 1990s to the present, while the participation rate has fallen for younger Americans. That raises the question of why older Americans are working longer, and whether, as has been surmised, older Americans are “taking” jobs from younger Americans. As Copeland writes, “it appears either that older workers filled the void left by younger workers’ lower participation, or that higher older-worker participation limited the opportunities for younger workers or discouraged them from participating in the labor force.”

Before getting into that issue, some definitions are in order. First, the "labor force participation rate" measures those individuals in a specific age group who are “working or actively pursuing work,” which Copeland points out “is different from the share of those actually working who fall into a specific category.”

Second, let’s define the scope of the issue. Copeland says that the percentage of civilian, noninstitutionalized Americans near or at retirement age (age 55 or older) in the labor force increased from 29.4% in 1993 to 40.3% in 2013. In the report’s summary, Copeland writes:

To return to the question of whether older people are "crowding out" younger people from jobs, it’s beyond the scope of the EBRI research to answer, but it turns out it has already been definitively addressed by researchers at Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research. The answer is no.

A 2012 paper by Alicia Munnell and April Yanyuan Wu, Are Aging Baby Boomers Squeezing Young Workers Out of Jobs?, is a serious academic work, discussing the “lump of labor” theory (the original "crowding out" theory from the mid-19th century), reviewing and analyzing the data, testing the theory, including a separate test “for the Great Recession” and exploring the "causal relationship between the labor force activity of the old and the young.” The conclusion? “This horse has been beaten to death. An exhaustive search found no evidence to support the lump of labor theory in the United States. In fact, the evidence suggests that greater employment of older persons leads to better outcomes for the young — reduced unemployement, increased employment and a higher wage.” Moreover, these “patterns are consistent” for both men and women and for groups with different education levels, and were no different during the financial crisis, or Great Recession if you prefer.

So why should you care, as an advisor and/or as a member of this society? First, American workers are “undergoing a significant period of aging that appears likely to continue,” the EBRI paper points out. As evidence, Copeland cites EBRI’s most recent Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS), which found that “a growing percentage of workers expect to retire at later ages both because of the reasons described above [for health insurance, to pay down debt and to save longer for retirement] and/or because of an increased desire to continue to work.”

Older people want to work longer, at least those who enjoy their work, which in turn is directly correlated to how much education a worker has. “Overall, as workers’ educational attainment increased, their labor-force participation rate also increased,” Copeland reports. For example, in 2012, “60.7% of individuals with a graduate or professional degree were in the labor force, compared with 23.9% of those without a high school diploma.”

So that’s the entire labor force. What about older people and education? How did the financial crisis affect these workers?

“The recent economic downturn did not alter the trend of older workers in the labor force,” writes Copeland, “rather, it appears that this remained the trend, as more opportunities for older workers exist that correspond to their increased educational attainment. In fact, the increase in the percentage of those 55 or older in the labor force increased with the higher incidence of more highly educated people in this age group.” 

So baby boomers, who are more highly educated than previous generations, are working longer. Millennials — those age 25 to 32 — are the most highly educated generation in American history: 34% have at least a bachelor’s degree. Let’s compare boomers with millennials. A Feb. 2014 survey by Pew Research found  that way back in 1979, “when the first wave of baby boomers were the same age that millennials are today,” the typical high school graduate earned about three-quarters (77%) of what a college graduate made. “Today, millennials with only a high school diploma earn 62% of what the typical college graduate earns.” That same study compared educational levels of prior generations at the same age as millennials: only 13% of 25- to 32-year-olds in 1965 had a college degree; of the ‘early’ boomers who were age 25 to 32 in 1979, 24% held college degrees.

However, actual worker earnings have stayed nearly flat for each cohort of 25- to 32-year-olds since 1965: from $30,892 in 1965 to  $35,000 in 2012 (in 2012 dollars).

So here’s where we stand. The boomer clients you have now are more likely to work longer, for a number of reasons but buttressed by the fact that they like to work (sound familiar, advisors?), which is positively correlated to being better educated.

The generations that follow the boomers will be even better educated, and so are more likely to work even longer and for the same reasons. One big caveat: the Affordable Care Act may make it less necessary for older workers to be employed merely for the health insurance they want and need. So we’ll have to see how that will play out.

But maybe Social Security is a little healthier than we thought. If you continue to work into older age, you’ll still be paying your Social Security taxes (as will your employer, of course); and you’ll be paying income tax if you take Social Security benefits while you’re still working, depending on your total income.

Yes, not everyone is able to work due to health issues as they age, but higher longevity added to more educated people working longer will be a net benefit to the Social Security system and to society. And remember, old people are not keeping young people down, at least when it comes to jobs.

Pandora Media Inc's Growth Moderates as Apple Still Looms Large

As tech giant Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) continues to threaten it and its key growth metrics remain tepid, I'm back to my Pandora Media (NYSE: P  ) stalking ways.

Assuming most of you aren't familiar with my admittedly odd infatuation with Pandora Media, I've been following the company's soaring share price and still-unfolding economics for some time now, especially as new competition from the likes of Apple's iTunes Radio poses a new kind of threat to upend Pandora Media's early lead in online streaming radio.

A March to remember for Pandora Media?
One of the most helpful ways to monitor Pandora Media's business progress are the monthly user metrics updates it regularly provides for investors.

Source: Pandora.

And in the case of Pandora's March user metrics, there were arguably equal parts good and bad. Broadly speaking, Pandora users are utilizing the service more, which increases the number of total hours to which Pandora can serve ads. However, the pace at which it's acquiring new users is slowing, bringing Pandora Media alternatives like iTunes Radio into the discussion once again.

So just how big a deal is slowing user growth for Pandora Media and its investors? In the video below, tech and telecom specialist Andrew Tonner breaks down his thoughts on Pandora Media's current state of affairs plus some of the threats that now-rival Apple poses in the months ahead.

Investing in more incredible growth stocks like Pandora
They said it couldn't be done. But David Gardner has proved them wrong time, and time, and time again with stock returns like 926%, 2,239%, and 4,371%. In fact, just recently one of his favorite stocks became a 100-bagger. And he's ready to do it again. You can uncover his scientific approach to crushing the market and his carefully chosen six picks for ultimate growth instantly, because he's making this premium report free for you today. Click here now for access.

 

10 Insurance Stocks to Sell Now

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This week, the overall grades of 10 insurance stocks are lower, according to the Portfolio Grader database. Each of these rates a “D” (“sell”) or “F” overall (“strong sell”).

Cincinnati Financial Corporation () ratings are on the decline this week as the company earns an F (“strong sell”). Last week, it received a D (“sell”). Cincinnati Financial markets property casualty insurance through independent insurance agents. In Portfolio Grader’s specific subcategories of Earnings Momentum and Earnings Revisions, CINF also gets F’s. .

This week, Progressive Corporation () drops from a D to an F rating. Progressive is an insurance holding company that offers primarily personal and commercial automobile insurance, in addition to other property-casualty insurance products. .

Validus Holdings, Ltd. () is on the decline this week, earning a D (“sell”) after receiving a C (“hold”) last week. Validus Holdings provides reinsurance and insurance coverage in the property and marine markets. The stock also rates an F in Earnings Surprise. .

Axis Capital Holdings Limited () gets weaker ratings this week as last week’s C drops to a D. Axis Capital Holdings provides various insurance and reinsurance products to worldwide operations. .

The rating of Meadowbrook Insurance Group, Inc. () slips from a D to an F. Meadowbrook Insurance Group provides alternative risk management programs and services. The stock gets F’s in Earnings Revisions, Cash Flow and Sales Growth. .

Crawford & Company Class B’s () rating weakens this week, dropping to a D versus last week’s C. Crawford & Company is an independent provider of claims management solutions to insurance companies and self-insured entities. .

State Auto Financial Corporation () gets weaker ratings this week as last week’s C drops to a D. State Auto Financial is a property and casualty insurance company engaged in writing personal and business lines of insurance. The stock also gets an F in Earnings Momentum. .

This is a rough week for OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd. Class A (). The company’s rating falls to D from the previous week’s C. OneBeacon Insurance Group offers specialized insurance products and services. The stock also gets an F in Sales Growth. .

Erie Indemnity Company Class A () earns an F this week, falling from last week’s grade of D. Erie Indemnity is involved in the property/casualty insurance business. The stock also rates an F in Earnings Surprise. .

Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited () experiences a ratings drop this week, going from last week’s C to a D. Aspen Insurance Holdings provides insurance and reinsurance solutions worldwide. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

Pier One Climbs As Barclays Sees 25%+ Upside

Pier One Imports (PIR) was jumping 3% Tuesday after an upgrade from Barclays.

Analysts Alan Rifkin and Sam Reid upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight, and boosted their target price by $4, to $23, writing that the stock has suffered "perfect storm" of one-time operational headwinds that has masked its potential long-term performance.

They write that this year should finally bring the payoff of years of "significant investment" in personnel and technology, and more normalized sales and margins will replace its previous high levels of capital expenditure.

Given that the stock is off more than 20% in the past year, they also write that the selloff has gone too far, and it is a "compelling buying opportunity" at current levels, which represent a meaningful discount to peers. Although the company just reported an upbeat fourth quarter last week, they expect the current first quarter to be a catalyst for the stock, as it will provide an opportunity "for management to begin to demonstrate this renewed momentum."

More from their note:

Supporting top-line growth, we note: (1) E-comm investments have likely peaked; accelerating e-comm growth (to 10% in 2015) should be highly supportive of both top-line (and EBIT). We do not believe forward valuation fully reflects this. (2) A sequential acceleration in comps is highly likely. We are looking for 5% comps for 2014 (vs. 2.4% in 2013), which should yield productivity per square foot of ~$215. (3) PIR's merchandising strategy remains on track. We think differentiation relative to peer offerings is an underappreciated positive. (4) PIR should benefit from attractive housing industry fundamentals in 2014-15. Collectively, these four growth engines should support both occupancy and SG&A leverage. We also note that (5) the accelerated buyback underscores management's conviction in an operating performance rebound. After repurchasing 5% of total shares in the first six weeks of 1Q, we conservatively estimate a total of 8-9% of shares will be bought back in 2014. Additionally, PIR's new $200M senior secured facility supports further buybacks.

Other home furnishings retailers, including Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBBY), Restoration Hardware (RH) and Kirkland's (KIRK) were trading down in afternoon trading.