Hot Food Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Hot Food Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Chiquita Brands International Inc. (CQB)

Chiquita Brands International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution and marketing of bananas and fresh produce under the Chiquita and other brand names worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Bananas, Salads and Healthy Snacks, and Other Produce. The Banana segment sources, transports, markets, and distributes bananas to retailers and wholesalers, and chain stores. It also engages in the cultivation and production of bananas. The Salads and Healthy Snacks segment offers value-added salads under the Fresh Express and other labels; and fresh vegetable and fruit ingredients used in foodservice, healthy snacks, and processed fruit ingredient products. This segment also provides fresh-cut products, such as lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, cabbage, and onions to foodservice distributors who resell these products to foodservice operators. It distributes Fresh Express branded products to food retailers, foodservice distributors, and quick-service restaurants; and fresh produce foodservice offerings primarily to third-party distributors for resale principally to quick-service restaurants in the United States. The Other Produce segment engages in sourcing, marketing, and distributing fresh fruits and vegetables other than bananas in Europe and North America. It offers grapes, pineapples, melons, kiwis, tomatoes, and avocados. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anders Bylund]

  That's why Chiquita Brands International (NYSE: CQB  ) wants to move to Ireland. The fruits and vegetables distributor currently labors under a 41% effective tax rate, so it could use the Emerald Isle's lower base tax.

• [By Michael Lewis]

  In the ever-difficult, commoditized business of produce, Chiquita Brands International (NYSE: CQB  ) has been a constant player, if tro! ubled in recent years. Margin pressure and a shift in industry trends left the company with weak financials and angry shareholders, but in the past 12 months much of that has turned around. In the midst of a restructuring and armed with a (relatively) new CEO, this company is pushing its 52-week highs but may be headed higher. Does the banana brand belong in your portfolio?

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/hot-food-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now-2.html

Top 5 Forestry Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Top 5 Forestry Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Lam Research Corporation(LRCX)

Lam Research Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipments used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The company offers etch products that remove portions of various films from the wafer in the creation of semiconductor devices. Its etch products include dielectric etch, conductor etch, three-dimensional integrated circuit etch, MEMS devices, CMOS image sensors, and power devices for etching process. Lam Research Corporation also provides wafer cleaning steps that comprise post-etch and post-strip cleans, and pre-diffusion and pre-deposition cleans; and single-wafer wet clean and plasma-based bevel clean systems. The company offers its products to semiconductor manufacturers. It operates in the United States, Europe, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and the Asia Pacific. Lam Research Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Markus Aarnio]

  Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits.

• [By Sue Chang and Saumya Vaishampayan]

  $KLAC: KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) shares rose 1.9%. Analysts at J.P. Morgan on Monday initiated coverage of KLA-Tencor and Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) at overweight.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-5-forestry-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now-2.html

Top 5 Oil Stocks To Watch For 2016

Top 5 Oil Stocks To Watch For 2016: Legacy Oil + Gas Inc (LEGPF.PK)

Legacy Oil + Gas Inc. (Legacy) is engaged in exploration, exploitation and development drilling for oil and natural gas reserves. Legacy's wholly owned subsidiary, Legacy Oil & Gas ND, Inc., holds properties and operates in the State of North Dakota. Its Southeast Saskatchewan properties are located in an area ranging from approximately 130 to 290 kilometers southeast of the city of Regina, Saskatchewan. Legacy has an average working interest of approximately 75% in 24,576 gross (18,647 net) acres of undeveloped land at Taylorton. It has an average working interest of approximately 70% in 32,959 gross (22,938 net) acres of undeveloped land in the Viewfield Bakken play with properties at Stoughton, Heward and Star Valley. On January 1, 2011, it amalgamated with its wholly owned subsidiaries Legacy VRI Ltd. and Legacy TV Ltd. In April 2013, it closed the acquisition of Villanova Oil Corp. (Villanova) and the acquisition of light oil assets. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Value Digger]

  To open up new Cardium opportunities, Manitok is also expanding to the Southern Alberta Foothills, where it plans to drill the first well of the farm-in with Legacy Oil & Gas (LEGPF.PK) before year end. Legacy Oil has a 99% average working interest in the Farm-in Lands prior to Manitok earning. Manitok will pay 100% of the cost to drill, complete and equip one horizontal Cardium oil well in order to earn 70% of Legacy's working interest, in a small block of land within the Farm-in Lands. If Manitok drills, completes and equips 3 horizontal Cardium oil wells at 100% of the cost, it will earn the entire 70% of working interest in Legacy's Farm-in Lands.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-oil-stocks-to-watch-for-2016.html

Best Semiconductor Stocks For 2016

Best Semiconductor Stocks For 2016: Intel Corporation(INTC)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) shares soared 42% higher in 2014. Meanwhile, the semiconductor giant's quarterly dividend checks held firm at $0.225 per share, so Intel's dividend yield sank from 3.9% in February to 2.4% in December.

• [By Chris Neiger]

  We've already seen evidence of this. Last year, big IoT players Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) , General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) , and Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR  ) all introduced or expanded their own Internet of Things platforms for managing embedded connections. General Electric opened the Predix platform to a small number of companies, and is making the software available to companies of all sizes in 2015. The company expects to generate $5 billion in revenue from Predix over the next two years.

• [By Tim Brugger]

  "That was then, this is now" is an oft-repeated adage directly applicable to investors seeking new opportunities. The old saying takes on special meaning at this time of year as shareholders look back at their portfolio's performance as a first step in determining what to expect in 2015. After a banner 2014, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) shareholders have much to consider heading into the new year.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-semiconductor-stocks-for-2016.html

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now

LONDON -- The FTSE 100 (FTSEINDICES: ^FTSE  ) slipped further this week as investors worried about the future of economic-stimulus policies. However, it recovered some of those losses today, gaining 1.2%, to end the week down about 2%. That's still a rise of more than 16% over the past 12 months. And there's another way of profiting from shares besides capital gains, too. I'm talking about dividends -- and the recent falls have raised the FTSE's overall dividend yield forecast to 3.3%.

But, if you're selective, you can get a better yield than that, so let's look at three companies that have lifted their dividends this week.

Johnson Matthey (LSE: JMAT  )
Specialist chemicals supplier Johnson Matthey declared a final dividend of 41.5 pence per share on Thursday, taking its total for the year up 4%, to 57 pence (though there is no repeat of last year's 100 pence special dividend). That lift came despite underlying pre-tax profit falling 9% to 389 million pounds, and underlying earnings per share dropping 2%, to 150 pence.,

Hot Industrial Conglomerate Companies To Watch For 2016: Uralkaliy OAO (URALL.PK)

Uralkaliy OAO (Uralkali OJSC) is a Russia-based company, which is engaged in the chemical industry. The Company specializes in the production of potash fertilizers. Its product portfolio comprises pink muriate of potash (PMOP), white muriate of potash (WMOP) and granular (GMOP). The Company is active through representative offices, located in Moscow and Beijing, as well as numerous subsidiaries, located countrywide and in Panama, Belarus, Singapore, Brazil and others. Uralkaliy OAO operates on the potassium and magnesium deposits located in Berezniki, Perm and Saint Petersburg. Its production assets include seven plants and five mines. Uralkaliy OAO sells its products domestically, as well as abroad in over 40 countries, including the United States, China, Brazil, India and South-East Asia, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Gallagher]

  The potash spat continues to get uglier, as Belarus investigators reportedly intend to seize property and assets of Russia's Uralkali (URALL.PK) following the collapse of the joint Russian-Belarussian potash venture.

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Rentech Inc (RTK)

Rentech, Inc. (Rentech), incorporated in 1981, is a provider of clean energy solutions. The Company owns and operates a nitrogen fertilizer plant in East Dubuque, Illinois, that manufactures and sells natural gas-based nitrogen fertilizer products within the corn-belt region in the United States. It is developing energy projects to produce certified synthetic fuels and electric power from carbon-containing materials, such as biomass, waste and fossil resources. Its technologies can produce synthesis gas (syngas) from biomass and waste materials, and convert syngas from its own or other gasification technologies into complex hydrocarbons (the Rentech Process) that are then upgraded into fuels using refining technology that it licenses. In addition to developing projects using these technologies, it is pursuing the licensing of its technologies to developers of projects that are expected to produce fuels and/or power. In May 2011, it acquired majority interest in ClearFuels Technology Inc. In May 2013, Rentech Inc acquired the entire share capital of Fulghum Fibres Inc. In August 2013, Rentech Inc announced that a subsidiary of the Company closed the sale of approximately 450 acres in Natchez, Mississippi to Adams County, Mississippi.

The Rentech Process is a technology based on Fischer-Tropsch (FT) chemistry, which converts syngas that can be produced from a range of biomass, waste and fossil resources into hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons can be processed and upgraded into synthetic fuels, such as military and commercial jet fuels and low sulfur diesel fuel, as well as waxes and chemicals. Unlike some other alternative transportation fuels, such as ethanol, fuels produced from the Rentech Process can be transported and used in existing infrastructure, including pipelines and engines without blending restrictions. Its technology portfolio also includes the Rentech-SilvaGas biomass gasification technology (the Rentech-SilvaGas Technology), which enables it to offer integrated technologies t! hat can convert biomass and wastes to syngas and into clean fuels and electric power.

The Rentech Process can produce synthetic diesel fuels (RenDiesel1 fuels), which are clean burning having lower emissions of regulated pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and particulate matter, than traditional petroleum-based diesel fuels. The Rentech Process also can produce synthetic jet fuel (RenJet fuel), which when blended with conventional jet fuel meet jet fuel specifications for military jet fuel and commercial Jet A and Jet A-1 fuels. It is developing a proposed project near Natchez, Mississippi (the Natchez Project) designed to produce approximately 30,000 barrels per day of synthetic fuels and chemicals and approximately 120 megawatts of power. It is evaluating alternative configurations for the Natchez site, which would initially be smaller in scale. The alternate configurations may use various feed-stocks alone or in various combinations, and include proportions of waxes and chemicals as products.

The Company owns, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Rentech Energy Midwest Corporation (REMC), a nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing plant that uses natural gas as its feedstock to produce syngas and then nitrogen fertilizer products. The products, the Company can produce include renewable synthetic diesel and jet fuels, naphtha and power from biomass resources; synthetic diesel and jet fuels, naphtha and power from fossil or fossil and biomass resources, and paraffinic waxes, solvents and specialty chemicals.

The Company competes with ExxonMobil, the Royal Dutch/Shell group, Statoil, BP and Sasol.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Alternative energy specialist�Rentech� (NASDAQ: RTK  ) �will be�buying back�up to $25 million worth of company stock through the rest of the year, the board of directors announced Monday.

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: LSB Industries Inc (LXU)

LSB Industries, Inc., incorporated on January 21, 1977, is a diversified holding company involved in manufacturing and marketing operations through its subsidiaries. The Company together with its wholly owned subsidiaries owns Chemical Business and Climate Control Business. Chemical Business manufactures and sells nitrogen-based chemical products produced from four facilities located in El Dorado, Arkansas; Cherokee, Alabama; Pryor, Oklahoma, and Baytown, Texas for the agricultural, industrial, and mining markets. Climate Control Business manufactures and sells a range of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) products in the niche markets the Company serves consisting of geothermal and water source heat pumps, hydronic fan coils, large custom air handlers, modular geothermal and other chillers and other related products used to control the environment in commercial/institutional and residential new building construction, renovation of existing buildings and replacement of existing systems. On October 31, 2012, Zena Energy LLC acquired working interests in certain natural gas properties located in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, within the Marcellus Shale.

Chemical Business

The Company�� products in the Chemical Business include high purity and commercial grade anhydrous ammonia for industrial and agricultural applications, industrial and fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate (AN), urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), sulfuric acids, nitric acids in various concentrations, nitrogen solutions, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) and various other products. The Company�� Chemical Business is a supplier to chemical and industrial companies. Its other products include anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate ammonia solution for agricultural applications, blended and regular nitric acid, mixed nitrating acids, and industrial grade AN and solutions for the mining industry. The Company sells hese agricultural products to farmers, ranchers, fertilizer dealers and distributors primarily in the ran! ch land and grain production markets in the United States. The Company�� Chemical Business establishes long-term relationships with wholesale agricultural distributors and retailers and also sells directly to agricultural end-users through its network of wholesale and retail distribution centers. The Company�� Chemical Business manufactures and sells industrial acids and other chemical products primarily to the polyurethane, paper, fibers, fuel additives, emission control, and electronics industries. Its Chemical Business is also a niche market supplier of industrial and high purity ammonia for many specialty applications, including the reduction of air emissions from power plants.

Climate Control Business

The Company�� Climate Control Business manufactures and sells a range of standard and custom designed geothermal and water source heat pumps and hydronic fan coils, as well as custom air handlers and modular chiller systems, including modular geothermal chillers and simultaneous heating and cooling modules. These products are for use in commercial/institutional and residential HVAC systems. Its products are installed in some of the commercial/institutional developments in the United States, including the Prudential Tower, Rockefeller Plaza, Trump Tower, Time Warner Center and many others. In addition, it has presence in the lodging sector with installations in numerous Hyatt, Marriott, Four Seasons, Starwood, Ritz Carlton and Hilton hotels, among others. Its Climate Control Business manufactures and distributes its products from seven facilities located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Company also provides geothermal heat pumps in residential and commercial/institutional applications. Its products are sold to the commercial/institutional markets, as well as single and multi-family residential new construction, renovation and replacements. The Company is a provider of hydronic fan coils targeting commercial and institutional markets. It manufactures its products in many! sizes an! d configurations, as required by the purchaser, to fit the space and capacity requirements of hotels, motels, schools, hospitals, apartment buildings, office buildings and other commercial/institutional or residential structures. The Climate Control Business sells its products primarily to mechanical contractors, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and distributors. Its Climate Control Business market includes commercial/institutional and residential new building construction, renovation of existing buildings and replacement of existing systems.

The Company competes with Agrium, CF Industries, Coffeyville Resources, Dyno Nobel, Koch, Potash Corporation, Yara International, Carrier, Trane, Nortek, McQuay, and Bosch.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  LSB Industries (LXU) manufactures and sells geothermal and water source heat pumps and air handling products and chemical products. This stock closed up 4.6% at $33.72 in Friday's trading session.

  Friday's Volume: 543,000
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 147,784
  
  Volume % Change: 252%

  From a technical perspective, LXU ripped higher here right above some near-term support at $31.45 and back above its 50-day moving average of $32.51 with heavy upside volume. This stock also flirted with its 200-day moving average at $35.22, before closing just below that level at $33.72.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in LXU as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $32.51 and then once it sustains a move or close above its 200-day at $35.22 to Friday's high of $36 with volume that's near or above 147,784 shares. If we get that move soon, then LXU will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $40.37 to $42.79.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  With a market cap of only $893 million, it's not like LSB Industries, Inc. (NYSE:LXU) is the kind of company that garners a ton of attention. On the other hand, over the past several months, LXU has garnered far more attention than it likely wanted. The turbulence seems to be mostly behind it, however, and though the stock is now overbought thanks to the proverbial clearing of the dust, for long-haul investors, LSB Industries may be worth a closer look.

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Tronox Ltd (TROX)

Tronox Limited, incorporated on September 21, 2011, is engaged in production and marketing of titanium bearing mineral sands and titanium dioxide pigment (TiO2). The Company�� TiO2 products are critical components of everyday applications, such as coatings, plastics, paper and other applications. The Company�� mineral sands business consists primarily of two product streams: titanium feedstock and zircon. The Company operates in three segments: mineral sands, pigment and corporate and other. The corporate and other include its electrolytic manufacturing business. It has operations in North America, Europe, South Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. The Company operates three TiO2 facilities at the locations in Hamilton, Mississippi, Botlek, The Netherlands, and Kwinana, Western Australia, representing approximately 465,000 tons of annual TiO2 production capacity. In addition, it operates three separate mining operations: KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Sands located in South Africa, Namakwa Sands located in South Africa and the Tiwest Joint Venture located in Western Australia, which has a combined annual production capacity of approximately 723,000 tons of titanium feedstock and approximately 265,000 tons of zircon. On June 15, 2012, the existing business of Tronox Incorporated was combined with the mineral sands business under Tronox Limited.

Mineral Sand segment

The Company's minerals segment includes the exploration, mining and beneficiation of mineral sands deposits. These operations produce titanium feedstock, including ilmenite, chloride slag, slag fines and rutile, as well as zircon, pig iron and activated charcoal. Titanium feedstock is used primarily to manufacture TiO2. Zircon is a mineral which is primarily used as an opacifier in ceramic glazes for tiles, plates, dishes and industrial products.

Pigment segment

The Company's pigment segment primarily produces and markets TiO2, and has production facilities in the United States, Australia, and the! Netherlands. TiO2 is used in a range of products due to its ability to impart whiteness, brightness and opacity. TiO2 is used in the manufacture of coatings, plastics and paper and in a range of other applications, including inks, fibers, rubber, food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. TiO2 is a critical component of everyday consumer applications due to its superior ability to cover or mask other materials effectively and efficiently relative to alternative white pigments and extenders.

Corporate and other

Corporate and other is comprised of corporate activities and businesses that are no longer in operation, as well as its electrolytic manufacturing and marketing operations, all of which are located in the United States. It�� electrolytic and other chemical products operations are focused on advanced battery materials, sodium chlorate and specialty boron products.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  The “drop” mentioned in this question referred to the correction in the prices of many domestic oil producer shares that I had warned was likely during our November web chat. But on Dec. 14, just two days after our latest chat, Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) suffered a far more worrisome drop. On that day a judge ruled that Anadarko is responsible for at least $5 billion and perhaps up to $14 billion of cleanup costs related to Tronox (NYSE: TROX), which was spun out of Kerr-McGee in 2005 and subsequently declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009.

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Lanxess AG (LXS)

Lanxess AG is a Germany-based chemical holding company. Its activities are divided into three main segments. The Performance Polymers segment encompasses the activities of the Lanxess Group in the production of rubber and plastics, and includes Butyl Rubbers, Performance Butadiene Rubbers, Technical Rubber Products and Semi-Crystalline Products business units. The Advanced Intermediates segment is engaged in the development, production and marketing of industrial and fine chemicals and includes Basic Chemicals and Saltigo business units. The Performance Chemicals segment combines the Group's application-oriented activities in the field of process and functional chemicals, and includes Material Protection Products, Inorganic Pigments, Functional Chemicals, Leather, Rhein Chemie, Rubber Chemicals and Ion Exchange Resins business units. The Company operates worldwide through its subsidiaries. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  ThyssenKrupp AG (TKA), Germany�� largest steelmaker, rose to a five-week high. YOC AG (YOC) surged the most in more than three months after the mobile-phone advertising company said it sold 1.3 million euros ($1.7 million) of shares to increase capital. Lanxess AG (LXS), the chemical maker that joined the DAX in September, retreated 3.4 percent.

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Basf SE (BASFY)

BASF SE is a chemical company. The Company operates in six segments: Chemicals, Plastics, Performance Products, Functional Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. Chemicals segment offers products in the chemical, electronic, construction, textile, automotive, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. Plastics segment offers a range of products, system solutions and services. Performance Products help its customers to improve their products and processes. Functional Solutions segment bundles system solutions and products for customers and industries. The Company�� Agricultural Solutions segment includes crop protection products, which guard against fungal diseases, insects and weeds. Its Oil & gas segment is a producer of oil and gas. On April 9, 2009, the Company acquired Ciba Holding AG. In April 2010, Intertek Group plc acquired the Regulatory and Safety Testing businesses of Ciba Expert Services (Ciba ES) from the Company. In December 2010, the Company completed its acquisition of Cognis Holding GmbH from Cognis Holding Luxembourg S.a r.l.

Chemicals

The Company�� Chemicals segment portfolio ranges from basic chemicals, glues and electronic chemicals for the semiconductor and flat panel display industry, to solvents and plasticizers, as well as starting materials for detergents, plastics, textile fibers, paints, coatings and pharmaceuticals. This segment is organized into three divisions: Inorganics, Petrochemicals and Intermediates. The important basic products of the Inorganics division are ammonia, methanol, sodium hydroxide, chlorine, as well as sulfuric and nitric acid. The Petrochemicals division produces products, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene and benzene, which are produced in steam crackers from naphtha or natural gas. In further processing stages, it produces alcohols, solvents and plasticizers for the chemicals and plastics industries. BASF SE�� Intermediates division develops, produces and markets a range of intermediates of all produc! ers worldwide. The product lines include amines, diols, polyalcohols, acids and specialties. They serve as starting materials for products, such as coatings, plastics, pharmaceuticals, textile fibers, crop protection products, as well as detergents and cleaners.

Plastics

BASF�� Plastics segment is organized into two divisions: Performance Polymers and Polyurethanes. The Performance Polymers division is a supplier of engineering plastics, polyamides and polyamide intermediates, foams and specialty plastics. The Company offers its customers a portfolio of engineering plastics based on polyamide 6 and polyamide 6,6. This is complemented by products Ultradur, Ultraform and Ultrason. For the packaging, textile and food industries, it offers Ultramid, a base product for the manufacturing of fibers and foils. BASF SE�� product range also includes Ecoflex and Ecovio, biodegradable specialty plastics for the packaging industry. Styropor and its refinement Neopor are styrene-based precursors for foams used in insulating material for construction and packaging. The Polyurethanes division is a supplier of basic products, systems and specialties. The Company offers polyurethane products for numerous customer applications. Under brand names, such as Elastoflex and Elastopor, polyurethanes are used, as rigid or flexible foams in construction for furniture and household appliances.

Performance Products

The Performance Products segment consists of the Acrylics & Dispersions, Care Chemicals and Performance Chemicals divisions. Acrylics & Dispersions produces acrylic acid, as well as its derivatives superabsorbents and polymer dispersions. Superabsorbents are used particularly in diapers. Polymer dispersions are used in the production of glues, coatings, nonwoven materials and construction chemicals. The Company�� product portfolio for the paper industry consists of binders, process chemicals and kaolin pigments. Its Care Chemicals portfolio consists of products f! or cleani! ng, care, cosmetics and hygiene. Performance Chemicals pools specialties for various customer industries. The product portfolio consists of antioxidants, pigments, light stabilizers and specialty additives. The division also makes chemicals for the production and finishing of leather and textiles.

Functional Solutions

The Functional Solutions segment consists of the Catalysts, Construction Chemicals and Coatings divisions. The Catalysts division develops catalysts and adsorbents. It produces catalysts that transform pollutants in the exhaust flows of vehicles into harmless chemical and plastics. The Construction Chemicals division is engaged in development of concrete admixtures, such as concrete plasticizers, deferrers and curing agents. It also produces and markets construction systems. The Coatings division is a provider of coatings solutions for automotive and industrial applications. Its brands Glasurit and R-M are for the car refinish business.

Agricultural Solutions

The Agricultural Solutions segment consists of the Crop Protection division. The Company develops and produces active ingredients and formulations for the improvement of crop health and yields, and markets them worldwide. Its portfolio includes fungicides, insecticides, herbicides and seed treatments. Its product Headline contains the active ingredient F500, which is not only used for corn and soybean, but also for numerous other crops.

Oil & Gas

BASF�� oil and gas activities are bundled in the Wintershall Group. Wintershall and its subsidiaries operate in the business sectors exploration and production, and natural gas trading. In the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, the Company focuses on oil and gas regions in Europe, North Africa and South America, as well as Russia and the Caspian Sea region. The Mittelplate oil field in the North Sea tidal flats is the cornerstone of the Company�� oil production in Germany. Wintershall and RWE-D! EA each h! old a 50% interest in this field. During the year ended December 31, 2009, it acquired 25% interest in Cuxhaven concession. It operates 26 offshore platforms in Mittelplate region, of which 19 are actually controlled. In Libya, Wintershall operates eight onshore oil fields in the concessions 96 and 97 and exploits the associated gas released during crude oil production in a gas utilization plant for the local demand. In Mauritania, it operates two onshore exploration blocks. In 2008, Wintershall acquired stakes of 50% each in two exploration areas in the Canadon Asfalto Basin. It supplies Germany and several other European countries. The gas pipeline network operated by WINGAS TRANSPORT connects the markets in Western Europe with a natural gas infrastructure that runs through Eastern Europe and the Russian Federation all the way to the gas fields in Siberia. Other components portfolio include natural gas storage facility in Western Europe, in Rehdn, Germany, and the natural gas storage facility in Haidach, Austria.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  It was only a matter of time. Last month BASF (NASDAQOTH: BASFY  ) , the world's largest chemical company, announced three separate developments that will thrust it from being a mediocre player in industrial enzymes to a dominant force. BASF acquired Henkel's detergent enzyme technology, licensed the C1 biotechnology platform from Dyadic, and befriended Direvo Industrial Biotechnology from Germany for a next-generation animal feed enzyme.

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Firms across Germany's DAX have caught on. BASF (NASDAQOTH: BASFY  ) shares haven't had a great year so far, but the world's largest chemicals firm is looking around the world for growth. The company seeks to double its customer base in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020 in its chemicals and materials business, projecting sales in Asia to double from last year's 12.5 million euros to 25 million euros by that year. That kind of global growth will benefit investors, and the less BASF and other German stocks rely on Europe for sales, the better shareholders will do.

Best Forestry Companies To Buy Right Now

Best Forestry Companies To Buy Right Now: National-Oilwell Inc.(NOV)

National Oilwell Varco, Inc. designs, constructs, manufactures, and sells systems, components, and products used in oil and gas drilling and production; provides oilfield services and supplies; and distributes products, and provides supply chain integration services to the upstream oil and gas industry worldwide. Its Rig Technology segment offers offshore and onshore drilling rigs; derricks; pipe lifting, racking, rotating, and assembly systems; rig instrumentation systems; coiled tubing equipment and pressure pumping units; well workover rigs; wireline winches; wireline trucks; cranes; and turret mooring systems and other products for floating production, storage and offloading vessels, and other offshore vessels and terminals. The company?s Petroleum Services & Supplies segment provides various consumable goods and services to drill, complete, remediate, and workover oil and gas wells and service pipelines, flowlines, and other oilfield tubular goods. It also manufacture s, rents, and sells products and equipment for drilling operations, including drill pipe, wired drill pipe, transfer pumps, solids control systems, drilling motors, drilling fluids, drill bits, reamers and other downhole tools, and mud pump consumables. In addition, this segment provides oilfield tubular services comprising the provision of inspection and internal coating services; equipment for drill pipe, line pipe, tubing, casing, and pipelines; and coiled tubing pipes and composite pipes. Its Distribution Services segment sells maintenance, repair and operating supplies, and spare parts to drill site and production locations. The company primarily serves drilling contractors, shipyards and other rig fabricators, well servicing companies, pressure pumping companies, oil and gas companies, supply stores, and pipe-running service providers. National Oilwell Varco, Inc. was founded in 1862 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dimitra DeFotis]

  The market seems to be showing fatigue particularly with positive onshore oil service data points that may nolonger seem incremental. Investors have become especially focused on potential issues and macro concerns. We believe this phaseof enhanced risk perceptions will pass and still recommend owning selective stocks based on attractive valuations and healthyfundamentals. Of the 16 oilfield services companies having reported their quarters to date, the share price changes have at timesbeen difficult to tie to specific results. … Five of the 12 companies who have beaten earnings expectations have seen their share prices drop on the day, including Basic Energy Services (BAS) (-9.0%), Baker Hughes (BHI) (-2.5%), National Oilwell Varco (NOV) (-1.5%), Oceaneering (OII) (-4.2%), and Schlumberger (SLB) (-2.0%). Other stocks beating expectations have traded higher as expected, including Cameron International (CAM) (+4.1%), FMC Technologies (FTI) (+3.1%), Mitcham In dustries (MIND) (+3.8%), Nabors Industries (NBR) (+1.2%), Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) (+1.8%), RPC (RES) (+8.4%), and Weatherford International (WFT) (+2.3%). Companies which have missed have universally seen their share prices decline, including Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO) (-4.3%), Gulfmark Offshore (GLF) (-0.1%), and Hercules Offshore (HERO) (-6.9%). Halliburton (HAL) was in line and flat on the day.

• [By Chris Neiger]

  1. National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV  ) -- Diversity score of 15: This oil and gas component and equipment company received the third-lowest rating in the report, partly because it was one of only two companies in the study that doesn't have any diversity on its board of directors. In addition, National Oilwell Varco has no women or minorities in the C-suite, as a Forbes overview on the report noted earlier this year. . When it comes to diversity, oil and gas companies typically tend to fall behind other industries.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/best-forestry-companies-to-buy-right-now-2.html

Top 10 Railroad Stocks To Own Right Now

Top 10 Railroad Stocks To Own Right Now: Dendreon Corporation(DNDN)

Dendreon Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics to enhance cancer treatment options for patients. The company offers active cellular immunotherapy and small molecule product candidates to treat various cancers. Its product candidates comprise Provenge (sipuleucel-T), an active cellular immunotherapy for the treatment of metastatic, castrate-resistant prostate cancer; DN24-02, an investigational active immunotherapy for the treatment of patients with bladder, breast, ovarian, and other solid tumors expressing HER2/neu; and TRPM8, a small molecule agonist to transient receptor potential ion channel, for multiple cancers. The company also has a range of products in preclinical studies, which include Carcinoembryonic antigen for the treatment of lung, colon, and breast cancer; and Carbonic AnhydraseIX for the treatment of kidney cancer. Dendreon Corporation was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in S eattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  On Tuesday, small cap biopharmaceutical company Epizyme Inc (NASDAQ: EPZM) surged 75.56% after the company announced that itsEPZ-5676, a DOT1L inhibitor for acute leukemias, had reached its proof-of-concept milestone, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock as well as look at the share performance of cancer stocks like large cap Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) and small capsDendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) and Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN).

• [By Sean Williams]

  Not to sound like a broken record, but Dendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN  ) shareholders received some much-awaited positive news, and they have the EMA's panel to thank. The CHMP recommended that Dendreon's cellular immunotherapy treatment Provenge be approved in the EU for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Dendreon has been bleed! ing money because of Provenge's high price tag in the U.S., which caused insurers to shy away from covering the three-course treatment, and from increased competition. It remains to be seen if this will be too little, too late for Dendreon, but it's nonetheless a big stepping stone toward an expected EU approval.

• [By Sean Williams]

  This week's winner
  Although there was no company-specific news out ofDendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN  ) this week, following weeks of poor performance, it tacked on 8.7%. Presentations at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting two weeks ago certainly helped to excite investors with regard to the potential of immunotherapy stocks, but Dendreon needs a lot more help than what a few early and mid-stage studies can offer. If Dendreon is to keep this rally going, it'll need decisively positive data on advanced prostate cancer treatment Provenge in Europe. We should certainly know more about its progress in Europe within the next few months.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-10-railroad-stocks-to-own-right-now-3.html

Hot Information Technology Companies To Watch In Right Now

Hot Information Technology Companies To Watch In Right Now: Accenture plc. (ACN)

Accenture plc provides management consulting, technology, and business process outsourcing services worldwide. It offers various management consulting services in the areas of finance and enterprise performance, operations, risk management, sales and customer service, strategy, sustainability, and talent and organization management, as well as provides industry-specific management consulting services. The company also offers system integration consulting services and solutions, including enterprise solutions and enterprise resource planning, industry and functional solutions, information management services, custom solutions, and Microsoft solutions; and technology consulting services and solutions comprising information technology (IT) strategy, infrastructure consulting, IT security consulting, and application modernization and optimization. In addition, it provides technology outsourcing services, which include application outsourcing services; infrastructure outsourcin g services in service desk, workplace, data-center, network, security, and IT spend management service areas; cloud computing services; and mobility and embedded software services. Further, the company provides business process outsourcing (BPO) services for business functions and/or processes, including finance and accounting, human resources, learning and procurement, and others, as well as industry-specific BPO services, such as credit services. It serves communications, electronics and high technology, media and entertainment, banking, capital markets, insurance, health, public service, airlines, freight and logistics, automotive, consumer goods and service, industrial equipment, infrastructure and transportation service, life sciences, retail, chemical, energy, natural resources, and utility industries. Accenture plc has a strategic! collaboration with Marriott International, Inc. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.20 per share on revenue of $7.69 billion.

  Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) is projected to post its Q2 earnings at $0.70 per share on revenue of $7.15 billion.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.20 per share on revenue of $7.69 billion. Accenture shares gained 0.23% to $85.50 in after-hours trading.

• [By Robert Abbott]

  It has developed strategic alliances and partnerships with other major players, including SAP (SAP), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Oracle Corporation (ORCL), Accenture plc (ACN), and Deloitte Consulting LLC.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-information-technology-companies-to-watch-in-right-now.html

Hot Healthcare Equipment Companies To Buy For 2015

In a bid to strengthen its presence in Morocco, International Business Machines Corp (IBM) will setup a new Global Delivery Center in Casablanca. This initiative is expected to create approximately 400 jobs in the country over the next three years.

Through this delivery center, the IT bellwether will deliver solutions and services to its growing clientele in the region, including solutions related to big data, cloud and mobile. Currently, the company provides IT support to a number of government institutions and private organizations in Morocco.

The new center is in accordance with the company�� extensive expansion policy in Africa. In 2012, IBM opened its second branch office in Rabat, Morocco. Apart from this, the company�� Innovation and Technical Exploration Center in the city of Casablanca has been operational since 2008. The company operates through more than 20 offices across the continent. By 2015, it expects to expand its operations to at least 50 cities across the continent.

5 Best Supermarket Stocks To Buy For 2016: Dyax Corp.(DYAX)

Dyax Corp., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel biotherapeutics for unmet medical needs in the United States. The company utilizes its proprietary drug discovery technology, known as phage display, to identify antibody, small protein, and peptide compounds. It markets KALBITOR (ecallantide) for the treatment of acute attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in patients 16 years of age and older. Dyax Corp. also provides KALBITOR Access program, which offers treatment support service for patients with HAE and their healthcare providers. In addition, the company is developing a pipeline of 17 product candidates, including 4 product candidates in Phase III clinical trial, 4 product candidates in Phase II clinical trial, and 9 product candidates in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of atherosclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and oncology diseases. Further, it provides library licenses to use its phage display libr aries in connection with their internal therapeutic development programs; performs funded research for various collaborators; and offers patent licenses to other biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical companies to use its phage display patents to discover and develop biologic compounds for use in specified fields. The company has strategic partnership agreement with Defiante Farmaceutica S.A. to develop and commercialize subcutaneous ecallantide for the treatment of HAE and other therapeutic indications in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Russia; an agreement with CMIC Co., Ltd to develop and commercialize subcutaneous ecallantide for the treatment of HAE and other angioedema indications in Japan; and an license and collaboration agreement with Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop and commercialize the formulation of ecallantide for the reduction of blood loss during surgery in North America and Europe. Dyax Corp. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Cambri dge, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Dyax (NASDAQ: DYAX) shares tumbled 9.85 percent to $9.15 after the company priced 8 million shares at $9.25 per share.

  Raptor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RPTP) was down, falling 20.45 percent to $11.77 after the company reported Q4 results. Raptor Pharmaceutical posted a Q4 loss of $0.20 per share, versus the projected loss of $0.16 per share.

Hot Healthcare Equipment Companies To Buy For 2015: Triad Guaranty Inc (TGICQ)

Triad Guaranty Inc., incorporated in 1993, is a holding company which, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Triad Guaranty Insurance Corporation (TGIC), is a nationwide mortgage insurer. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Collateral Mortgage, Ltd. (CHL) owns 16.8% of the common stock of TGI. The Company has historically provided Primary and Modified Pool mortgages guaranty insurance coverage on United States residential mortgage loans.

Primary insurance provides mortgage default protection to lenders on individual loans and covers a percentage of unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest and certain expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure (collectively, the insured amount or claim amount). Primary insurance was written on both flow and structured bulk transactions. Flow transactions consisted of loans originated by lenders that were submitted to the Company on a loan-by-loan basis, whereas structured bulk transactions involved underwriting and insuring a group of loans with individual coverage for each loan. Insurance on primary policies consists of 80% of the Company's total insurance in force at December 31, 2011.

Modified Pool insurance was written only on structured bulk transactions. Policies insured as part of a Modified Pool transaction have individual coverage, but an aggregate stop-loss limit applies to the entire group of insured loans. In addition, some of the Modified Pool transactions included deductibles representing a percentage of the total risk originated under which the Company pays no claims until the losses exceed the deductible amount. Modified Pool insurance consists of 20% of the Company's total insurance in force at December 31, 2011.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Zachary Tracer]

  Mortgage insurers PMI and Triad Guaranty Inc. (TGICQ) filed for bankruptcy after housing crashed. Old Republic International Corp. also retreated from the mortgage guaranty business.

Hot Healthcare Equipment Companies To Buy For 2015: New York Mortgage Trust Inc.(NYMT)

New York Mortgage Trust, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. The company engages in acquiring, investing, financing, and managing mortgage-related assets. It primarily invests in agency residential adjustable-rate, hybrid adjustable-rate, and fixed-rate mortgage-backed securities (RMBS); non-Agency RMBS; prime adjustable-rate residential mortgage loans held in securitization trusts; commercial mortgage-backed securities; commercial mortgage loans; and other commercial real estate-related debt investments. The company has elected to be taxed as a REIT and will not be subject to federal income tax if it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its stockholders. New York Mortgage Trust, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Amanda Alix]

  More mREITs stay the course, but two trim payouts
  Despite suffering many tumbles and bruises, several mREITs have announced that their dividends will be unchanged from the previous quarter. Several did so last week, and yesterday saw Hatteras Financial (NYSE: HTS  ) , an agency-only trust, keeping its own $0.70 per share�payout the same. Hybrid New York Mortgage Trust (NASDAQ: NYMT  ) also kept its dividend stable, at $0.27 per share, in line with its four most recent distributions.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Investors are being rewarded for putting their trust in New York Mortgage Trust (NASDAQ: NYMT  ) . The REIT has declared a common stock dividend for its current quarter of $0.27 per share, to be paid on July 25 to shareholders of record as of June 28. That amount matches each of the company's preceding four distributions, the most recent of which was doled out at the end of April. Before that, it paid $0.25 per share.

• [By Susan J. Aluise]

  LEN stock is only up about 3% in 2014, but it’s clearly a growth play. With a price-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio of just 0.6 and a forward P/E of a little more than�12, LEN stock looks undervalued now. LEN pays a nominal dividend with a 0.4% current yield, but the company knows its market and is positioning its new properties well, so LEN promises to be a solid buy-and-hold stock.

  REIT:�New York Mortgage�(NYMT)

  There are two basic types of REITs –�those that hold real property and those that hold mortgages on property (mortgage or mREITs). Among mREITs, New York Mortgage�(NYMT)�is a so-called ��ybrid mREIT�� meaning that it holds a combination of federally guaranteed (agency) and non-agency debt, like commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS).

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  Next Page

  Preferred Stocks: New York Mortgage Trust (NYMT)

  Dividend Yield: 8.2%

  New York Mortgage Trust (NYMT) is a mortgage real estate investment trust, or mREIT, that acquires, invests in, finances and manages mortgage related securities. These mREITs are very much tied to interest rates, so while rates are low, the stocks will do well. NYMT common stock, in fact, yields more than 14%. Yet that�� why I would choose the New York Mortgage Trust 7.75% Preferred Series B (NYMTP).

Hot Healthcare Equipment Companies To Buy For 2015: Pioneer Floating Rate Trust(PHD)

Pioneer Floating Rate Trust is closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Pioneer Investment Management, Inc. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund primarily invests in senior secured floating-rate loans. It invests in fixed income securities with average credit quality of B. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan Index. Pioneer Floating Rate Trust was formed on October 6, 2004 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Dowdee]

  The following 10 funds satisfied all of these conditions:

  BlackRock Float Rate Strategies (FRA). This CEF sells at a discount of 3%, which is low compared to an average premium of 2% over the past year. The distribution has been managed at 6.1% and a small amount (less than 10%) has been return of capital (ROC). However, this has not negatively affected net asset value (NAV) so has not been destructive. The fund holds 447 securities, with 90% in floating rate loans. FRA utilizes 27% leverage and has an expense ratio of 1.7%, including interest payments. Eaton Vance Floating Rate (EFR). This CEF sells at a 1% premium, which is low compared to an average premium of 5% over the past year. The distribution is 6.2%, none of which was ROC. The fund holds 800 securities, with 90% in floating rate loans. About 85% of the securities are from U.S. companies. EFR utilizes 35% leverage and has an expense ratio of 1.8% including interest payments. ING Prime Rate Trust (PPR). This CEF sells for a premium of 2%, which is below the average premium of 5%. It has a distribution of 6.8%, none of which was ROC. The fund has 350 holdings, virtually all in senior loans and from US companies. PPR utilizes 29% leverage and has a high expense ratio of 2.1%, including interest payments. Invesco VK Dynamic Credit Opportunities (VTA). This CEF sells for a discount of 5%, which is below the average discount of 1%. It has a distribution of 7.1%, none of which was ROC. The fund has 495 holdings, with 76% in floating rate loans. About 25% of the loans are from non-US companies. VTA utilizes a relatively low 20% leverage but still has a high expense ratio of 2.1%, including interest payments. Invesco VK Senior Income (VVR). This CEF sells for a discount of 1%, which is below the average premium of 3%. It has a distribution of 7.1%, none of which was ROC. The fund has over 500 holdings, with 89% in floating rate loans. Almost all (95%) securities are from US companies. VVR ut

Best Shipping Stocks To Own For 2016

Best Shipping Stocks To Own For 2016: Celldex Therapeutics Inc(CLDX)

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development, manufacture, and commercialization of novel therapeutics for human health care primarily in the United States. The company markets Rotarix to treat rotavirus infection. Its lead drug candidate, rindopepimut (CDX-110), is an immunotherapeutic vaccine in Phase III clinical trial to target the tumor-specific molecule, epidermal growth factor receptor variant III, as well as in Phase II clinical trial for the indication of recurrent glioblastoma. The company?s other lead drug candidates comprise CDX-011, an antibody-drug conjugate in Phase IIb clinical trial for metastatic breast cancer and melanoma indication; and CDX-1127, a human monoclonal antibody in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of lymphoma/leukemia and solid tumors. Its additional clinical and preclinical programs consist of CDX-1401, an Antigen Presenting Cells Targeting Technology program in Phase I/II clinical trial to tr eat multiple solid tumors; and CDX-301, an immune cell mobilizing agent and dendritic cell growth factor in Phase I clinical for treating cancer, autoimmune disease, and transplant. The company?s preclinical products include CDX-1135, a molecule for treating renal disease; and CDX-014, a human monoclonal antibody-drug conjugate for the treatment of ovarian and renal cancer. It has research collaboration and license agreements with Medarex, Inc.; Rockefeller University; Duke University Brain Tumor Cancer Center; Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research; Alteris Therapeutics, Inc.; Thomas Jefferson University; 3M Company; University of Southampton; Amgen Inc.; Amgen Fremont; and Seattle Genetics, Inc. Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CLDX) gained 12.91 percent to $32.70 after a bullish report out o! f Leerink Swann.

  Shares of Pandora (NYSE: P) lost 10.11 percent to $24.26 as traders looked to take profit on the stock after shares posted a massive rally over the past 3 weeks.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  A week ago, yours truly recommended adding EnteroMedics Inc. (NASDAQ:ETRM), Arrowhead Research Corp. (NASDAQ:ARWR), and Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLDX) to your watchlist, all as bullish candidates. Although ETRM was a bust, CLDX and ARWR are both still compelling. In fact, those two survivors merit an updated look, as each has moved further along its bullish path, and each looks like it's itching to put the pedal to the metal.

• [By Harry Boxer]

  HARRY:  There are an awful lot of stocks that I’ve recommended this year that have done great, but a lot of them had big runs.  The stock I like now is Celldex (CLDX); another one is ACAD.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Acorda has dropped 6.3% to $33.12 today at 2pm, while MannKind has gained 5.1% to $5.37. Vertexs Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has gained 3.3% to $73.25, Celldex Therapeutics (CLDX) has jumped 2.4% to $27.86 and Gilead Sciences (GILD) has ticked up 0.8% to $63.18.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/best-shipping-stocks-to-own-for-2016.html

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Watch In Right Now

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Watch In Right Now: Etablissements Maurel et Prom SA (MAU)

Etablissements Maurel et Prom SA is a France-based company engaged in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons (oil and gas), and in oil drilling activities. Its main activities comprise geological surveys, seismic acquisition and processing, geophysical interpretation and drilling. The Company pursues its activities mainly in Africa and Latin America, but it also has its businesses in Gabon, Senegal, Congo, Mozambique, Syria, Tanzania, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, France and Italy. Maurel & Prom SA operates through its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including M&P Venezuela SAS, Prestoil Kouilou, Maurel & Prom Peru Holdings, Maurel & Prom Tanzanie Ltd and Panther Eureka SRL, among others. In December, 2013, the Company the acquisition of all of the shares of Caroil SAS (excluding the South American business of Caroil) from Tuscany International Drilling Inc. and has sold all of its 109,000,000 common shares of Tuscany to an entity incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Riddhi Kharkia]

  Since I have touched the topic of metrics, it is worthwhile to note that Twitter's monthly active users (MAU) number stands at 57 million as compared to approximately 1.23 billion MAUs for Facebook. Monthly active user growth ticked up just 6% for Twitter on a sequential basis, while monthly active users fell 8% year over year. Even in terms of quarterly results, Facebook was miles ahead of Twitter, which was also a factor behind the sell-off in Twitter stock.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-integrated-utility-companies-to-watch-in-right-now.html

Top 10 China Companies To Own For 2016

Top 10 China Companies To Own For 2016: Spreadtrum Communications Inc.(SPRD)

Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops, and markets baseband processor and RF transceiver solutions for wireless communications and mobile television markets. It offers a portfolio of integrated baseband processor solutions that support a range of wireless communications standards, including global system for mobile communication (GSM), general packet radio service (GPRS), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), and high speed packet access (HSPA), as well as offer an array of multimedia capabilities, such as MP3 digital audio playback, touch screen, JAVA acceleration, digital camera support, motion JPEG, MPEG4, AVS and H.264 digital video playback, and 64-channel polyphonic ringtone playback. The company also provides single-chip CMOS multi-mode RF transceivers that perform across various standards covering GSM/GP RS, EDGE, wideband code division multiple access, TD-SCDMA, and high speed uplink/downlink packet access. In addition, it designs, develops, and markets a CMMB-based channel demodulator and audio/video decoder processor solution for the mobile television market. The company sells its products directly, as well as through distributors to brand manufacturers, independent design houses, and original design manufacturers primarily in China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By FinanceGuru]

  The Chinese market no doubt is huge, but Skyworks is expected to face competition from Spreadtrum Communications (SPRD), which supplies TD-SCDMA, the 3G standard used by China Mobile. Currently, Spreadtrum is a primary s! upplier to local Chinese firms and analysts suggest that it supplies to two of the biggest Chinese smartphone companies, Huawei and ZTE, which strengthens its position.

• [By Bloomberg News]

  The Bloomberg China-US 55 Index (CH55BN), the measure of the most- traded U.S.-listed Chinese companies, added 0.2 percent in New York yesterday. Spreadtrum Communications Inc. (SPRD) gained after Bank of America Corp. said rising smartphone use will boost Asian semiconductor makers.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of Chinese smartphone chip maker Spreadtrum Communications (NASDAQ: SPRD  ) surged 17% today after Tsinghua University, through its subsidiary Tsinghua Unigroup, offered to acquire it for $1.4 billion.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-china-companies-to-own-for-2016.html

Wal-Mart's Latest Sale?

The following video is from Thursday's Investor Beat, in which host Chris Hill, and analysts Charly Travers and Matt Argersinger dissect the hardest-hitting investing stories of the day.

Shares of Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT  ) fell on Thursday after the retailer reported a decline in same-store sales. Wal-Mart also lowered guidance for the current quarter. Shares of Wal-Mart have beaten the market over the last one, two, and five years. In this installment of Investor Beat, Motley Fool analysts Matt Argersinger and Charly Travers discuss the future of Wal-Mart.

The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they'll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool's special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.

The relevant video segment can be found between 0:15 and 2:02.

Top 10 Regional Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now

Top 10 Regional Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Ishares Trust United States Treasury (TIP)

iShares Lehman TIPS Bond Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the inflation-protected sector of the United States Treasury market as defined by the Lehman Brothers U.S. Treasury TIPS Index (the Index). The Index includes all publicly issued, the United States Treasury inflation-protected securities that have at least one-year remaining to maturity, are rated investment grade and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. In addition, the securities must be denominated in United States dollars and must be fixed-rate and non-convertible securities.

The Index is a market capitalization-weighted index. The Fund invests in a representative sample of the securities in the Index, which has a similar investment profile as the Index. The Funds investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  In recent years, though, investors have discounted the potential impact of inflation on their portfolios. Consider these facts:

  Gold is the traditional safe-haven investment for those who believe that inflation will take away the purchasing power of paper currency. Yet the plunge in gold prices has led to a mass exodus of investor interest in gold, with the popular SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: GLD  ) losing billions of dollars not just due to price declines but also as investors have taken money out of the ETF entirely. Inflation-indexed bonds like the Treasury's TIPS have climbed so far in price that their real inflation-adjusted yields are negative, even for bonds that don't mature for another 20 years. That's been excellent news for existing investors in iShares Barclays TIPS Bond (NYSEMKT: TIP  ) and similar inflation-indexed bond investments, but it presents no inflation protection for those considering purchases now. The sol! e fly in the inflation ointment has come from energy prices, with gasoline and heating-oil prices having remained stubbornly high despite plentiful domestic production from unconventional plays as refiners Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX  ) , Valero (NYSE: VLO  ) , and others have greatly boosted their exports of refined products rather than letting Americans reap the benefits of high supply. Yet even the oil market has seen international spreads narrow, and gasoline prices have finally started to come down modestly, providing further downward pressure on inflation.

  Based on the conventional understanding of inflation, you'd think that all these signs of its demise were a good thing. The truth is far less clear.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  But bond investments have seen huge losses. Consider how broad-based the bond-market massacre has been:

  Broad measures of the overall bond market have shown definite signs of weakness, with iShares Core U.S. Bond (NYSEMKT: AGG  ) falling more than 3% since the end of April and the actively managed PIMCO Total Return (NYSEMKT: BOND  ) down almost 4% over that time frame. Longer-term-focused bonds have posted even worse results, with iShares 20+ Treasury (NYSEMKT: TLT  ) having fallen more than 8% since late April. Inflation-protected bonds are generally seen providing some defense against rising interest rates, but iShares Barclays TIPS Bond (NYSEMKT: TIP  ) has fallen by more than 7%. Even niche areas of the bond market have seen big losses, with the municipal-bond-focused iShares S&P Municipal Bond (NYSEMKT: MUB  ) down almost 5%, while the emerging-market bond ETF WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt has fallen 10%.

  A combination of factors has led to some of these declines, with the strong U.S. dollar hurting international bonds. But the driving force behind all of the drops comes from rising interest rates, and investors need to understand the threat that th! ose rates! pose to the future of their bond investments.

• [By Chuck Saletta]

  Where to invest?
  There are countless possibilities for building your retirement portfolio to cover Social Security's gap, depending on your personal risk tolerance, timeline, and need for cash. Here are decent index-style ETFs across various asset types to consider when building your plan:

  Domestic stocks. The Vanguard Total Market (NYSEMKT: VTI  ) ETF is a one-stop-shop that gives you access to around 99.5% by market cap of the publicly held U.S. stocks traded on major exchanges. A mere 3% turnover and microscopically low 0.05% expense ratio makes this a low-cost way to invest in the overall stock market. Investment-grade bonds. The iShares iBoxx $Invest Grade Corp Bond (NYSEMKT: LQD  ) ETF owns nearly $24 billion worth of investment-grade corporate bonds. A small 4% turnover and low 0.15% expense ratio make this a low-cost way to get bond exposure. Real estate. The SPDR Dow Jones REIT (NYSEMKT: RWR  ) ETF has a bit over $2 billion invested in real estate investment trusts, attempting to match the Dow Jones Select REIT index. With a reasonable 7% turnover and a still pretty low 0.25% expense ratio, this is a reasonable way to get real estate exposure without turning yourself into a landlord. Foreign stocks. Vanguard's Total International Stock Index (NASDAQ: VXUS  ) ETF has nearly $90 billion in foreign stocks under its control, owning pieces of more than 6,100 stocks from 45 countries. With a mere 3% turnover and low 0.16% expense ratio, it's one of the lowest-cost ways to get your hands on foreign companies without being an international accounting expert. Inflation-protected government bonds. The iShares Barclays TIPS Bond (NYSEMKT: TIP  ) ETF has around $20 billion invested in U.S. Treasury inflation-protected bonds. With a low expense ratio of 0.2% and a reasonable 10% turnover rate, it's a decent way to get exposure to inflation-pr! otected b! onds. Note, though, that
• [By Dan Caplinger]

  But lately, prices of existing TIPS have plunged, and that has sent real yields back into positive territory. TIPS with a 10-year maturity yield about 0.5%, while 20-year TIPS pay almost 1% above inflation and 30-years are yielding about 1.25% in real terms. Similarly, the TIPS ETF iShares Barclays TIPS Bond (NYSEMKT: TIP  ) has lost about 7.5% of its share-price value since the beginning of May, but its average real yield to maturity has gotten back to the break-even point.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-regional-bank-companies-to-invest-in-right-now-2.html

Best Semiconductor Stocks For 2015

What a difference a better explanation makes!

After a month of topsy-turvy trading on the heels of comments from the Federal Reserve that it may soon scale back QE3 -- its $85 billion monthly bond-buying program meant to keep lending rates near historic lows -- Ben Bernanke did his best mea culpa to calm the markets. With economic data signaling the potential for further stimulus, Bernanke's comments helped calm skittish markets into one of the best gains of the year -- and, subsequently, another record high for the broad-based S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) .

By the end of the day, the S&P 500 had eclipsed yet another all-time record closing high, rising by 22.40 points (1.36%), to close at 1,675.02. This also marked its 10th gain in the past 12 sessions, and completely wiped out June's minor correction.

Leading today's big gains is semiconductor chip maker Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD  ) , which leapt 11.8% after two analyst rating upgrades. Vivek Arya at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch upped his rating on AMD to buy, from underperform, while boosting his price target to $6, from $2.50. Similarly, Canaccord Genuity analyst Bobby Burleson raised his rating to buy, from hold, and upped his price target to $5, from $3. Based on yesterday's closing value, both price targets implied upside of 51% and 26%, respectively. With key processing wins in both new gaming consoles, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, AMD's fortunes could be just months from turning around.

Top 10 Trucking Companies To Watch For 2016: Ambarella Inc (AMBA)

Ambarella, Inc., incorporated on January 15, 2004, is a developer of semiconductor processing solutions for video that enable high-definition (HD), video capture, sharing and display. The Company combine its processor design capabilities with its video and image processing, algorithms and software to provide a technology platform. It sells solutions into the camera and infrastructure markets, with approximately 27 million system-on-a-chips (SoCs) shipped since our inception. In the camera market, its solutions enable the creation of video content for wearable sports cameras, automotive aftermarket cameras, Internet Protocol (IP), security cameras, digital still cameras (DSCs), telepresence cameras, camcorders and pocket video cameras. In the infrastructure market, its solutions manage IP video traffic, broadcast encoding and IP video delivery applications. In 2012, the Company released its Wireless Camera Developers Kit. In 2012, it also launched S2 SoC, which enables Ultra High-Definition IP security cameras.

The Company sells its solutions to original design manufacturers (ODMs), and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), globally. In the camera market, its video processing solutions are designed into products from OEMs, including Robert Bosch GmbH and affiliated entities, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Woodman Labs, Inc., doing business as (d/b/a) GoPro, or GoPro, who source its solutions from ODMs, including Ability Enterprise Co., Ltd., Asia Optical Co. Inc., Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd., DXG Technology Corp., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. and Sky Light Digital Ltd. In the infrastructure market, its solutions are designed into products from OEMs, including Harmonic Inc., Motorola Mobility, Inc. (owned by Google, Inc.) and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, who source its solutions from ODMs, such as Plexus Corp.

AmbaClear

The Company�� image signal processing architecture, known as AmbaClear, incorporates advanced algorithms to convert raw senso! r data to high-resolution still and high-definition video images concurrently. Image processing algorithms include sensor, lens and color correction, demosaicing, which is a process used to reconstruct a full color image from incomplete color samples, noise filtering, detail enhancement and image format conversion.

AmbaCast

The Company�� HD video processing architecture, known as AmbaCast, incorporates advanced algorithms for motion estimation, motion-compensated temporal filtering, mode decision and rate control. It supports all three compression profilesbaseline, main and highas specified in the H.264 standard. Its solutions for the broadcast infrastructure market allow OEMs to offer both the H.264 and MPEG-2 encoding formats.

Design Methodology

The Company test and verify its algorithms on its architectural model prior to implementing algorithms in hardware. Its advanced verification methodology validates its approach through simultaneous modeling of architecture, algorithms and the hardware itself.

SoC Solution

The Company�� SoC designs integrate HD video processing, image processing, applications processing and system functions onto a single chip, delivering video and image quality with features, including advanced wireless connectivity. In addition, its SoCs integrate mixed signal (analog/digital) functionality and high speed interfaces required for interfacing to advanced high-speed CMOS sensors and industry standard interfaces, such as USB 2.0 and HDMI 1.4. Its A7L SoC, which it introduced in September 2011, is fabricated in edge 32 nanometer (nm) process technology and integrates AmbaClear and AmbaCast technology.

Software Development Kit for Connectivity

The Company�� video streaming technology enables the camera�� image to be previewed on a smartphone. To enable this functionality, end customers deploy its Wireless Camera Developer�� Kit, or the Kit, which enables the design of ca! meras tha! t combine still photography and Full HD video with wireless video streaming to smartphones. The Kit is available for its A7L SoC product family, providing full 1080p60 HD video with photography and low power consumption.

The Company competes with CSR Plc, Fujitsu Limited, HiSilicon Technologies Co., Ltd., Texas Instruments Incorporated, Canon Inc., Panasonic Corporation, Sony Corporation, Novatek Microelectronics Corp., Sunplus Technology Co. Ltd., Intel Corporation, Magnum Semiconductor, Inc., Texas Instruments Incorporated, Broadcom Corporation, NVIDIA Corporation, Qualcomm Incorporated and Samsung.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Ambarella (NASDAQ: AMBA) was down, falling 9.59 percent to $32.19 after Needham downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold.

  Commodities
  In commodity news, oil traded down 0.85 percent to $92.87, while gold traded down 0.63 percent to $1,221.90.

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  120% on Ambarella Inc. (Nasdaq: AMBA), recommended on Aug. 8 at $16.60. The stock is still up 60% from where we recommended it, and we believe it could get a nice boost from the looming IPO of extreme sports camera maker GoPro Inc.

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  We're talking about the Santa Clara, Calif.-based Ambarella Inc. (Nasdaq: AMBA), whose video-chip technology is finding its way into security cameras, automotive cameras, and the "wearable" video cams the "extreme sports" crowd uses to record their often-breathtaking exploits.

• [By JuhiKulkarni]

  Ambarella (AMBA) is in a decent position to profit from development in the selection of wearable gadgets and activity sports Polaroids. In any case, the company's performance in 2014 has been disillusioning as its shares are down 6%. In any case a gander at the company's late comes about shows that Ambarella searches balanced for robust long haul additions, making it a decent purchase on the pullback. How about we investigate its late comes about and see why it could be a decent financing.

Best Semiconductor Stocks For 2015: GigOptix Inc (GIG)

GigOptix, Inc. (GigOptix), incorporated on March 2008, is a supplier of semiconductor and electro-optical component products that enables high-speed end to end data streaming over optical fiber and wireless telecommunications and data-communications networks globally. The Company's products convert signals between electrical and optical formats for transmitting and receiving data over fiber optic networks and between electrical and high speed radio frequencies to enable the transmission and receipt of data over wireless networks. The Company is creating both optical telecommunications and data-communications applications for fast growing markets in 10 giga bytes per second (Gbps), 40Gbps and 100Gbps drivers, receiver integrated circuits (IC), electro-optic modulator components and multi-chip-modules (MCM), as well as E-band wireless data-communications applications for high speed mobile backhaul and other high capacity wireless data transport applications. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company shipped over 150 products to over 200 customers.

The Company offers a portfolio of 10Gbps and 40Gbps electro-optical products and is developing market for 100Gbps products. The Company provides bundled solutions that consist of a few of its products, such as modulator and driver. The Company also offers a comprehensive portfolio of Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) products to support E-band wireless communication and defense markets. The Company has also developed 10Gbps vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) drivers and receivers for aerospace as well as outdoor, non-temperature controlled environments that enables higher capacity in its customers' next generation flight and data center systems.

The Company has a portfolio of products for telecommunications , data-communications, defenses and industrial applications designed for optical speeds from 3Gbps to over 100Gbps and for wireless frequencies! from zero giga hertz (GHz) to 86GHz. The Company's products support a range of data rates, protocols, transmission distances and industry standards.

The Company's portfolio consists of the product ranges, such as laser and modulator drivers for 10Gbps, 40Gbps and 100Gbps applications; receiver amplifiers or Trans-impedance Amplifiers (TIAs) for 10Gbps, 40Gbps and 100Gbps applications; VCSEL driver and receiver chipsets for 14 and 12 channel parallel optics applications from 3Gbps to 10Gbps; Electro-optic modulators based on the Company's TFPS technology suitable for various 40Gbps and 100Gbps modulation schemes, such as differential phase shift keying (DPSK), differential quadrature phase shift keying (DQPSK), RZ-DQPSK and DP-QPSK; wideband monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifiers with flat gain response; high frequency MMIC Power Amplifiers with high gain and output power; high frequency passive attenuators and filters in small form factors, and standard cell, and structured ASIC and hybrid ASIC designs and manufacturing service for multiple markets offering information technology acquisition review (ITAR) compliance for defense applications. The Company designs and market products that amplifies electrical signals during both the transmission (amplifiers and optical drivers) and reception (TIAs) of optical signals as well as modulate optical signals in the transmission of data.

The Company's optical drivers amplify the input digital data stream that is used to modulate laser light either by direct modulation of the laser or by use of an external modulator that acts as a precise shutter to switch on and off light to create the optical data stream. The Company supplies an optimized component for each type of laser, modulator and photo-diode depending upon the speed, reach and required cost. The Company's microwave and millimeter wave amplifiers amplify small signal radio signals into more signals that can be transmitted over long distances to establish high t! hroughput! data connections or enable radar based applications. The Company's ASIC solutions are used in a number of applications such as defense and test and measurement applications to enable the high speed processing of complex signals.

The Company's product portfolio is designed to cover the range of solutions needed in these different modules. The Company's product portfolio consists of five product lines: GX Series, which includes serial drivers and TIA ICs devices for telecom and data-com markets; HX Series, which includes multi-channel driver and TIA ICs for short reach data-com and optical interconnect applications; LX Series, which includes TFPS modulators for high speed telecom and defense applications; EX Series, which includes amplifiers, filters and attenuators for microwave applications in defense and instrumentation, and CX Series, which includes family of ASIC solutions for custom integrated circuit design.

GX Series

The GigOptix GX Series of products services both the telecom and data-com markets with a broad portfolio of drivers and transimpedence amplifiers that address 10Gbps, 40Gbps and 100Gbps speeds over distances that range from 100 meters to 10,000 kilometers. The GX Series devices are used in FiberChannel, Ethernet, synchronous optical networking (SONET)/ synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) components and those based upon the optical internetworking forum (OIF) standards.

HX Series

The GigOptix HX Series of products service the high performance computing (HPC), data-com and consumer markets with a portfolio of parallel VCSEL drivers and TIAs that address 3Gbps, 5Gbps,10Gbps, 14Gbps, 16Gbps and 25Gbps channel speeds over 100-300 meters distances in four and 12 channel configurations. The HX Series devices are used in HPC formats, Infiniband, Ethernet and optical high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) components.

LX Series

The GigOptix LX Series of products service the 40Gbps and above telecom! market f! or Mach-Zehnder modulators. The LX Series devices are based on the Company's TFPS EO material technology.

EX Series

The GigOptix EX Series of products leverages the high performance products acquired in the Endwave acquisition. In addition, it also includes the die and design techniques developed for the GX Series telecom and data-com drivers for related defense and instrumentation applications.

CX Series

The GigOptix CX Series of products offers a portfolio of distinct paths to digital and analog mixed signal ASICs with the capability of supporting designs of up to 10M gates in technologies ranging from 0.6 through 65nm. The CX Series uses the Company's technology in Structured and Hybrid ASICs to enable a generic ASIC solution that can be customized for a customer using only a few metal mask layers. The CX Series also offers ASIC services, including Analog and Mixed Signal IP into designs and taking customers designs from RTL or gate-level net list definitions to volume production with third party foundries.

The Company competes with TriQuint, Rohm, InPhi, Centellax, Semtech, Vitesse, M/A-Com, Avago, Emcore, Tyco Electronics, IPtronics. Avago, Emcore, Tyco Electronics, JDSU, Oclaro, Sumitomo, Fujitsu, Emcore, Oclaro, Hittite, Sumitomo, Hittite, RFMD, Northrop Grumman, On -Semiconductor, eSilicon, Open Silicon, Faraday, Toshiba and eASIC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  It's admittedly overbought and due for a slight dip thanks to today's surge. But when you take a step back and look at GigOptix Inc. (NYSEMKT:GIG), there's actually a lot to be excited about if you've been mulling a trading in GIG. The trick will be getting the timing right.

• [By maarnio]

  Lightwave Logic�� main competitor is GigOptix (GIG). GigOptix has designed and patented potentially commercially feasible electro-optic polymers and holds an exclusive license to all electro-optic polymeric technology developed at the University of Washington.

Best Semiconductor Stocks For 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 Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of power chip specialist Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS  ) sank 10% today after its quarterly results and outlook missed Wall Street expectations.

• [By rsconsultant]

  Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS) wasn't fit as a fiddle at the close of 2013. Feeble orders from Samsung (SSNLF), one of its biggest customers, kept Fairchild down, and it was not able to take advantage of its supplier relationship with Apple (AAPL).

Best Semiconductor Stocks For 2015: Peregrine Semiconductor Corp (PSMI)

Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation (Peregrine), incorporated in February 1990, is engaged in the design, manufacturing and marketing radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for the aerospace and defense, broadband, industrial, mobile wireless device, test and measurement equipment, and wireless infrastructure markets. The Company is provider of RFICs. Its products include RF switches-antenna, RFswitches-broadband and general purpose, digital attenuators, synthesizers, mixers/upconverters, prescalers, variable gain amplifiers, digitally tunable capacitors, DC-DC converters and power amplifiers. Its UltraCMOS technology enables the design, manufacture, and integration of multiple radio frequency (RF), mixed signal, and digital functions on a single chip. Its solutions target a range of applications in the aerospace and defense, broadband, industrial, mobile wireless device, test and measurement equipment, and wireless infrastructure markets.

As of December 25, 2010, The Company offers a portfolio of more than 120 RFICs, including switches, digital attenuators, mixers/upconverters, and prescalers, and it is developing power amplifiers (Pas), digitally tunable capacitors (DTCs), and DC-DC converters. During the fiscal year ended December 25, 2010, its products were sold to more than 1,400 module manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), contract manufacturers, and other customers, including such companies as Amalfi Semiconductor, Inc., The Boeing Company, EPCOS AG, Ericsson AB, Hitachi Media Electronics Company, Ltd., Hitachi Metals, Ltd., Humax Co., Ltd., Itron, Inc., LG Innotek Co., Ltd., Mini-Circuits, Inc., Motorola, Inc., Murata Manufacturing Company, Ltd., Planet Technology Corp., Rockwell Collins, Inc., Rohde & Schwarz, Inc., SIPAT Co., Ltd., Skyworks Solutions, Inc., Sony Corporation, Source Photonics, Inc., and Thales Alenia Space.

RF switches-antenna

RF Switches are utilized in the RF section of mobile devices to route RF signals between! the antenna and the handset core, through one or more signal paths. For mobile handsets, its switch products offer up to 10 RF signal paths with integrated digital bus support and onboard voltage regulation.

RFswitches-broadband and general purpose

The Company�� broadband and general purpose RF switches deliver combination of broadband linearity, settling time, and isolation while routing RF signals to their respective transmit or receive paths. Its attributes are being used by the OEMs of LED and plasma digital televisions (DTVs), set top box, cable infrastructure, test and measurement devices

Digital Attenuators

The Company provides digital step attenuators that are used to control the amplitude of an RF or analog signal. The products include digital control circuitry integrated with an RF attenuator core and are used in third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) cellular base stations, repeaters, and point-to-point nodes.

Synthesizers

The Company�� frequency synthesizers provide an electronic system for generating any of a range of frequencies from a single fixed timebase or oscillator. Its synthesizers provide low-power, ultra-low phase noise, programmable frequency synthesis for defense, broadband, industrial, and wireless infrastructure markets.

Mixers/Upconverters

The Company�� mixers/upconverters are used to translate encoded voice/data signals from one frequency to another to enable radio transmission. Its mixers / upconverters are incorporated into mixer modules and provide industry linearity, which is a metric to maximizing wireless data transmission rates. These attributes are critical in 3G and 4G cellular base station designs.

Prescalers

The Company�� prescalers operate in the C, X, and Ku bands to divide the frequency of a wireless signal in order to extend the operating range of a synthesizer beyond its base capability. Its prescalers complem! ent its f! requency synthesizer line, providing its customers with design.

Variable Gain Amplifiers

The Company�� Variable Gain Amplifiers (VGAs) are used in both the receiving and transmitting path of a radio system to maintain a signal�� strength at a level necessary for other circuits to operate optimally. Its DVGA is the monolithic integrated circuit (IC) to integrate three functional blocks, including digital attenuators, RF/IF amplifiers and a common serial interface onto a single IC.

DC-DC Converters

The Company�� frequency-configurable DC-DC converters efficiently perform voltage conversion using a high frequency switching technique that minimizes system noise. Its DC-DC converters are designed to enable a distributed power management architecture designed for satellite applications, replacing inefficient drop out regulators and central converters.

Power Amplifiers

The Company�� PAs amplify RF signals in order to generate the necessary power required to establish a radio link between a base station and a mobile device. With its UltraCMOS technology the Company has the ability to integrate its PAs on a single chip with other RF, mixed signal, and digital components.

The Company competes with Hittite, M/A-COM, NEC, Renesas, RFMD, Skyworks, Sony, Toshiba and TriQuint Semiconductor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: PSMI) is a lesser known name that is a top stock to buy at Deutsche Bank. The company recently released a new radio frequency (RF) switch specifically designed for broadband cable systems. With HD content exploding, this could be a huge home run for the company. Deutsche Bank has a $14 price target for the stock, the same as the consensus target.

Best Semiconductor Stocks For 2015: M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc (MTSI)

M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (M/A-COM), incorporated on March 25, 2009, is a provider of high-performance analog semiconductor solutions for uses in wireless and wireline applications across the radio frequency (RF), microwave and millimeter wave spectrum. The Company manages has one segment, which is semiconductors. The Company offers over 2,700 standard and custom devices, which includes integrated circuits (IC), multi-chip modules, power pallets and transistors, diodes, switches and switch limiters, passive and active components and complete subsystems, across 37 product lines serving over 6,000 end customers in four primary markets. The Company's semiconductor products are electronic components that the Company's customers incorporate into their larger electronic systems, such as point-to-point wireless backhaul radios, radar, automobile navigation systems, digital cable television (CATV) set-top boxes, magnetic resonance imaging systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. In February 2014, M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc announced that its subsidiary Mindspeed Technologies Inc completed the sale of assets of its wireless infrastructure business unit to Intel Corporation.

The Company's primary markets are Networks, which includes CATV, cellular backhaul, cellular infrastructure and fiber optic applications; Aerospace and Defense (A&D); Automotive, which includes global positioning system (GPS) modules sold to the automotive industry; and Multi-market, which includes industrial, medical, mobile communications and scientific applications. The Company operates a single Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and silicon semiconductor fab at its Lowell, Massachusetts headquarters, which the Company is in the process of updating to include Gallium Nitride (GaN) fabrication operations as well. The Company also utilizes external semiconductor foundries to supply the Company with additional capacity in periods of high demand and to provide the Company access to additional process technolog! ies. The ability to utilize a broad array of internal process technologies as well as commercially available foundry technologies allows the Company to select the appropriate technology to solve the Company's customers' needs.

The Company offers high-performance analog semiconductor products for both wireless and wireline applications across the frequency spectrum from RF to millimeterwave. The Company regularly develops high-value products to serve its customers in four primary markets: Networks, A&D, Multi-market and Automotives.

Aerospace & Defense

In the A&D market, military applications require more advanced electronic systems, such as radar warning receivers, communications data links and tactical radios, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), RF jammers, electronic countermeasures and smart munitions. Military applications are becoming more sophisticated, favoring higher performance semiconductor ICs based on GaAs and GaN technology due to their high power density, improved power efficiency and broadband capability. Radar systems for mapping and targeting missions are undergoing a transition from existing mechanically-scanned radar products to a new generation of active electronically-scanned array (AESA) based products. Consisting of hundreds or thousands of transmit/receive modules commonly based on GaAs and increasingly on GaN technology, AESAs deliver greater speed, range, resolution and reliability over mechanically-scanned radar products that utilize a single transmitter and receiver with mechanical steering. Military communications employing wireless infrastructure and tactical radios in the field remain critical for allowing geographically dispersed users to exchange information quickly and efficiently. UAVs and their underlying semiconductor content requires designs to meet rigorous specifications for high performance, small size, and low power consumption.

Automotive

The Automotive category includes GPS modules the Company sel! ls to the! automotive industry. Semiconductor content in automobiles is projected to grow in order to offer connectivity, safety, performance and navigation features.

Multi-market

In Multi-market, the Company's products are used in industrial, medical, mobile communications, test and measurement and scientific applications. In the medical industry, the Company's custom designed non-magnetic diode product line is a critical component for certain MRI applications. The Company offers a broad range of standard and custom ICs, modules and complete subsystems across 37 product lines. The Company's product portfolio consists of more than 2,700 products including the key product platforms: power pallets and transistors, ICs, diodes, switches and switch limiters, passive and active components, multi-chip modules, and complete subsystems. Many of the Company's product platforms are leveraged across multiple markets and applications. For example, the Company's applications with regard to power transistor technology is leveraged across both scientific laboratory equipment applications and commercial and defense radar system applications. The Company's diode technology is used in switch filter banks of military tactical radios as well as medical imaging MRI systems.

The Company competes with Hittite Microwave Corporation, Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations, Inc., RF Micro Devices, Inc. (RFMD), Avago, Inc. (Avago), Aeroflex, Inc. (Aeroflex), Microsemi Corporation (Microsemi), TriQuint and Skyworks Solutions, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Mindspeed Technologies (NASDAQ: MSPD) surged 69.02% to $5.02 in the pre-market session after M/A-Com Technology Solutions Holdings (NASDAQ: MTSI) announced its plans to acquire Mindspeed Technologies.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  M/A-Com Technology Solutions Holdings (Nasdaq: MTSI  ) reported earnings on April 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 29 (Q2), M/A-Com Technology Solutions Holdings met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc.(MTSI) agreed to acquire semiconductor manufacturer Mindspeed Technologies Inc.(MSPD) in a deal valued at $272 million, expanding the company’s markets to include enterprise applications. Mindspeed shares surged 70% to $5.04 premarket.

Best Semiconductor Stocks For 2015: Aixtron SE (AIXG)

AIXTRON SE (AIXTRON), formerly AIXTRON AG, incorporated in 1983, is a provider of deposition equipment equipment to the semiconductor and compound-semiconductor industry. The Company's technology solutions are used by a diverse range of customers worldwide to build advanced components for electronic and opto-electronic applications based on compound, silicon, or organic semiconductor materials. Such components are used in fiber optic communication systems, wireless and mobile telephony applications, optical and electronic storage devices, computing, signaling and lighting, displays, as well as a range of other technologies. AIXTRON's business activities include developing, producing and installing equipment for coating semiconductor materials, process engineering, consulting and training, including ongoing customer support. AIXTRON supplies to customers both full production-scale complex material deposition systems and small scale systems for research and development (R&D) use and small-scale production use.

AIXTRON's product range includes customized production and research scale compound semiconductor systems capable of depositing material films on up to 95 * two-inch diameter wafers per single production run, or smaller multiples of larger diameter wafers, employing MOCVD or Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy (HVPE) or organic thin film deposition on up to Gen. 3.5 substrates, including Polymer Vapor Phase Deposition (PVPD) or Organic Vapor Phase Deposition (OVPD) or large area deposition for Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) applications or Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Phase Deposition (PECVD) for depositing complex Carbon Nanostructures (Carbon Nanotubes, Nanowires or Graphene). AIXTRON also manufactures full production and research scale deposition systems for silicon semiconductor applications capable of depositing material films on wafers of up to 300 millimeters diameter, employing technologies, such as Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), Atomic Vapor Deposition (AVD) and Atomic Layer! Deposition (ALD).

AIXTRON also offers a range of peripheral equipment and services, including products capable of monitoring the concentration of gases in the air and for cleaning the exhaust gas from metal organic chemical vapor deposition processes. The Company also assists its customers in designing the production layouts for the gas supply to thin film deposition systems. Additionally, the Company offers its customers training, consulting and support services.

The Company competes with Veeco Instruments Inc. (USA), Taiyo Nippon Sanso (Japan), Ulvac, Inc. (Japan), Tokki Corporation (Japan), Sumitomo (Japan), Applied Materials, Inc. (USA), Doosan DND Co., Ltd. (South Korea), Sunic System (South Korea), Tokyo Electron Ltd. (Japan), ASM International N.V. (Netherlands), IPS Technology (South Korea), Jusung Engineering Co. Ltd. (South Korea), and Hitachi Kokusai Electric Co. Inc. (Japan).

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines include upgrades for both industrialist Aixtron (NASDAQ: AIXG  ) and fashionista bebe stores (NASDAQ: BEBE  ) . But the news isn't all good, so let's start off with a few words on...

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Aixtron SE (NASDAQ: AIXG) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

  Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James.