10 Best Canadian Stocks To Own For 2014

Barely four years after surviving a historic credit bubble and real estate bust, US REITs continue to lever up, leaving little wiggle room in the event of another market shakeout. Against this backdrop, Canada's ultra-conservative REITs stand out, suggests Roger Conrad in Capitalist Times.

Not since 1990 have US REITs fetched such a high multiple in terms of book value per unit. In contrast, almost all the Canadian REITs in our table trade near, or at a discount to, their book value. Here's a look at two super buys.

Dundee Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:D-UN) (OTC:DRETF) have given up 22.8% of their US-dollar value this year. However, the stock's disappointing performance doesn't reflect a corresponding deterioration in the trust's underlying business. In fact, the office and industrial REIT remains solidly profitable.

Although market sentiment toward this laggard won't recover overnight, the stock's current yield of 7.8% rewards investors for their patience.

Best European Companies To Own For 2015: KBR Inc. (KBR)

KBR, Inc. operates as an engineering, construction, and services company supporting the energy, hydrocarbon, government services, minerals, civil infrastructure, power, and industrial sectors worldwide. Its Downstream business unit provides front end engineering design; detailed engineering; engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC); EPC management; and program management services to petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, and syngas markets. The company?s Government and Infrastructure business unit provides program and project management, contingency logistics, operations and maintenance, construction management, engineering, and other services to military and civilian branches of governments and private clients. Its Services business unit delivers engineering, construction, construction management, fabrication, maintenance, and turnaround services. It also offers maintenance, construction, and drilling support services for offshore oil and gas producing facili ties using semisubmersible vessels. This segment serves oil, gas, petrochemicals, and hydrocarbon processing industries, as well as power, alternate energy, pulp and paper, industrial and manufacturing, and pharmaceutical industries. The company?s Technology business unit offers various process technologies, including value-added technologies in the coal monetization, petrochemical, refining, and syngas markets. Its Upstream business unit constructs liquefied natural gas, gas-to-liquids, onshore oil and gas production facilities, offshore oil and gas production facilities, and onshore and offshore pipelines. The company?s Ventures business unit invests in and manages projects, where the company provides engineering, construction, construction management or operations, and maintenance services. KBR, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Harsco have gained 4.7% to $26.43 today at 1:16 p.m., outpacing other construction & engineering companies. Dycom (DY) has advanced 0.5% to $30, KBR Inc. (KBR) has ticked up 0.1% to $33.03, Worthington Industries�(WOR) has risen 2.8% to $38.85�and Tutor Perini (TPC) has rallied 3.6% to $22.46.

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Mid-cap construction and engineering firm KBR Inc. (KBR) is another name with a mountain of cash sitting on the books. The firm currently sports $895 million in net cash on its balance sheet, enough to cover 29% of its current price per share. That effectively reduces the risks of this contractor's share price by a third.

  KBR is an engineering and construction services contractor that primarily serves the U.S. government and the energy sector. Until 2006, KBR was a unit of Halliburton (HAL), a connection that gives it deep-rooted connections with the oil and gas business, where the firm has transitioned much of its sales efforts. Prior to that, KBR's bread and butter was the sole contractor of food service, utilities, laundry, and other services for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan – but that changed after a series of missteps from KBR that prompted the government to add other contractors to the current iteration of the LOGCAP contract.

  Bigger exposure to the private sector is a good thing -– restructuring efforts and a new management team should help steer the ship around. It's that huge cash position that helps to make KBR worth a closer look in 2014. While it's more speculative than the other names on our cash-rich list, it's also the one with the most upside potential on near-term catalysts.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Own For 2014: 3M Company(MMM)

3M Company, together with subsidiaries, operates as a diversified technology company worldwide. The company?s Industrial and Transportation segment offers tapes, coated and non-woven abrasives, adhesives, specialty materials, filtration products, energy control products, closure systems for personal hygiene products, acoustic systems products, and components and products that are used in the manufacture, repair, and maintenance of automotive, marine, aircraft, and specialty vehicles. Its Health Care segment provides medical and surgical supplies, skin health and infection prevention products, inhalation and transdermal drug delivery systems, dental and orthodontic products, health information systems, and food safety products. The company?s Display and Graphics offers optical film solutions for LCD electronic displays; computer screen filters; reflective sheeting for transportation safety; commercial graphics sheeting and systems; and mobile interactive solutions, includin g mobile display technology, visual systems products, and computer privacy filters. The company?s Consumer and Office segment provides office supply products, stationery products, construction and home improvement products, home care products, protective material products, certain consumer retail personal safety products, and consumer health care products. Its Safety, Security and Protection Services segment offers personal protection products, safety and security products, cleaning and protection products for commercial establishments, track and trace solutions, and roofing granules for asphalt shingles. The company?s Electro and Communications segment provides packaging and interconnection devices; fluids that are used in the manufacture of computer chips, and for cooling electronics and lubricating computer hard disk drives; high-temperature and display tapes; insulating materials, including tapes and resins; and related items. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Analysts at Credit Suisse maintained a Neutral rating on 3M company (NYSE: MMM) with a price target raised to $156 from a previous $148. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $148.79 before closing the day at $148.59, up 2.44 percent.

• [By The Small Investor]

  My maxim as a small investor is "the future belongs to the youth." That holds true during a recovery or despite a recession. I consult my young adult children to reach mutual investment decisions, or give a little seed money to co-opt their interest as stakeholders. We buy name-brand commodities (such as beverages or drugs), entertainment, new products, and those companies in their supply chains that carve new needs and emerging domestic and global markets. I am not buying so long as the government is shutdown. Innovation is the common thread. I will look for long buying opportunities in innovative companies such as 3-D Systems (DDD), 3-M (MMM), Corning (GLW), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Google (GOOG), Nike (NKE), Sam Adams (SAM), Viacom (VIA), Samsung.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Own For 2014: Thomson Reuters Corp(TRI)

Thomson Reuters Corporation provides intelligent information for businesses and professionals worldwide. The company allows market participants to connect, access content, and trade in a secure environment through Thomson Reuters Eikon desktop, Thomson Reuters Elektron network, content integration and management technology, content feeds and databases, and transactions infrastructure solutions that support buy- and sell-side customers to trade in foreign exchange, fixed income and derivatives, equities, exchange-traded instruments, and commodities and energy markets. It also offers information, analytics, workflow, and technology solutions to buy-side and off-trading floor customers; access to liquidity in over-the-counter markets, trade execution, and connections for market participants and financial professionals? communities; and a suite of solutions offering informed outcomes to regulated industries and law firms. In addition, the company provides critical information , decision support tools, and software and services to legal, investigation, business, and government professionals; integrated tax compliance and accounting software and services for accounting and law firms, corporations, and government professionals; intellectual property and scientific resources that enable its customers to discover, develop, and deliver innovations; and data analytics, and performance benchmarking solutions and services to healthcare sector. Further, it offers coverage of global, regional, and national news in 20 languages covering politics, business, finance, entertainment, lifestyle, technology, health, science, and sports; and engages in advertising-supported direct-to-consumer publishing activities of Reuters.com and its network of Websites, mobile applications, and electronic out-of-home displays. The company was formerly known as The Thomson Corporation and changed its name to Thomson Reuters Corporation in April 2008. The company is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bill Smith]

  FDS operates in a highly competitive industry, some with more resources. Their competitors include:
  Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI)BloombergInteractive (IDC)MSCI Inc. (MXB)Morningstar Inc. (MORN)Track Data Corp. (TRAC)Edgar Online (EDGR)McGraw-Hill (MHP )

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Thomson Reuters (TRI)

  On Feb. 11, Thomson Reuters declared a dividend of $0.330 per share, representing 3.80% dividend yield for the company. This dividend is payable on March 17 to shareholders of the record at the close of business on Feb. 24, 2014.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Own For 2014: CLARCOR Inc. (CLC)

CLARCOR Inc. provides filtration products, filtration systems and services, and consumer and industrial packaging products worldwide. Its Engine/Mobile Filtration segment offers oil, air, fuel, coolant, transmission, and hydraulic fluid filters for engines used in stationary power generation and mobile equipment applications, as well as for marine, construction, industrial, mining, and agricultural equipment. This segment also provides dust collection cartridges for environmental filtration applications The company�s Industrial/Environmental Filtration segment manufactures specialty industrial process liquid filters; filters for pharmaceutical processes and beverages; filtration systems, filters, and coalescers for the oil and natural gas industry; filtration systems for aircraft refueling, anti-pollution, sewage treatment, and water recycling; bilge water separators; sand control filters for oil and gas drilling; and woven wire and metallic products for filtration of pl astics and polymer fibers. This segment also offers antimicrobial treated filters and electronic air cleaners for use in commercial and residential buildings, hospitals, factories, residences, paint spray booths, gas turbine and dust collector systems, medical facilities, motor vehicle and aircraft cabins, clean rooms, and compressors. Its Packaging segment provides metal, plastic, and a combination of metal/plastic containers and closures for packing dry and paste form products, smokeless tobacco products, lip balms, ointments, and consumer healthcare products. This segment also offers shells for dry batteries; canisters for films and candles; spools for insulated and fine wire; and custom decorated flat metal sheets. The company distributes its products through independent distributors, dealers for original equipment manufacturers, retail stores, and internal sales force, as well as directly to end-use customers. CLARCOR Inc. was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Fra nklin, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Filtration and packaging product provider Clarcor (CLC) announced a 26% dividend increase to 17 cents per share, payable Oct. 18 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 11.
  CLC Dividend Yield: 1.22%

• [By Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]

  Clarcor Inc.'s(CLC) fiscal second-quarter sales and profit rose, bolstered by recent acquisitions, prompting the Franklin, Tenn., filter and packaging company to raise its full-year expectations again. Shares rose 5.6% to $62.10 in light premarket trading.

• [By Tom Lydon]

  Top holdings based on the index include Acadia Healthcare Companies (ACHC), Amsurg Corporation (AMSG), Brookdale Senior Living (BKD), Clarcor (CLC) and Community Health Systems (CYH).

• [By Diane Alter]

  Dividend Stocks That Increased Payout in September

  Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) announced a 14.8%, or $0.12 per share, increase to its semiannual dividend. The management consulting firm will now pay a semiannual dividend of $0.93. Shares yield 2.53%. Agruim Inc. (NYSE: AGU) boosted its dividend by $1.00 per share to a total dividend of $3.00 on an annualized basis. Shares of the global retailer of agricultural products now sprout a 3.54% yield. Air Industries Group Inc. (NYSE: AIRI) doubled its dividend to $0.125 per share. The maker of airplane and helicopter parts now floats a lofty yield of 6.6%. Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (NYSE: ARE) upped its dividend 4.6% to $0.68 per quarter for a yield of 4.21%. Banner Corp. (Nasdaq: BANR) boosted its quarterly dividend 25% to $0.15 per share. The parent company of Banner and Islander Bank serves the Pacific Northwest region. Brady Corp. (NYSE: BRC) lifted its quarterly dividend 2.6% to $0.78 per share. It was the 28th straight dividend increase from the identification solutions company. Shares yield 2.57%. Campbell Soup Co. (NSE: CPB) raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share, up from $0.29. The company last raised its dividend in November 2010. Shares yield a hearty 3.06%. CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE: CLC) raised its quarterly dividend 26% to $0.17 per share. It's the largest percentage increase from the Tennessee-based diversified marketer of mobile filtration and packaging products in the last 20 years, and it continues the company's consecutive streak of increasing dividends for the last 30 years. Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) boosted its quarterly dividend 2.6% to $0.10 per share. Frisch's Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: FRS) increased its quarterly dividend 12.5% to $0.18. Shares yield 3.10% The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: GT), in a move that suggests good times are ahead, reinstated its dividend at $0.05 per share. Good

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Own For 2014: Oshkosh Truck Corporation(OSK)

Oshkosh Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets a range of specialty vehicles, and vehicle bodies worldwide. Its Defense segment manufactures severe-duty, heavy, and medium-payload tactical trucks for the Department of Defense, including hauling tanks, missile systems, ammunition, fuel, and troops and cargo for combat units. The company?s Access Equipment segment offers aerial work platforms and telehandlers used in a range of construction, agricultural, industrial, institutional, and general maintenance applications. This segment also manufactures towing and recovery equipment and related parts; and leases equipments for short-term to rental companies. The company?s Fire and Emergency segment provides custom and commercial fire apparatus, and emergency vehicles, including pumpers, aerial and ladder trucks, tankers, rescue vehicles, wildland rough terrain response vehicles, mobile command and control centers, bomb squad vehicles, hazardous materials control vehicl es, and other emergency response vehicles. This segment also offers snow removal vehicles in airports; custom ambulances for private and public transporters, and fire departments; mobile medical trailers for medical centers and service providers; mobile command and control centers and simulation units; and vehicles for broadcasters, TV stations, broadcast production, and radio stations. Oshkosh Corporation?s Commercial segment manufactures refuse collection vehicles for the waste services industry; front and rear discharge concrete mixers, and portable and stationary concrete batch plants for the concrete ready-mix industry; and field service vehicles and truck-mounted cranes for the construction, equipment dealer, building supply, utility, tire service, and mining industries. The company was formerly known as Oshkosh Truck Corporation and changed its name to Oshkosh Corporation in February 2008. Oshkosh Corporation was founded in 1917 and is based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Shares of Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK) got a boost, shooting up 7.96 percent to $55.55 after the companyposted upbeat fiscal first-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year forecast.

• [By Neha Chamaria]

  In fact, I am expecting Terex's AWP division to report the highest growth in sales among all divisions in the second quarter, since demand for telehandlers and booms remains strong. Robust demand for access equipment even encouraged peer Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK  ) , which derives more than 40%�revenue from the AWP business, to upgrade its full-year EPS guidance in its previous quarter. Oshkosh's earnings upgrade is important, because the company relies on the struggling defense industry for the major part of its revenue.

• [By Rich Smith]

  The Department of Defense started off the week slow Monday, awarding only a bare half-dozen contracts, and most of them for relatively small dollar values (in Pentagon terms). Among traditional "defense" contractors, the winners were:

• [By Rich Smith]

  The Department of Defense announced 24 new defense contracts Monday, with a combined value of $1.66 billion. One of the larger contracts awarded went to Wisconsin-based Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK  ) .

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Own For 2014: Consolidated Graphics Inc. (CGX)

Consolidated Graphics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides general commercial printing and print-related services in the United States and internationally. The company�s services include traditional print services, such as electronic prepress, digital and offset printing, finishing, and storage and delivery of custom manufactured printed documents; and fulfillment and mailing services for such printed materials. It also offers technology solutions that enable its customers to procure and manage printed materials and/or design, procure, distribute, track, and analyze results of printing-based marketing programs and activities; and multi-media capabilities, which allow customers to supplement the message of their printed materials through other media, such as the Internet, email, or text messaging. The company prints multi-color marketing materials, product and capability brochures, point-of-purchase displays, packaging, direct mail pieces, shareholder communicat ions, trading cards, calendars, and photo books, as well as customized materials for the financial services, insurance, healthcare, and other industries. In addition, it offers e-commerce software solutions and other print-related services. The company�s customers include national and local corporations operating in a range of industries, as well as advertising agencies, graphic design firms, catalog retailers, direct mail marketers, state and local governments and quasi-governmental agencies, educational institutions, not-for-profit associations, and political campaign organizations. Consolidated Graphics, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Consolidated Graphics (NYSE: CGX  ) reported earnings on May 15. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q4), Consolidated Graphics met expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Own For 2014: Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. (BIN)

Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. operates as a vertically integrated non-hazardous solid waste management company in North America. It operates through three segments: Canada, the U.S. south, and the U.S. northeast. The company provides waste collection, transfer, recycling, and disposal services to commercial, industrial, municipal, and residential customers in 13 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and 6 Canadian provinces. It also owns and operates a power generating plant fuelled by landfill gas; and generates and sells methane gas. The company was formerly known as IESI-BFC Ltd. and changed its name to Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. in May 2011. Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. was founded in 2001 and is based in Vaughan, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Keep in mind, though, this is a sectorwide problem, not just one affecting Waste Management. Canada's Progressive Waste Solutions (NYSE: BIN  ) delivered an 11% increase in first-quarter revenue but succumbed to a decrease of 0.5% in recycling revenue because of lower realized metal prices. �

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Watch Right Now

As a tech investor, I pay a lot of attention to the key trends reshaping our world and setting us up for massive gains.

I've also found that sometimes you can boil down great investment opportunities into a number. In this case its 11.4...the average age of a car on U.S. roads today.

Compared with the new connected car, that's like driving something out of the Flintstones.

See, the connected car is both web and Bluetooth enabled. It's also loaded with complex sensors, sophisticated software, and advanced semiconductors.

This embedded tech ecosystem is one of the big reasons why the industry sold some 15.6 million vehicles last year, in no small part because drivers want their smartphones and cars to stay connected to each other.

Here's the thing. As much as I believe in the connected car, there are many, diverse tech-related ways to cash in on the millions of new vehicles rolling off the assembly lines this year.

The secret to finding the best auto-tech plays is to understand foremost their positioning in this booming sector.

Top 10 Valued Stocks To Invest In 2015: Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc (FCS)

Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. (Fairchild) focuses on developing, manufacturing and selling power analog, power discrete and certain non-power semiconductor solutions to a range of end market customers. The Company is a supplier of power analog products, power discrete products and energy-efficient solutions, according to iSuppli. Its products are used in a range of electronic applications, including sophisticated computers and Internet hardware; communications, including wireless phones; networking and storage equipment; industrial power supply and instrumentation equipment; consumer electronics, such as digital cameras, displays, audio/video devices and household appliances, and automotive applications.

The Company�� product groups are organized by the end markets, which include Mobile, Computing, Consumer and Communication (MCCC), Power Conversion, Industrial and Automotive (PCIA) and Standard Discrete and Standard Linear (SDT). It invested in the wafer fabrication power semiconductor technology, including low and mid voltage PowerTrench, advanced insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), as well as advanced high power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET) fabrication technologies.

Mobile, Computing, Consumer and Communication (MCCC)

The Company designs, manufactures and markets high-performance analog and mixed signal integrated circuits, low voltage power MOSFETs for mobile, consumer, computing, and communication applications. It has a portfolio of PowerTrench technology products. Its analog and mixed signal products are focused on the mobile end- markets.

Analog products monitor, interpret, and control continuously variable functions, such as light, color, sound, and energy. It forms the interface with the digital world. It provides a range of analog products that perform such tasks as voltage regulation, audio amplification, power and signal switching and system management. Analog voltage regulation circ! uits are used to provide constant voltages, as well as step up or step down voltage levels on a circuit board. These products enable improvements in power efficiency, lighting management, and improve charge times in ultraportable products. These products are used in a variety of mobile, computing, communications and consumer applications.

In addition to the power analog and interface products, it also offers signal path products. These include analog and digital switches, universal serial bus (USB) switches, video filters and high performance audio amplifiers. The analog switch functions are typically found in cellular handsets and other ultra portable applications. The video products provide a single chip solution to video filtering and amplification. Video filtering applications include set top boxes and digital television. Its solutions include surface mount devices, tiny packages, chip scale packages, and leadless carriers.

The Company also design, manufacture and market power semiconductor solutions for computing, communications, mobile, consumer and industrial applications. Power semiconductor solutions include, power discrete MOSFETs, analog integrated circuits, and fully integrated multi-chip and monolithic power solutions. Its power MOSFETs are primarily used in power delivery and power control applications. Power delivery and control applications are ubiquitous across data consumption, processing and communication applications. It produces advanced low power MOSFETs under its PowerTrench brands. The advanced power MOSFETs applications are used in smartphones, tablets, notebook personal computer, high performance gaming, home entertainment systems, servers, data communication, and routers.

The Company competes with Analog Devices, Inc., Linear Technology Corporation, Maxim Integrated Product, Inc., Micrel Inc, ON Semiconductor Corporation, ST Microelectronics N.V., Intersil Corporation, International Rectifier Corporation, Infineon Technologies AG and T! exas Inst! ruments Incorporated.

Power Conversion, Industrial and Automotive (PCIA)

Fairchild design, manufacture and market power discrete semiconductors, analog and mixed signal integrated circuits (ICs) for broad power conversion/power management, industrial, and automotive applications. Its products are building blocks that help convert a semi-regulated energy source (alternating current (AC)or direct current (DC)) to a regulated output for electronic systems (AC-DC, DC-AC, and DC-DC conversion). Its discrete devices are individual diodes or transistors that perform power switching, power conditioning and signal amplification functions in electronic circuits. The Company�� analog and mixed signal integrated circuits (IC) are used to control discrete semiconductors in applications, such as power switching, conditioning, signal amplification, power distribution and power consumption. It manufacture discrete products using vertical DMOS MOSFETs, Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT), Bipolar, and ultrafast rectifier technologies. It manufacture analog and mixed signal ICs using a range of bipolar (Bi), complementary metal oxide (CMOS), BiCMOS, and bipolar/CMOS/DMOS (BCDMOS) processes up to 1,200 volts and down to 0.35um (microns) minimum geometry.

Power MOSFETs are used in applications to switch, shape or transfer energy. These products are used in a range of high-growth applications, including solar inverters, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), data centers and communications, motors, lighting, automotive, computing, displays and industrial supplies. It produce advanced power MOSFETs under its SupreMOS, SuperFET, PowerTrench, UniFET and QFET brands. IGBTs are high-voltage power discrete devices. They are used in switching applications for solar inverters, uninterruped power supply, data centers and communications, motors, industrial, power supplies, displays, television and automotive ignition systems. These applications require lower switching frequencies, highe! r power, ! and/or higher voltages than a power MOSFET can provide. It is a supplier of IGBTs. Rectifier products work with IGBTs and MOSFETs in many applications to provide power conversion and conditioning. Its product is the STEALTH rectifier, providing industry performance and efficiencies in data communications, industrial power supply, displays, television, and motor applications.

Leveraging its power MOSFET and IGBT technologies, it also design and manufacture modules for the industrial, automotive, and home appliance end markets. It design and develop a line of smart power modules (SPM) products targeted to various end applications in consumer white goods and industrial applications, which include room air conditioners, industrial power supplies, solar inverters, pumps, and industrial motors. These are multi-chip modules containing up to 28 components in a single package that includes diodes, power discrete IGBTs or MOSFETs, high voltage power management driver ICs and current and temperature sensors. Similar modules, called APM, are used in automotive applications.

The Company design and manufacture power management semiconductors for line-powered and off-line powered systems that integrate its Power MOSFETs. It sell and market off-line and isolated DC-DC ICs, MOSFET and IGBT gate driver ICs, and power factor correction ICs to the consumer, computing, display, television, lighting and industrial segments.

The Company competes with Infineon Technologies AG, ST MicroelectronicsN.V., International Rectifier Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Power Integrations, Inc., ON Semiconductor Corporation, NXP Semiconductors N.V. and Vishay Intertechnology, Inc.

Standard Linear and Standard Discrete (SDT)

Standard Diodes and Transistors products cover a range of semiconductor products, including MOSFET, junction field effect transistors (JFETs), high power bipolar, discrete small signal transistors, TVS,! Zeners, ! rectifiers, bridge rectifiers, Schottky devices and diodes. The Company design, manufacture and market analog integrated circuits for computing, consumer, communications, ultra-portable and industrial applications. These products are manufactured using bipolar, CMOS and BiCMOS technologies. Standard Linear solutions range from bipolar regulators, shunt regulators, low drop out regulators, standard op-amp/comparators, low voltage op-amps, and others. Analog voltage regulator circuits are used to provide constant voltages, as well as to step up or step down voltage levels on a circuit board. Op-amps/comparators are designed specifically to operate from a single power supply over a range of voltages. It also offer low-voltage op-amps that provide a combination of low power, rail-to-rail performance, low voltage operation, and tiny package options which are well suited for use in personal electronics equipment. Its solutions include surface mount devices, tiny packages and leadless carriers.

The Company competes with International Rectifier Corporation, Diodes Incorporated, NXP Semiconductors N.V., ST Microelectronics N.V., ON Semiconductor Corporation, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., Vishay Intertechnology, Inc, Osram Opto Semiconductors, OPTEK Technology, OMRON Corporation, Avago Technologies Ltd. and Kodenshi Corp.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Fairchild Semiconductor International (NYSE: FCS  ) reported earnings on April 18. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Fairchild Semiconductor International met expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Watch Right Now: Tokyo Electron Ltd (TOELY.PK)

Tokyo Electron Limited is a company mainly engaged in the manufacture and sale of electronic products for industrial uses. The Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment, Flat-panel Display (FPD) and Photovoltaic Cell (PV) Manufacturing Equipment segment provides coaters and developers for wafer processing, plasma etching equipment, thermal processing systems, single wafer deposition systems, cleaning systems, coaters and developers for FPD manufacturing, ashing devices and plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) devices. The Electronic Component and Information Communication Equipment segment designs, develops, purchases and sells semiconductor products such as integrated circuits (ICs), computer and network equipment and software. The Others segment involves in logistics, facility management and insurance businesses. On April 1, 2013, it merged with two subsidiaries. In January 2014, the Company established TEL-Applied Holdings B.V. and a Japan-based company. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]

  Ultratech isn't the only game in town, though, and there are multiple technologies and process steps that are going to play significant roles in the production of FinFETs and 3D circuits. With that, I would take a look at Mattson Technologies (MTSN), as this company has already accomplished the not-so-easy task of gaining meaningful share in the dry strip, rapid thermal processing (RTP), and etch markets despite competing with giants like Lam Research (LRCX), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Tokyo Electron (TOELY.PK).

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Watch Right Now: Advanced Photonix Inc (API)

Advanced Photonix, Inc. (API), incorporated in June 22, 1988, is engaged in the development and manufacture of optoelectronic devices and value-added sub-systems and systems. The Company serves a variety of global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in a variety of industries. API supports its customers from the initial concept and design phase of the product, through testing to full-scale production. API has two manufacturing facilities located in Camarillo, California and Ann Arbor, Michigan. API is a supplier of optoelectronic semiconductors packaged into high-speed optical receivers, custom optoelectronic subsystems and Terahertz instrumentation, serving a variety of global OEM markets. API supports the customer from the initial concept and design of the semiconductor, hybridization of support electronics, packaging and signal conditioning or processing from prototype through full-scale production and validation testing. The target markets served by it are industrial sensing/NDT, military/aerospace, telecom, medical and homeland security. On March 1, 2013, it acquired certain assets of Silonex, Inc.

The Company�� high-speed optical receivers include avalanche photodiode (APD) technology and positive-intrinsic-negative (PIN) photodiode technology based upon III-V materials, including InP, InAlAs, and GaAs. Its optoelectronic subsystems are based on its silicon large area avalanche photodiode (LAAPD), PIN photodiode, FILTRODE detectors and light emitting diode (LED) assemblies. API�� Terahertz sensor product line is targeted at the industrial homeland security and military markets. Using its fiber coupled technology and high speed Terahertz generation and detection sensors, the Company is engaged in transferring Terahertz technology from the laboratory to the factory floor for use in non-destructive testing and real time quality control.

The Company competes with First Sensor, Illinois Tool Works, JDS Uniphase, Neophotonix, U2T and Nippon Electric.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  When most investors think of optical sensor makers, they tend to think of larger names like Honeywell International Inc.� (NYSE:HON) or Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE:VSH). And well they should. VSH is a $2 billion company, and HON is a $71.5 billion organization. The fact is, however, there are a few small cap stocks in the optical sensor space that are worth a look, and one of them is worth a very close look right now for a very clear reason... Advanced Photonix, Inc. (NYSEMKT:API).

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Watch Right Now: Sunedison Inc (SUNE)

SunEdison Inc, formerly MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., incorporated on October 1, 1984, is engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of silicon wafers. The Company is a developer and seller of photovoltaic energy solutions. Through Solar Materials and Solar Energy (SunEdison), it is a developer of solar energy projects. The Company operates in two segments: semiconductor materials and solar energy. The Company�� Solar Energy segment includes the operations of its old Solar Materials segment, as well as its SunEdison business. In the Semiconductor Materials, the Company offers wafers with a variety of features. The Company�� wafers vary in size, surface features, composition, purity levels, crystal properties and electrical properties.

Semiconductor Materials

The Company�� monocrystalline wafers for use in semiconductor applications range in size from 100 millimeter to 300 millimeter and are round in shape for semiconductor customers because of the nature of their processing equipment. Its wafers are used as the starting material for the manufacture of various types of semiconductor devices, including microprocessor, memory, logic and power devices. In turn, these semiconductor devices are used in computers, cellular phones and other mobile electronic devices, automobiles and other consumer and industrial products. Its monocrystalline wafers for semiconductor applications include four general categories of wafers: prime, epitaxial, test/monitor and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers.

The Company�� prime wafer is a polished, pure wafer with an ultraflat and ultraclean surface. The Company�� epitaxial (epi), wafers consist of a thin silicon layer grown on the polished surface of the wafer. Typically, the epitaxial layer has different electrical properties from the underlying wafer. This provides customers with isolation between circuit elements than a polished wafer. Its AEGIS product is designed for certain specialized applications requiring high resis! tivity epitaxial wafers and its MDZ product feature. The AEGIS wafer includes a thin epitaxial layer grown on a standard starting wafer. The AEGIS wafer�� thin epitaxial layer eliminates harmful defects on the surface of the wafer, thereby allowing device manufacturers to increase yields. The Company supplies test/monitor wafers to its customers for use in testing semiconductor fabrication lines and processes. An SOI wafer is a different starting material for the chip making process.

Solar Energy

The Company�� Solar Energy segment provides solar energy services that integrate the design, installation, financing, monitoring, operations and maintenance portions of the downstream solar market to provide a solar energy service to its customers. As of December 31, 2012, SunEdison interconnected over 675 solar power systems representing 989 megawatt of solar energy generating capacity. As of December 31, 2012, SunEdison had 73 megawatt of projects under construction and 2.6 gigawatts in pipeline. In support of its downstream solar business, its Solar Energy segment manufactures polysilicon, silicon wafers and solar modules. Additionally, its Solar Energy segment will sell solar modules to third parties in the event the opportunity aligns with itsinternal needs. It provides its downstream customers with a way to purchase renewable energy by delivering solar power under long-term power purchase arrangements with customers or feed-in tariff arrangements with government entities and utilities. Its SunEdison business is dependent upon government subsidies, including United States federal incentive tax credits, state-sponsored energy credits and foreign feed-in tariffs. The Company�� solar wafers are used as the starting material for crystalline solar cells.

The Company competes with Shin-Etsu Handotai, SUMCO, Siltronic and LG Siltron, SunPower Corporation, First Solar, Inc., Enerparc, Sharp Corporation (Recurrent Energy), Phoenix Solar, BELECTRIC, JUWI Solar Gmbh, and S! olar City! .

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anna Prior]

  SunEdison Inc.(SUNE) on Thursday said it completed its purchase of AES Corp.'s(AES) 50% ownership stake in the Silver Ridge Power LLC joint venture.

• [By Rich Smith]

  MEMC (NYSE: SUNE  ) isn't MEMC anymore.

  Late last week, MEMC Electronic Materials confirmed that it will officially change its name to SunEdison today and adopt the "SUNE" ticker symbol for itself. Stockholder support for the change was said to be "overwhelming."

• [By Seth Jayson]

  There's no foolproof way to know the future for SunEdison (NYSE: SUNE  ) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result.

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Own In Right Now

On October 15, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 460 points by early afternoon, then rose nearly 300 points to finish the day with a loss of ��nly��173 points. Two days later, the Dow soared 263 points. If your initial reaction to this kind of wacky market behavior is to scream ��et me out of here!��you��e probably not alone.

See Also: What Will Higher Rates Do to the Kip 25 Bond Funds?

I��l discuss ways to cut volatility in your investments in a minute. But first: The unfortunate truth is that the volatility of recent weeks, while unsettling, is hardly unusual. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility index, or VIX��he so-called fear index��easures how volatile options traders expect Standard & Poor�� 500-stock index will be in the next 30 days. The higher the index, the more the stock market is likely to bounce around��nd the more your adrenaline is likely to surge.

Top Beverage Stocks To Buy Right Now: Hudbay Minerals Inc (HBM)

HudBay Minerals Inc., an integrated mining company, engages in the exploration and development of copper, zinc, and precious metals mines in North and South America. It primarily produces copper concentrates containing copper, gold, and silver; and zinc metal. The company principally owns underground 777 mine that covers an area of 4,400 hectares and is located in Flin Flon, Manitoba. It also owns ore concentrators and a zinc production facility in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The company was founded in 1992 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  In August, Silver Wheaton reached its most recent deal with HudBay Minerals (NYSE: HBM  ) , securing the rights to its silver production at a low fixed-cost of $5.90 per ounce and 100% of its gold production at its 777 mine through at least 2016 for $400 an ounce In return, Silver Wheaton will fork over up to $750 million in cash for the buildout of HudBay's Constancia mine. Even with the tumble metal prices took this week, Silver Wheaton's margins will continue to remain fat with gold hovering near $1,400 an ounce and silver near $23 an ounce, and its dividend could still head even higher.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Dan also highlights a new agreement with Brazil's Vale (NYSE: VALE  ) as an example of a new partner streaming agreement that features a focus on gold. Can Silver Wheaton continue to profit from future agreements with partners such as Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) , Primaro Mining (NYSE: PPP  ) , and Hudbay Minerals (NYSE: HBM  ) ?

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Dan, however, does believe CEO Randy Smallwood has the experience necessary to deal with these challenges. Strategies may include obtaining better terms from existing partners such as Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) , Goldcorp (NYSE: GG  ) , and Hudbay Minerals (NYSE: HBM  ) on future contracts.

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Metro Bancorp Inc(METR)

Metro Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Metro Bank, which provides a range of retail and commercial banking services to consumers and small and mid-sized companies in Pennsylvania. Its deposit products include personal and business checking accounts, regular savings accounts, money market accounts, interest checking accounts, fixed rate certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and club accounts. The company?s loan products portfolio comprises commercial and industrial, owner occupied real estate, commercial construction and land development, and commercial real estate loans; consumer loans, including home equity, overdraft checking protection, and consumer credit cards, as well as installment loans for home improvement, and the purchase of consumer goods and automobiles; and construction loans and permanent mortgages for homes. It also offers debit card services, online banking services, safe deposit facilities, and automated teller fa cilities. As of July 14, 2011, Metro Bancorp operated 33 stores in the counties of Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York. The company was formerly known as Pennsylvania Commerce Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Metro Bancorp, Inc. in June 2009. Metro Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Metro Bancorp (METR) is one bank that might consider selling based on these metric. The company�� return on assets has consistently been well below its peer group, and the equity-to-asset ratio is just 8.46 — well below the 11 average across the United States.

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Lee Enterprises Incorporated (LEE)

Lee Enterprises, Incorporated provides local news, information, and advertising services primarily in midsize or small markets in the United States. The company publishes 50 daily and 39 Sunday newspapers, 300 weekly newspapers and classified, and niche publications in 22 states; and provides retail, classified, digital, and national advertising services. It also provides digital infrastructure and digital publishing services for approximately 1,500 daily and weekly newspapers and shoppers. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Davenport, Iowa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  Newspapers are hardly a growth industry, but after such a horrible fall from grace, publisher Lee Enterprises (LEE) may be a decent investment once more.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another newspaper publishing player that looks ready to trigger a major breakout trade is Lee Enterprises (LEE), which is a provider of local news and information and a platform for advertising, in primarily midsize markets. This stock has been on fire so far in 2013, with shares up big by 154%.

  >>Hack Earnings Season With These Serial Surprisers

  If you take a look at the chart for Lee Enterprises, you'll notice that this stock is just starting to spike higher back above its 50-day moving average of $2.89 a share with strong upside volume. Volume already today has registered over 360,000 shares, which is quickly approaching its three-month average action of 399,735 shares. This move is quickly pushing shares of LEE within range of triggering a major breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in LEE if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.14 a share to its 52-week high at $3.20 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 399,735 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then LEE will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $4 to $5 a share.

  Traders can look to buy LEE off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $2.71 or at $2.60 a share. One could also buy LEE 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.

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Deluxe Corporation (DLX)

Deluxe Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides personalized printed products, promotional products, and merchandising materials in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Its Small Business Services segment offers printed products, including business checks, promotional products, marketing materials, and related services, as well as retail packaging supplies and a suite of business services comprising Web design and hosting, fraud protection, payroll, logo design, search engine marketing, business networking, and other Web-based services to small businesses. This segment also offers printed forms, such as billing forms, work orders, job proposals, purchase orders, invoices, and personnel forms; computer forms; and stationery, letterhead, envelopes, greeting cards and labels, and business cards in various formats and ink colors. It sells its products through mail and the Internet, referrals from financial institutions and telecommunications clients, independent distributors and dealers, and sales representatives. The company?s Financial Services segment provides check programs for personal and business checks, fraud prevention and monitoring services, customer acquisition campaigns, marketing communications, regulatory program services, and customer loyalty programs to banks, credit unions, and financial services companies primarily through direct sales force. Its Direct Checks segment sells personal and business checks, and related products and services directly to consumers through direct response marketing and the Internet. Deluxe also offers online financial management tools that provide banks with daily access to their financial position and general ledger information. The company was formerly known as Deluxe Check Printers, Incorporated and changed its name to Deluxe Corporation in 1988. Deluxe Corporation was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Shoreview, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Deluxe (NYSE: DLX  ) is opening its checkbook for a fresh round of shareholder payouts. The company has declared its latest quarterly dividend, which is to be $0.25 per share, paid on September 3 to shareholders of record as of August 19.�This is in line with the firm's long-standing distribution policy; it has handed out that amount in every quarter stretching back to July 2006.

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Stellus Capital Investment Corp (SCM)

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation is an externally managed, closed-end, non-diversified management investment company. The Company was formed to originate and invest primarily in private middle-market companies.

The Company is focusing on a variety of industry sectors, including business services, energy, general industrial, government services, healthcare, software and specialty finance. Its investment activities will be managed by its investment adviser, Stellus Capital Management. It intends to originate and invest primarily in private middle-market companies through first lien, second lien, unitranche and mezzanine debt financing.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Investing Caffeine]

  With the stock market reaching all-time record highs (S&P 500: 1900), you would think there would be a lot of cheers, high-fiving, and back slapping. Instead, investors are ignoring the sunny, blue skies and taking off their rose-colored glasses. Rather than securely sleeping like a baby (or relaxing during a three-day weekend) with their investment accounts, people are biting their fingernails with clenched teeth, while searching for a market boogeyman in their closets or under their beds.If you don�� believe me, all you have to do is pick up the paper, turn on the TV, or walk over to the office water cooler. An avalanche of scary headlines that are spooking investors include geopolitical concerns in Ukraine & Thailand, slowing housing statistics, bearish hedge fund managers (i.e., Tepper Einhorn, Cooperman), declining interest rates, and collapsing internet stocks. In other words, investors are looking for things to worry about, despite record corporate profits and stock prices. Peter Lynch, the manager of the Magellan Fund that posted +2,700% in gains from 1977-1990, put short-term stock price volatility into perspective:��ou shouldn�� worry about it. You should worry what are stocks going to be 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 30 years from now.��ather than focusing on immediate stock market volatility and other factors out of your control, why not prioritize your time on things you can control. What investors can control is their asset allocation and spending levels (budget), subject to their personal time horizons and risk tolerances. Circumstances always change, but if people spent half the time on investing that they devoted to planning holiday vacations, purchasing a car, or choosing a school for their child, then retirement would be a lot less stressful. After realizing 99% of all the short-term news is nonsensical noise, the next important realization is stocks are volatile securities, which frequently go down -10 to -20%. As much

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: OmniAmerican Bancorp Inc.(OABC)

OmniAmerican Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for OmniAmerican Bank, which is a federally-chartered savings bank that provides banking services to consumers and businesses in Texas. The company involves in accepting deposits from the general public and investing those deposits together with funds generated from operations and borrowings in loans and investments. Its deposit products consist of savings accounts, interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company?s loan products include residential real estate loans, such as one-to-four-family and home equity loans; commercial loans consisting of real estate construction, commercial real estate, and commercial business loans; and consumer loans, which include direct automobile, indirect automobile, and unsecured loans. It operates through its main office in Fort Worth, Texas and 15 branches located in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and Hood County, Texas. The company was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Omniamerican Bancorp (NASDAQ: OABC) shares fell 1.40% to touch a new 52-week low of $21.08. Omniamerican Bancorp's trailing-twelve-month ROA is 0.44%.

5 Best Solar Stocks To Watch Right Now

On Friday, American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC  ) will release its latest quarterly results. After the loss of its largest customer two years ago, the company has had to make a massive readjustment in its business model, and investors still aren't sure whether it can bounce back from that major setback.

Now, American Superconductor is looking at the solar-inverter market, which has gone through its own tough times but which has the potential to produce long-term profits. But as a small player, the company faces plenty of competition from a wide range of much larger rivals. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with American Superconductor over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

Stats on American Superconductor

Analyst EPS Estimate

($0.21)

Year-Ago EPS

Best Chemical Companies To Watch For 2015: First Solar Inc.(FSLR)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Since April 1, shares of Tesla are up more than 220%, while SolarCity�� shares are up a more modest 127%. SolarCity�� shares lost about $1.50 yesterday and are down another $3 a share this morning. The weak report and forecast from First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is certainly the primary reason for today�� drop, but another is that the halo effect of being an Elon Musk company is simply not as bright for SolarCity as it is for Tesla.

• [By Tyler Crowe and Aimee Duffy]

  It's been a heck of a year for First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR  ) . After a hefty jump in stock price following an uptick in guidance, now the company is making big sales to add to it. This week, First Solar sold 139 megawatts of generation capacity to utility giant Southern (NYSE: SO  ) , the largest solar purchase in Southern's history. While this certainly adds to the case for First Solar, it also gives more credibility to the entire solar industry.

5 Best Solar Stocks To Watch Right Now: Renesola Ltd.(SOL)

ReneSola Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of solar wafers and solar power products. It offers virgin polysilicons, monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar wafers, and photovoltaic cells and modules. The company also provides cell and module processing services. Its products are used in a range of residential, commercial, industrial, and other solar power generation systems. The company sells its solar wafers primarily to solar cell and module manufacturers. It principally operates in Mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, India, Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, France, the Czech Republic, and the United States. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Jiashan, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Brumley]

  Which solar power stocks are the proverbial picks of the litter, though? Here are the first five a newcomer might want to consider.

  ReneSola Ltd. (SOL)

  While most solar stocks have done incredibly well so far in 2014, ReneSola (SOL) wasn’t one of them. In fact, SOL stock is a bit unusual in that it’s trading well under its October high of $6 per share. That’s not a bad thing, though. In fact, it may work to your advantage because it gives new buyers a chance to scoop up ReneSola shares at a bargain price before their next big run-up.

5 Best Solar Stocks To Watch Right Now: Real Goods Solar Inc.(RSOL)

Real Goods Solar, Inc. operates as a residential and commercial solar energy integrator primarily in California and Colorado. The company provides engineering, procurement, and construction services. It offers various turnkey solar energy services, including design, procurement, permitting, build-out, grid connection, financing referrals, and warranty and customer satisfaction services. The company installs residential and small commercial systems that range between 3 kilowatts and 1 megawatt output. It also engages in the retail sale of renewable energy products. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in Louisville, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Three weeks ago, I recommended Real Goods Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:RSOL) as a buy. Though the stock was still drifting in the shadow of a huge May pullback - from a high of $7.17 to a low of $2.13 by mid-June - RSOL was finding some support at key moving average lines, and even pushing up and off of them. Not many of you (and I'm using "you" interchangeably with "investors in general") seemed to care. So why am I looking at Real Goods Solar again now? Because, with competitors LDK Solar Co., Ltd (NYSE:LDK) and ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE:SOL) seeing their shares surge today, odds are good RSOL is going to get swept up in that move. Real Goods Solar shares are a better bet, however, in that - unlike SOL and LDK - they aren't overbought yet.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  If you were lucky enough to be in an American Community (OTCMKTS:ACYD) position anytime before October 8th, then congratulations - you're up big. Now get out. Instead, use freed-up that capital to take on a position in Real Goods Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:RSOL), which looks like it's at the beginning of a good-sized rally.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  My enthusiasm regarding Real Goods Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:RSOL) and Westinghouse Solar Inc. (OTCMKTS:WEST) hasn't exactly been a veiled secret. Though I've favored one over the other at various times since the entire solar panel industry went back into high gear in the middle of the second quarter, I've been a fan of both RSOL as well as WEST for a while. The trick has been finding the right entry spot for both of these volatile stocks.

5 Best Solar Stocks To Watch Right Now: Ascent Solar Technologies Inc.(ASTI)

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a development stage company, focuses on commercializing flexible photovoltaic (PV) modules using its proprietary technology. The company intends to manufacture roll-format PV modules that use copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) on a plastic substrate. Its proprietary manufacturing process deposits multiple layers of materials, including a thin-film of CIGS semiconductor material on a plastic substrate and laser patterns the layers to create interconnected PV cells or PV modules through monolithic integration process. The company would serve the building applied photovoltaic (BAPV) and building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) market, as well as specialty markets, such as defense, portable power, transportation, electronic integrated photovoltaic, and space and near-space. It has a strategic relationship with Norsk Hydro Produksjon AS to access customers in the BIPV/BAPV markets worldwide. Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. was founded in 200 5 and is based in Thornton, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Solar stocks have not exactly given buy and hold investors a smooth ride, but small cap�GT Advanced Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: GTAT) could be an interesting materials play on the solar sector���meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with potential peers like Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: ASTI) and STR Holdings, Inc (NYSE: STRI) plus solar ETF Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSEARCA: TAN). I should mention that just last week, we added GT Advanced Technologies to our�SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio for both�fundamentals and technical reasons and we are already up almost 9%.

10 Best Oil Service Stocks To Invest In 2014

Popular Posts: 5 Broad Ways to Play the Upcoming Commodities Rally5 Stocks to Profit From Mexico�� Oily BonanzaEPA Tosses Refiners a Major Biofuels Win Recent Posts: Big Oil Stocks – Will SLB & HAL Earnings Impress? 5 Broad Ways to Play the Upcoming Commodities Rally EPA Tosses Refiners a Major Biofuels Win View All Posts

With fracking and advanced drilling techniques becoming the norm — both onshore and off — the firms that do all of that heavy lifting are set to win big over the longer term. And there are none bigger than Halliburton (HAL) and Schlumberger (SLB). Both remain the undisputed kingpins of fracking and oil services.

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2015: (AMC)

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a theatrical exhibition company in the United States and internationally. As of June 30, 2011, it owned, operated, or had interests in 357 theatres and 5,098 screens in 31 states and the District of Columbia, and 4 countries outside the United States. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. As of August 30, 2012, AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Dalian Wanda Group Corporation Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  Frederic J. Brown, AFP/Getty Images Moviegoers aren't heading out the multiplex the way they used to, but that doesn't mean that Hollywood is toast. AMC Entertainment (AMC) reported quarterly results Tuesday. The nation's leading exhibitor -- 345 theaters with 4,976 screens -- went public two months ago. The headline numbers are positive. Revenue increased a better than expected 2.3 percent to $713 million. Profitability also expanded nicely. However, revenue increased as a result of a 5.5 percent increase in ticket prices and a 3.7 percent uptick in concessions purchased by patrons. Obviously you don't see those kind of gains against a mere 2.3 percent lift in revenue without dealing with more empty seats, and that's just what happened. There was a 3.2 percent decline in attendance. AMC's ticket takers welcomed 50.4 million guests during the holiday quarter, well below the 52.1 million guests that it entertained a year earlier. That's bad, and what makes things worse is that it had fewer theaters -- from continuing operations -- a year earlier. It wouldn't be wise to hold out for a Hollywood ending. Customers Want Bigger and Better Things Apologists will argue that it wasn't a bumper crop of movies hitting theaters, but that's not accurate at all. Last year's biggest box office winner -- "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" -- opened in November. Disney's "Frozen" also opened ahead of the holidays, and it's the family entertainment giant's biggest non-Pixar earner since 1994's "The Lion King." Moviegoers still come out for the big movies, and they're also willing to pay more for a premium setting. IMAX (IMAX) reported blowout quarterly results a few days earlier. IMAX screens rang up a record $244 million in ticket sales worldwide. IMAX is also closing out the year with a record backlog of 384 commercial theaters to deploy. RealD (RLD) is also holding up nicely as a leading provider of 3-D systems for exhibitors. It enjoyed a major boost with "Gravity," a

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  Getty Images From a popular multiplex operator going public to a retailer getting hacked at the worst possible time, here's a rundown of the week's best and worst news from the business world. Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) -- Winner Chipotle is getting a new stamp in its ethnic cuisine passport. Having mastered Mexican, it was already giving Asian a shot with its new ShopHouse chain. And now, we can add Italian to its map after Chipotle revealed this week that it's a financial backer of Pizzeria Locale. The fast casual concept gives pizza a Chipotle-like makeover with folks ordering at the counter, customizing their 11-inch pies along the assembly line, after which they are baked in a speedy oven that serves up tasty pies in just two minutes. Chipotle's growing just fine with its flagship burrito chain, but it never hurts to diversify before expansion-fueled growth plateaus, or tastes change. Target (TGT) -- Loser Holiday shopping at Target may ultimately prove to more trouble than bargain seekers were hoping for this season. The cheap chic discounter revealed that hackers installed software that stole the info on more than 40 million credit and debit card transactions from Nov. 27 through Dec. 15. This is naturally going to be bad news for those that had their plastic compromised. Everyone that shopped at Target this season is being advised to carefully look over their statements. However, it's also very bad for the retailer at the worst possible time. Shoppers may not be too comfortable heading into Target during these last few shopping days before Christmas. AMC Entertainment (AMC) -- Winner Lights! Camera! IPO action! It may not have been the blockbuster IPO of the year, but the debut of the leading movie theater chain proved to be a success this week. AMC Entertainment went public at $18, opening 7 percent higher and staying above its IPO price. The leading exhibitor operates 343 movie theaters housing 4,950 screens. AMC entertains 200 million guests

• [By DailyFinance Staff]

  The looming Fed taper has been the talk of Wall Street for months, but it still came as a surprise to investors when it actually happened. Stocks rallied Wednesday following the Fed's decision to cut its $85 billion a month purchase of bonds by $10 billion, beginning in January. Outgoing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy continues to "make progress." The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) soared 292 points on the news, its third biggest one-day gain this year. The Dow also hit a closing high, as did the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC), which gained 29 points. And the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) rose 46 points. Consider it Bernanke's final present to the market before he retires from his position atop the Fed. Among the big blue chip winners, 3M (MMM) rose 3 percent, while Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX) and Goldman Sachs (GS) all rose 2 percent. But Microsoft (MSFT) was flat, reflecting across the board weakness in tech stocks. Many of the biggest players on the Nasdaq lost ground despite the overall market rally. Apple (AAPL) and Twitter (TWTR) ended lower and Tesla (TSLA) lost nearly 3 percent. Part of the reason for the tech weakness was an earnings miss and a weak forecast from Jabil Circuits (JBL), a key maker of electronics. Its shares plunged 20 percent. But homebuilders were strong following a report showing that housing starts last month rose to highest level in nearly six years. Lennar (LEN), which also posted strong earnings, jumped 6 percent. William Lyon Homes rose 4 percent, KB Homes (KBH) and Toll Brothers (TOL) each rose 3.5 percent. Ford (F) shares skidded more than 6 percent after lowering its profit forecast for next year. The company also warned that it may not meet its target for 2015 and 2016. In part, Ford blames the high expenses tied its planned launch of a record number of new vehicles next year. Finally, the movie theater chain AMC Entertainment (AMC) rose 5 percent from its $18 a share IPO price. This is exp

10 Best Oil Service Stocks To Invest In 2014: MineralRite Corp (RITE)

MineralRite Corporation, formerly Royal Quantum Group Inc., incorporated on October 22, 1996, is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and gas and mineral properties. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company acquired a 36% interest in the drilling and development of the Gleason 4-16 well located in Oklahoma. In April 2013, it acquired the entire share capital of Goldfield International Inc.

The Company owns 100% interest in 1,540 acres that consist of 77 claims of prospective uranium property. The prospective uranium property is located adjacent to the Sheep Mountain Mine in Fremont County, Central Wyoming, approximately 90 miles southwest of Casper, Wyoming.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks MineralRite Corp (OTCMKTS: RITE), New China Global Inc (OTCMKTS: NCGI) and Metrospaces Inc (OTCMKTS: MSPC) have all been getting some extra attention lately in various investment newsletters thanks to a few paid promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed promotions or investor relations type of activities, but they can and often do backfire on unwary investors and traders alike. So how hot are these three small caps for investors? Here is a quick reality check:

10 Best Oil Service Stocks To Invest In 2014: Sequenom Inc.(SQNM)

Sequenom, Inc. provides products, services, diagnostic testing, applications, and genetic analysis products that translate the results of genomic science into solutions for biomedical research, translational research, molecular medicine applications, and agricultural and livestock research. The company operates in two segments, Molecular Diagnostics and Genetic Analysis. The Molecular Diagnostics segment researches, develops, and commercializes noninvasive molecular diagnostic tests for prenatal genetic disorders and diseases, women?s health related disorders and diseases, ophthalmology, oncology, infectious diseases, and autoimmunity. This segment markets diagnostic technology for prenatal diagnostics under the trademark SEQureDx. The Genetic Analysis segment designs and markets MassARRAY system, a nucleic acid analysis platform that comprises hardware, software applications, consumable chips, and reagents to measure genetic target material and variations. This segment o ffers its MassARRAY system for various DNA/RNA analysis applications, including single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), genotyping, detection of mutations, analysis of copy number variants, and other structural genome variations, as well as quantitative gene expression analysis, quantitative methylation marker analysis, comparative sequence analysis of haploid organisms, SNP discovery, and oligonucleotide quality control. It also provides iPLEX multiplexing assay, which permits multiplexed SNP analysis and somatic mutation analysis. The company offers its products through direct sales, and sales and distribution partners to clinical research laboratories, bio-agriculture, bio-technology and pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and various government agencies worldwide. Sequenom, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  The check wasn't in the mail
  Genetic analysis solutions provider Sequenom (NASDAQ: SQNM  ) announced its second-quarter financial results this week. Mr. Market wasn't happy. Shares plunged nearly 30% for the week.

• [By Keith Speights]

  That kind of potential could be attractive for investors -- and possibly for a larger company. In 2009, Sequenom (NASDAQ: SQNM  ) attempted to acquire Exact Sciences but ultimately�no deal happened. Of course, back then Exact Sciences was a penny stock. Now, it has a bigger market cap than Sequenom does.

10 Best Oil Service Stocks To Invest In 2014: Eco Building Products Inc (ECOB)

ECO Building Products, Inc. (ECOB), incorporated on March 21, 2007, is a manufacturer of wood products treated with an eco-friendly chemistry that protects against fire, mold/mycotoxins, fungus, rot-decay, wood ingesting insects and termites with ECOB WoodSurfaceFilm and fire retardant coating). ECOB�� newest product, Eco Red Shield also serves as a fire inhibitor protecting lumber from fire, slowing ignition time and reducing the amount of smoke produced. The Eco Building Products line includes dimensional lumber, wall and floor panels, I-joists, GluLam Beams, laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beams, truss lumber and trim. These products can be coated at its production facilities and at the mill or distributor with its formula and coating machines. Its products include Eco Red Shield, Eco Clear Shield, Eco Blue Shield, Eco Shelter, Eco Cabinets, Smart Components Seismic Walls, Eco LVL Beam, Eco I Joist, Eco Corbels, Eco Trim, Eco LVL Studs, and Calvert Curved Beams.

As of June 30, 2012, the Company owned 100% of E Build & Truss, Inc. (E Build), Red Shield Lumber, Inc. (Red Shield) and Seattle Coffee Exchange (Seattle). Red Shield was formed for the purpose of opening a plant in Canada utilizing the Company�� red coating process for sale and distribution. As of December 31, 2011, the wholly owned subsidiary had little operating activity. E Build was formed for the purpose of operating the Company�� Framing Labor and Truss manufacturing activities. ECOB has developed a line of eco-friendly protective wood coatings that extend the life of framing lumber and other wood used in the construction of single-family homes, multi-story buildings, as well as The Eco Shelter. In December 2011, the Company formed Seattle in the State of California. Seattle is a coffee shop which is located in the 1st floor of the Company�� corporate headquarters in Vista, California. This wholly owned subsidiary has not started its operations, as of June 30, 2012.

The Company�� eco-friendly formula ! controls moisture and protects lumber from mold, mildew, fungus, decay, rot, termites (and other wood boring insects including Formosan termites), while simultaneously serving as a fire inhibitor. The Company�� eco-friendly formula was designed for staining - it controls moisture and protects lumber from mold, mildew, fungus, decay, rot, termites while simultaneously serving as a fire inhibitor. ECOB�� eco-friendly formula controls moisture and protects lumber from mold, mildew, fungus, decay, rot, termites (and other wood boring insects including Formosan termites). Eco Red Shield Smart ComponentsO wall systems are pre-engineered seismic wall systems. The Company�� pre-engineered and pre-packaged kit comes pre-cut and ready to assemble with hammer and nails - the simple design makes it ideal for rapid response relief housing, events, offices, meeting halls, storage sheds, medical clinics and more. It is available in a range of sizes and floor plans.

Eco has delivered cabinet solutions for kitchen, bath, garage and office space. Smart Components is made with Eco Red Shield Protected Lumber for builders in seismic hot spots, such as California, Mexico and Japan. The I beam joist is eco-friendly solution to large structural beams. Laminated Eco Trim is protected on all six sides and available in any protective coatings providing a nearly impenetrable barrier against moisture, mold and insects. It also offers an ultra-smooth surface for painting and a clean, finished look that builders and homeowners desire.

The Company competes with Arch Chemical and Osmose, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap green stocks Eco Depot Inc (OTCMKTS: ECDP), Eco Building Products Inc (OTCMKTS: ECOB) and Profire Energy, Inc (OTCBB: PFIE) has been getting some extra attention lately in various investment newsletters thanks to paid promotions or investor relation campaigns. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed promotions and investor relations campaigns, but small cap green stocks tend to be extra volatile when compared with other stocks. So how in greenbacks will these three small cap green stocks produce for investors? Here is a quick reality check:

10 Best Oil Service Stocks To Invest In 2014: ASB Bancorp Inc (ASBB)

ASB Bancorp, Inc. (ASB Bancorp), incorporated in May 2011, focuses to become the holding company for Asheville Savings Bank, S.S.B. (Asheville Savings Bank). ASB Bancorp, Inc.�� business activity will be the ownership of the Asheville Savings Bank. Asheville Savings Bank is a chartered savings bank. It operates as a community-oriented financial institution offering traditional financial services to consumers and businesses in its market area. It attracts deposits from the general public and use those funds to originate one-to four-family residential mortgage loans and commercial real estate loans, and home equity loans and lines of credit, consumer loans, construction and land development loans, and commercial and industrial loans. It conducts its lending and deposit activities with individuals and small businesses in its primary market area. Its market area is Asheville, North Carolina and the rest of Buncombe County where it has eight branch offices, as well as Henderson, Madison, McDowell and Transylvania Counties where it has five branch offices.

Lending Activities

Asheville Savings Bank loan portfolio include real estate mortgage loans, including one- to four-family residential mortgage loans and commercial mortgage loans, and revolving mortgage loans, which consist of home equity loans and lines of credit, consumer loans, construction and land development loans, and commercial and industrial loans. As of March 31, 2011, it had $177.8 million in one- to four-family residential loans, which represented 36.7% of its total loan portfolio. Its origination of residential mortgage loans enables borrowers to purchase or refinance existing homes located in its primary market area. It offers a mix of adjustable rate mortgage loans and fixed-rate mortgage loans with terms of up to 30 years.

Asheville Savings Bank offers fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgage loans secured by non-residential real estate and multi-family properties. As of March 31, 2011, commercial mort! gage loans totaled $162.7 million, or 33.5% of its total loan portfolio. Its commercial mortgage loans are secured by commercial, industrial and manufacturing, small to moderately-sized office and retail properties, hotels, multi-family properties and hospitals and churches located in its primary market area. As of March 31, 2011, $35.6 million or 21.9% of its commercial real estate loans were secured by owner-occupied properties. It originates fixed-rate and adjustable-rate commercial mortgage loans, generally with terms of three to five years and payments based on an amortization schedule of up to 25 years. It has originated construction and land development loans for commercial properties, such as retail shops and office units, and multi-family properties, and construction and land development loans for one-to four-family homes. As of March 31, 2011, commercial construction and land development loans totaled $27.8 million, which represented 5.7% of its total loan portfolio, and residential construction and land development loans totaled $7.9 million, which represented 1.6% of its total loan portfolio. As of March 31, 2011, it had speculative residential construction loans of $3.1 million and speculative commercial construction loans of $9.6 million.

Asheville Savings Bank offers revolving mortgage loans, which consist of home equity loans and lines of credit, and various consumer loans, including automobile loans and loans secured by deposits. As of March 31, 2011, revolving mortgage loans totaled $52 million, or 10.7% of its total loan portfolio, and consumer loans totaled $41.1 million, or 8.5% of its total loan portfolio. Its revolving mortgage loans consist of both home equity loans with fixed-rate amortizing term loans with terms of up to 15 years and adjustable rate lines of credit with interest rates indexed to the prime rate.

Asheville Savings Bank offers commercial and industrial loans to small businesses located in its primary market area. As of March 31, 2011, co! mmercial ! and industrial loans totaled $15.8 million, which represented 3.2% of its total loan portfolio. Its commercial and industrial loan portfolio consists of loans, which are secured by equipment, accounts receivable and inventory, but also includes a smaller amount of unsecured loans for purposes of financing expansion or providing working capital for general business purposes.

Investment Activities

As of March 31, 2011, Asheville Savings Bank�� investment portfolio consisted of the United States government and agency securities, mortgage-backed securities and securities issued by government sponsored enterprises, and municipal securities. As of March 31, 2011, its securities portfolio represented 27.2% of total assets. As of March 31, 2011, $198.6 million of its securities portfolio was classified as available for sale and $5.7 million of its securities portfolio was classified as held to maturity. Securities classified as held to maturity are United States government sponsored securities, mortgage-backed securities and state and local government securities. As of March 31, 2011, it had four million dollars of other investments, at cost, which consisted of Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta.

Sources of Funds

Deposits, borrowings and loan repayments are the sources of Asheville Savings Bank funds for lending and other investment purposes. It uses advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta to supplement its investable funds. The Federal Home Loan Bank functions as a central reserve bank providing credit for member financial institutions. Advances are made under several different programs, each having its own interest rate and range of maturities. It also utilizes securities sold under agreements to repurchase and overnight repurchase agreements to supplement its supply of investable funds and to meet deposit withdrawal requirements.

Subsidiaries

Asheville Savings Bank has two subsidiaries, Appalachian Financial Services,! Inc., wh! ich was formed to engage in investment activities, and Wenoca, Inc., which serves as Asheville Savings Bank�� trustee regarding deeds of trust. Both subsidiaries are organized as North Carolina corporations.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  ASB Bancorp (ASBB) is the holding company for Ashville in western North Carolina. The bank has 13 branches and total assets of around $733 million. Nonperforming assets are just 2.1% of total assets and the bank is massively over-reserved for future losses, with loan reserves at 6 times nonperforming loans. The bank bought back 544,494 shares of common stock at an average price of $16.79 per share in 2013. The board just authorized a new 5% buyback in January 2014. The stock is trading around 80% of book value, so management is buying the shares on the cheap — and that should bode well for shareholders in the future.

10 Best Oil Service Stocks To Invest In 2014: MicroStrategy Incorporated(MSTR)

MicroStrategy Incorporated provides enterprise software platforms for business intelligence (BI), and mobile and social intelligence applications worldwide. The company offers MicroStrategy 9, an integrated BI platform that enables businesses to make business decisions. The MicroStrategy 9 platform?s product components comprise Intelligence Server, a foundation for the BI platform; Report Services, a reporting engine delivering production and operational reports, managed metrics reports, and interactive dashboards; OLAP Services that allows Web and desktop users to manipulate Intelligent Cubes databases; Web, a Web interface providing query, reporting, and analysis; Distribution Services that offers automated report and dashboard distribution; Office, which enables Microsoft Office users to create, run, edit, and format MicroStrategy report; and Desktop that provide users access to data through analytical applications. The MicroStrategy 9 platform?s product components al so include Architect, whose data sources are modeled through an intuitive graphical user interface; SDK to integrate MicroStrategy 9 features and functionality into any application on multiple platforms; Integrity Manager to compare and verify reports? consistency; Command Manager that automates MicroStrategy administrative tasks; Enterprise Manager to provide prebuilt reports and dashboards; Object Manager that allows administrators to manage disparate and distributed environments; MultiSource Option allowing users to report, analyze, and monitor data; Transaction Services that provides write-back capabilities; and Clustering Option, a plug-and-play add-on to Intelligence Server. The company also offers technical support, consulting, education, and cloud-based solutions. It serves retail, communications, financial services, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, consumer goods, and public services industries. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Beyers and Erin Miller]

  Importantly, the BI sector as a whole isn't seeing gains. MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR  ) fell as much as Qlik gained on a 6% decline in revenues in the most recent quarter. Qlik, by contrast, reported a 22% rise in revenue and told analysts to expect another 20% or better bump in the quarter.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR  ) have plunged today by as much as 13% after the company reported first-quarter earnings.

  So what: Revenue in the first quarter added up to $130.2 million, a 6% decline from a year ago. That translated into a loss from continuing operations of $5.2 million, or $0.46 per share. Those figures looked poor relative to consensus estimates, which were calling for $152.4 million in sales and $0.35 per share in profit.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings around July 29. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict MicroStrategy's revenues will wither -1.9% and EPS will wither -40.0%.

• [By Victor Selva]

  The second place was occupied by MicroStrategy Incorporated (MSTR), a provider of business intelligence and mobile software with 5.5% of the total portfolio and worth $52.6 million. It reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago, and the stock price outperformed the rise in the S&P 500.

10 Best Oil Service Stocks To Invest In 2014: Patterson-UTI Energy Inc.(PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides onshore contract drilling services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the United States and Canada. The company offers pressure pumping services that consist of well stimulation and cementing for completion of new wells and remedial work on existing wells, as well as hydraulic fracturing, nitrogen, cementing, and acid pumping services in Texas and the Appalachian Basin; and contract drilling services primarily in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and western Canada. It also owns and invests in oil and natural gas assets located primarily in Texas and New Mexico. As of December 31, 2011, it had a drilling fleet of 330 marketable land-based drilling rigs. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN) was reinstated as Buy with a $27 price target at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

  Pharmacyclics Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYC) was started as Overweight with a $142 price target at J.P. Morgan. Deutsche Bank also started it with a Buy rating and a $170 price target.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN) is another name in which the Deutsche Bank team sees tremendous upside. With strong cash flow generation and continued share repurchases to help as activity levels accelerate, the stock has solid potential for investors at this level. Deutsche Bank has a $30 price target and the consensus figure is at $23.50.�Patterson closed Monday at $25.47. Investors are paid a 0.8% dividend.

These 10 Stocks Could Gain 10% By Year End

MKM Partners technical analyst Jonathan Krinsky isn’t–and hasn’t been–a fan of the overall market but that doesn’t mean he thinks investors should stay far away. Instead, he offers 10 stocks that have “lagged drastically” this year but could rise at least 10% by year-end. He explains:

Reuters

The S&P 500 continued to grind higher last week, gaining a modest 0.39%, but good enough for its fourth consecutive weekly gain. The intra-week range was extremely narrow at just 0.78%, the seventh narrowest in the last 20 years. While the rate of ascent has slowed, the lack of any pullback in the major averages has been quite remarkable. On Friday the SPX closed above its 5 Day Moving Average for the 21st consecutive day. In the last 20 years, there have only been two such streaks that lasted longer. The most logical explanation is that many participants are trailing benchmarks, and are using any weakness to add in an attempt to catch-up. Despite the lack of movement in the SPX, there was continued deterioration in the Energy sector (-2%). This has kept downward pressure on the high yield index, of which energy is the largest weighting. The U.S. continues to be the best market globally, reaching multi-decade highs vs. the MSCI World Index. As a result, sentiment has become quite optimistic with the AAII Bull-Bear spread reaching the highest level in four years. While we still find the risk/reward in the “market” quite poor on a near-term basis, we recognize that the need to participate is real.

But who care about that right? You’re here for the stocks, so without further ado: AK Steel (AKS), teen-retailer Five Below (FIVE), FireEye (FEYE), GameStop (GME), Lululemon Athletica (LULU), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MBIA (MBI), Peabody Energy (BTU), PulteGroup (PHM), Twitter (TWTR).

5 Best Long Term Stocks To Watch Right Now

Krinsky explains why these stocks might be attractive:

Following the October low in equities, the correlation between stocks has completely broken down. Part of this is likely attributed to the energy sector, which has remained near its correction lows. While this low correlation can be viewed as a warning sign for the broad market (contrary indicator), it also provides opportunity to generate alpha. With the consensus that many participants are trailing their benchmark, and therefore forced to play catch-up, we found ten stocks that have significantly lagged the broad market YTD, and that we believe have at least 10% of upside potential into year-end on a technical basis. Most of these are not structurally bullish charts, but they all have near-term tactical qualities that should make them worthy of a trade over the next six weeks.

AK Steel, for instance has “strong support at $6, look for it to build off this level heading into year end,” Krinsky says, Las Vegas Sands is “breaking a short-term downtrend.” Peabody Energy, meanwhile, has a “short-term base, has plenty of room above $12,” and Twitter is “now trying to bounce off support,” and has room to trade as high as $48. And GameStop? It’s been basing for nearly a year and has “plenty of upside,” Krinsky says.

Of course, the fact that the year is ending means that investors are more likely to add to their winners and sell their losers heading into year end. And that’s what’s happening to most of these stocks today. AK Steel has dropped 1.4% to $6.45 at 12:31 p.m. today, while Las Vegas Sands has fallen 1.5% to $62.53, Peabody Energy has declined 0.9% to $11.29, GameStop is off 0.6% at $44.13 and Twitter has tumbled 2.7% to $40.72.